By James Hughes: Amir Khan put in a composed performance to defeat ring-legend Marco Antonio Barrera by a 5th round technical decision in the main event at the M.E.N. Arena (Manchester, England). Khan’s youth was a sizeable factor in the outcome, as was a nasty cut to Barrera from an accidental clash of heads in the opening round. Khan’s great handspeed and good footwork allowed him to get in and out of range, enabling him to land combinations almost at will, (which he did so accurately), while an old-looking Barrera whose vision was hampered by the continual flow of blood, could not get near his younger, faster and stronger challenger.
It was hard to tell from where I was sat (back of the lower tier, to the right of Barrera’s corner) as the left side of his face therefore being out of view most of the time, but the clash of heads in the first round looked to open up a new cut near Barrera’s recently acquired one (possibly in addition to it). Regardless of this, seeing how sharp Khan looked, I felt it was only a matter of time before he opened Barrera’s previous cut with punches. He was out-landing Barrera by at least 4 to 1.
Barrera was rocked back across the ring on several occasions as Khan’s power and reach paid dividends. Khan used his jab to good effect, setting up attacks that would see plenty of left hooks landing. He used his right to good effect as well – hooks and straight shots, and he had little problem tagging Barrera both upstairs and downstairs. Nevertheless, the manner of Khan’s victory was unsatisfactory to an extent, because it wasn’t solely down to his undoubted skill, but also the condition Barrera was in.
Only by the 3rd round did Barrera start to land a few shots; a couple to the body and occasional headshots, but Khan stood firm. It was good to see Khan not only using movement but also keeping a higher guard than he has done sometimes in the past. At the end of the round the referee had the cut assessed and seemed to signal one more round to Barrera, so he chased after Khan in the 4th knowing it was now or never. Credit to Khan though, he stood his ground sensibly; picking Barrera off on the way in before forcing him onto the back foot again, rocking the Mexican like he had earlier in the fight. The only interruption was when the referee had the cut assessed again.
Barrera’s corner were doing a sterling job between rounds in trying to stem the blood flow (even if they were taking a couple of seconds too long to get their man out for each round), but the end was surely near. It arrived in the 5th, as the referee once again sought the opinion of the doctor and this time waved it off. Whatever protests may be made about the result – that it should have been stopped before and ruled a no contest for example – you have to look at the fact that Barrera took a warm-up fight despite a change of opponents and also took this fight without giving a serious cut time to heal. Therefore, he was partly to blame for his own downfall in this fight.
While the crowd might feel short-changed given the manner in which the fight ended, and only seeing a shadow of the once great Marco Antonio Barrera, a mention of each fighter’s reception must be made. Barrera received a hero’s welcome compared to a very mixed reception for Khan; the ‘home’ fighter was booed by a large section of the audience. Given this, and that I’ve heard plenty of disparaging comments about Khan based on his race, I’m pleased he won. He hasn’t answered all the questions yet, nor all his critics. Mind you, Joe Calzaghe never answered all his critics. Not that Khan is anywhere near Calzaghe, but you can’t please all the people all of time. With improvements in this fight, Khan can build on those for the future and tougher tests that lie ahead.
Official Scorecards: 50-44, 50-45 and 50-45.
My Scorecard: 50-45
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