MEXICAN boxing icon Marco Antonio Barrera agrees with noted trainer Freddie Roach—Manny Pacquiao will be at his best when the two boxing giants collide again on Oct. 7 (RP time) in Las Vegas.
Barrera, who lost in 11 rounds to a then relatively little known Pacquiao in San Antonio, Texas in November 2003, is currently training for his rematch with Pacquiao—his 69th fight overall.
“Yes, he is an excellent figher. He is very competitive. Since he beat me, he has taken the division by storm and we expect him (to be) 100 percent for our fight,” Barrera said in an interview with www.fightnews.com.
Roach, who is in Cebu with Pacquiao to train his ward for the rematch, recently told reporters that Pacquiao’s conditioning is almost similar if not as good when the Pinoy superstar battered Morales in three rounds late last year.
Barrera also said he isn’t bothered by rumors that Pacquiao will back out of his fight.
Expecting the best
“We are training expecting the best Manny Pacquiao. I have been in this business long enough to know not to listen to rumors,” said Barrera.
The rumors Barrera referred to started when Michael Marley wrote in boxingconfidential.com, citing Pacquiao insiders, that Pacquiao was unhappy with the purse he would be getting in the fight and that the Pinoy will back out.
The article created a stir in the camp and even prompted a challenge from Franklin Gacal, Pacquiao’s attorney, directed at Marley for a fight.
Barrera also reaffirmed that regardless of the result of the fight—there won’t be a Pacquiao-Barrera III, But Barrera said he wanted to have two more fights.
Farewell fights
“This is my last fight in this scale, a super fight. I want to have one or two more farewell fights here in Guadalajara, which is like my second home and maybe in Las Vegas or Los Angeles…but those fights won’t be of the scale as this one, as far as in promotion and as in opponent. That is why we are training very hard for this fight, like every good Mexican, I have a thorn in my side from the last fight,” he said.
Barrera also refused to listen to critics or even oddsmakers who say that Pacquiao will destroy him in their rematch.
“As far as the critics, I would like for them to climb into a ring, because it is easier to write about fighting (than) actually doing it,” he said. (ML)
