By Scott Gilfoid: For the many boxing fans that are looking forward to the lightweight showdown between former super bantamweight, featherweight and super featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera (65-6, 43 KOs) and Amir Khan (19-1, 15 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round lightweight bout on March 14th, they may have to settle for seeing a fight that has a good chance of ending early due to the bad cut that the 35-year-old Barrera received between his eyes on January 31st against little known Freudis Rojas in a fight in Mexico.
The cut, which has been rumored to have needed 14 stitches to heal, will likely not be healed sufficiently by the time the two fighters meet in the ring on March 14th at the M.E.N. Arena, in Manchester, England. I’m all for a fighter taking one for the team and going through with a bout when they have a nagging injury, but in this case this is something serious, because a cut that hasn’t had enough time to heal – ideally, four to six months – will likely open up early as soon as it’s hit hard a number of times.
As such, this puts Barrera at a tremendous disadvantage going into the fight with the 22-year-old Khan, because if the cut, which will have a thin layer of scar tissue over it by the time he meets with Khan, breaks open at anytime in the fight, it will pour blood directly into one or both of his eyes and cause a stoppage. In a way, it’s almost a given that the cut will open up and the fight stopped because of it.
For me, it’s not a question of whether it will open up, but when. My guess is that it will open up quickly, possibly in the 1st or 2nd round, causing immediately for Barrera to be handicapped because he won’t be able to see well due to the blood obscuring his vision. Shortly after that, I see the fight being stopped. Sure, the referee may let the drama continue for another round or two, but after watching him blindly attempt to fight with blood gushing down his face from the huge, partially healed cut, the referee and ringside doctor will likely have no choice but to stop the fight to protect Barrera from being seriously hurt.
This is unfortunate, because a lot of the ringside fans, as well as those at home that will pay to see the fight, will be angered for the fight having been allowed to take place with the recent cut of Barrera not given enough time to heal properly. The ending will have a bright side, though. At least Khan will get the victory, even if it’s a tainted win because of the likely cut that Barrera will sustain.
A win is a win, and at least Khan will be able to avoid getting knocked out which would be the probable outcome if the fight were to take place two or three months later on down the road after Barrera’s cut healed properly.
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