WILL COURAGE PREVAIL OVER TALENT? - BARRERA vs. TAPIA
By Ron Brashear
Inside Boxing Writer/Columnist
Inside Boxing file photo: Micheal V. Ornelas
INSIDE BOXING (10/29/02)- On Saturday night, November 2, 2002, At The MGM
Grand Casino, Las
Vegas, NV (HBO) Marco Antonio Barrera
(55-3-0, 39 KOs) vs.
Johnny Tapia (52-2-2, 28 KOs) should be the first, of a series of two validation
fights in the Featherweight division taking place this month to determine who is
the best Featherweight in the World.
Tapia is one of boxing's most courageous fighters in the business today. This 5-time former World Champion has continued to demonstrate that he has the courage to stand toe-to-toe with any Featherweight in the World. However, the big question will be, is that enough? During the press conference, Johnny quoted "Just hearing the words "Marco Antonio Barrera" you will get up for the fight. He is a tough cookie. He is strong. It does not take much to get ready for this fight. He knows how to cut the ring and he knows how to slug. He can change his technique any time. He is the type of guy who will do whatever it takes to win. He will be in my face and I will be in his too."
Granted, Johnny has suffered only two losses in his lustrous career. Both of them were at the hands of Paulie Ayala (June 1999 & October 2000). Their first encounter was voted Fight of Year in 1999. Although his greatest performance was exhibited back in 1997 when he defeated his hometown archrival, Danny Romero. Johnny was 30yrs old at the time (keep this in mind). Now at the age of 35, he will attempt greatness by trying to dethrone one of boxing's best P4P contenders in Barrera.
Marco Antonio Barrera (Four-Time World Featherweight Champion) is the most talented Featherweight in the World today. He is bringing a six-fight winning streak into the ring and is viewed by most boxing writers and analysts as one of the top ten P4P fighters today. Based on what we have seen lately from Barrera, the only Featherweight that stands a remote chance of defeating him is Erik Morales. Although I thought both decisions went the wrong way in their two previous encounters (1 win apiece), both of them were very competitive fights and BARRERA vs MORALES III will be a must see fight. When Marco was questioned about his aggressiveness plan for Tapia, he replied, "I am planning to be more aggressive because Tapia is a different fighter. He will be throwing punches from round one, so I will have to be more aggressive."
Given the level of competition that Barrera has taken on lately, (Morales, Sanchez, Hamed, Salud), it will be hard to imagine Tapia can pull off this upset. I envision this fight reaching a point where either the referee, or Johnny's corner, will have a make the tough decision and say, "I have seen enough". Otherwise, I seriously doubt if Tapia has any quit in him. Barrera's prediction is, "The best man will win this fight. Tapia was the IBF champion until a few days ago, and he is coming off of a big win against Medina. The best guy in the best shape will win the fight."
So it is a sure bet that this will be an action-packed fight. In case you are not convinced that Barrera should be considered on the best P4P fighters list, his performance on Saturday should bring you a step closer to seeing him in that way. So tune into HBO and be apart of the action and watch "The Battle Of The Warriors"!
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Ron Brashear can be contacted at brashear@insideboxing.com, ron@brashear.com