Barrera/Marquez re-scored

I can see your argument.
The round was not so dominating that it deserved a 10-7 in favor of Marquez, but then again, one shot shouldn't necessarily mean 10-8 for Barrera. I have Marco the benefit of the doubt because Nady did not. It all turns out to be academic - either way.

Both fighter's prime was arguably at 126lb, and even at this weight, Marco was never as insolent as you're implying he was. Marco was a counter-puncher, as he showed against Sanchez and Hamed, in two of his finest performances, and this could prove effective against Juan.

I will say, I think Marco was the most talented of three great Mexican's of this era, and this is after my inspection on young Barrera. I've seldom seen such a wide variety of punches, mixed with both speed and power, as Barrera used to showcase everytime out at 122, and often at 126. He would be hitting Marquez to the body, not something he did when they finally met. He was a wonderful body puncher.

That said, they were both great fighters at their peak - and I'm not prepared to make a prediction on how a fight goes in early 2000's at 126.

I appreciate you taking your time to make yourself clear. Other posters could take note.

 

I know what you mean.

This was happening as early as Tapia and Kelley. I think he woke up for the Morales III match, but other than that, he was content to just play the counter puncher - and not have the same kind of intensity he had in his early days.

You have to remember. Marco, more often than not, had a point to prove. He was truely devastated by his loss to Junior Jones, and didn't fight for months and months. He was considering retirement. When he finally came back, he wanted to be the king of the 122lb division as he had always been and he thought he achieved that when he fought Morales.

However, even after that fight against Erik, he had a point to prove. Officially, even though I and many others felt he won, he lost the Morales fight. That's why he really wanted the Hamed fight - to prove to the World that he was world class, and one of the best. We know what he did to Hamed, and that was when he was probably at his best and most content.

After that, he got sloppy. There is a poignant moment in round 12 of his fight against Johnny Tapia. The whole fight, he had been on the back foot, moving slowly, and just looking like he was at a cocktail Party. At the beginning of the 12th round, he explodes with a combination, and it is actually awe-inspiring to see this counter-puncher just explode with a hundred punches. He went back to normal after that, but he was basically saying, "Hey, look what I can do, but don't have too".

He tried to do the same thing against Manny Pacquiao - but Manny was far to hungry, young, fast, and talented to allow such a casual style to defeat him. Manny did a number over Marco that night, and a star was officially born. It's a credit to Barrera though that it took a fighter of Manny's quality to knock him off his pedal stool.

They say every fighter has one great fight left in him, and that fight was the rubber match with Morales. I don't need to explain why he was so up for this fight, but even if he was casual compared to his hey day, he still opened up enough in that fight, and wanted enough, that he could grab it by the balls. He did that, I think. A fight in which he had something to prove.

I think Marco has a point to prove against Khan. That is dangerous.

P.S I do think Marco cared about the Marquez fight, but he was in there against a guy who was just to good for that particular version on that night. He couldn't go in there with the intensity as he did against Morales in their first fight because he wasn't that fighter anymore. I'm reluctant to discredit Juan in anyway by saying Marco didn't care, but I understand your point. There was a point in his career that he got to content, and to casual. Pacquiao came along and ended it.

 

Good points.

Marco always looked casual in the ring, however. Not in the way he fought, but the way he looked. During his early days, the commentators were always commentating on how his facial expression never changes. Whereas that has stayed till the end, his fighting style has also become more casual because he can no longer go 12 rounds at the pace of Morales 1. Now it just seems as though he doesn't care, but I refuse to believe that.

The string of fights from Tapia, Kelley, and Peden - he looked like he didn't have anything left to prove. He needed to be at his very very best against Manny, but he had no idea how good this young kid was going to be. It was to late, and he basically, for lack of a better word, got his ass beat until his corner showed some mercy. Morales III was the only fight after that where we saw a really good version of Marco Antonio Barrera - one of his greatest ever performances.

 

That just isn't true.

I am possibly the biggest Barrera fan on these boards, and I cannot sincerely make a case for Marco winning. Juan was too good on the night.

 

He figures that it discredits Juan Manuel Marquez's victory if it is actually true. He is right.

 

I am fans of all the three Mexican's, and Marco Antonio Barrera was the most skilled of all of them. He certainly had the most complete offensive arsenal, and had more punch variety than the other two put together. I have had the benefit of seeing a prime Barrera, and judging from an opinion like he was the least complete of the three, I might just be the only one.