By William Mackay: The March 14th lightweight showdown between Amir Khan (19-1, 15 KOs) and Marco Antonio Barrera (65-6, 43 KOs) at the M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, Lancashire, won’t have the vacant WBO lightweight title on the line. Instead, the WBC has sanctioned the February 28th match between former champions Juan Diaz and Juan Manuel Marquez for the vacant WBO lightweight title.
There had been talk of the Khan-Barrera fight having the WBO title on the line in the past week after Nate Campbell, the former WBO lightweight champion, had his title stripped after not making the 135 pound weigh-in limit for his bout against Ali Funeka last weekend. Immediately, there was speculation that Khan and Barrera’s March 14th fight would have the title on the line, but instead Marquez, ranked #2 in the WBO and Diaz, ranked #3, will be fighting for the title.
It seems like an easy choice for the WBO to have made, because even though the 35-year-old Barrera is ranked #1 in the WBO, Khan is ranked only at number #9, and was knocked out two fights ago by Breidis Prescott in September 2009. However, there is a ray of light for the winner of Barrera-Khan, they’ll be next in line for a title shot against the winner of the Marquez-Diaz fight.
As of now, Khan looks to be in a strong position to win his March 14th fight against Barrera. Being the younger fighter at 22, Khan has the speed, size and experience at lightweight having fought in that division for the past three years since turning pro in 2005 after winning a silver medal in the 2004 Olympics. Barrera has fought most of his career as a featherweight and has only recently moved up to lightweight in 2008.
Barrera lost to Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao in 2007, and after that he moved up to the lightweight division. In Barrera’s last fight, he defeated Freudis Rojas by a 3rd round disqualification on January 31st. The win was a costly one, however, as Barrera received a deep cut over his left eye which has been rumored to have needed 14 stitches to close.
The cut will likely be a factor against Khan, because there won’t be enough time for it to heal completely before March 14th.
Khan, with the exception of his fight with Prescott, has had little experience against top fighters, and will be facing a big test in Barrera. Clearly, Barrera’s best days are behind him but with his skills and strong chin, he may be too much for Khan to deal with if Barrera’s unhealed cut doesn’t cause an early stoppage.
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