* The Marco Antonio Barrera super-thread *

Braindamage · Feb 3, 2026

IntentionalButt said: ↑

¡Guerra el asesino con un cara de bebé! :happy

This guy is the reason I ever became more than a casual fan of boxing. I am surely not alone.

He deserves some retrospective veneration, and to be reintroduced to newcomers who reached the sport only after Barrera's halcyon days.

A quick overview:

Amateurs

Barrera racked up a powerhouse amateur record of 104-4 (sometimes misrepresented as 56-4 or 55-4 as listed on Boxrec; the confusion stems from him at one point in time having amassed the sterling record of 56-0 before his first loss...so the legend of the 56 consecutive wins has gotten conflated with his overall amateur win total, when in reality he went a still extraordinary 48-4 in the second half of his amateur stint, which ended around the same time puberty did for the as of then still rather literally Baby Faced Assassin, who became 5x Mexican national champ along the way all before turning pro at fifteen, after falsifying documentation regarding his age to pass himself off as the minimum requisite seventeen!) and he would later avenge himself of at least one amateur loss in the pro ranks.

Professional

His name is of course inextricably linked most closely with three fellow greats of the era in the feathery range - all three of whom are wont to eventually be enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, two of them almost surefire inductees their first year of eligibility. Fittingly, he keeps pace with them right with the pack, neither too far ahead nor behind. Of the aforementioned three, he memorably dominated one in perhaps his signature performance, fought on terms as close as you will ever find in any boxing rivalry with the second in a bitter and enthralling trilogy, and found his number was had by the most famous third in two unflattering encounters.

There is so much else to appreciate in his 23 years of prizefighting than his seventy-one rounds of struggle with that legendary trio, however.

Consider that for a moment: 23 years of gladiatorial service - with a comfortable enough upbringing and law degree, no less! He fought not because of financial, but inner burning need - and he was counted among the best on the planet for all but a few years' worth, numerable on both hands with fingers to spare.

He retired at least thrice as far as I know - once, astonishingly enough, after reaching the 'mountaintop' at the ripe old age of 21 upon capturing his first world title against Daniel "Cobrita" Jiménez; again following his loss in the Manny Pacquiao rematch, and then once and for all in 2011. (although he was still murmuring about making a comeback as recently as last September - !!!! - but most observers by now consider and hope for him to be permanently retired. He is, of course, 40 - which is more like 70 for someone who debuted at flyweight and participated in so many wars - and with going on four years now of ring-rust...)

He should become HOF eligible for a presumptive first-ballot 2017 induction based on his last date of action, despite his probably sincere but never materialized pretenses of planned activity beyond 2011.

Now, on to illuminating the purpose of this dedicated thread.

This was a rough stab taken recently at identifying the best ten wins of Barrera:

To expand upon that, rounding out a list of Barrera's "top fifteen scalps" and picking up where I left off with Agapito Sanchez and Mzonke Fana at eleven and twelve respectively...

#11 (individual win #13) - E. Sanchez
#12 (individual win #14) - Valbuena
#13 (individual win #15) - Salud
#14 (individual win #16) - Jiménez
#15 (individual win #17) - Toledo

Week by week, counting down from #17 through #1 and carrying through most of the rest of the year, I'll post videos and in-depth analysis of each of these wins, placing some of the less celebrated ones in historical context and providing the editorial POV of someone who followed Barrera ardently when most of them occurred. :good
Click to expand...

When AB is brought up in terms of how great he was, I always question how much better could he have been if he grew up poor like Chavez Sr. Poverty is/was a great motivator for some of the greatest fighters. He must have really loved the sport to not only take part in it but to sacrifice the way he did when he never needed to.

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* The Marco Antonio Barrera super-thread *

Braindamage Baby Face Beast Full Member

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*** The Marco Antonio Barrera super-thread ***

Braindamage Baby Face Beast Full Member

* The Marco Antonio Barrera super-thread *