By Francisco Hernandez: The decade of 2000 will probably be remembered in boxing history as the comeback of retired boxers. Fighters are no longer learning skills; they don’t know the art of boxing, there are plenty of fighters but few real boxers. Most fighters today are done in boxing before they learn how to throw a good jab, that is why retired masters like Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Bernard Hopkins, Evander Holyfield are tempted to come back, they don’t see any skill or talent today and believe they have a fighting chance to win despite their old age or lost reflexes.
If Emanuel Steward could get Tommy Hearns in sufficient shape to fight twelve rounds, Tommy would probably be the Heavy Weight Champion right now.
Last night at Guadalajara, Jalisco, Marco Antonio Barrera knocked out his opponent Jose Arias in only two rounds. Barrera looked strong; it appears that Barrera has gained some muscle as he flung the Dominican Arias around the ring like he was a rag doll. The fight was at light welterweight and Barrera looked a few pounds overweight but strong. Barrera plans to slim down to lightweight where he will seek a fight against Humberto Soto for the world championship.
Jose Arias is forty three years old and a fringe fighter but he did have nine straight knockouts before succumbing to Barrera, but it wasn’t the fact that Barrera beat Arias that matters but the way he beat him, he pushed him around like he was sweeping the canvas with the Dominican. Barrera doesn’t appear to have lost his timing. Barrera is thirty seven years old but if he can manage to get into fighting shape in the lightweight division, I have no doubt that he wins against Humberto Soto.
Barrera tried to make an unsuccessful comeback before, when he fought Amir Khan in 2009 and the fight was stopped because of a nasty cut on top of Barrera’s head. The tall Amir Khan as is typical ran away from a rematch with the smaller Barrera to determine the true winner. In 2010 Barrera announced that he would make one last effort to fight for a world championship before retiring definitively, his goal to face world champion Humberto Soto for the lightweight world championship.
At thirty seven years of age, no longer training intensely, and moving up to a heavier weight, Barrera is not the same Barrera that fought Erik Morales in a trilogy of memorable fights. That Barrera will never be seen again. But Barrera is still a master boxer, and if he manages to train hard and get into decent condition, at lightweight he can offer fans one or two good fights. What Barrera has gained is strength. He may be lifting more weights and eating more protein, who knows, but he definitely has gained enough strength to hurt lightweight fighters.
If Barrera can get into good enough shape to fight a good twelve rounds, he can win against Humberto Soto because Barrera has the better boxing skills. Barrera has a good chance against the other world champions in the lightweight division.
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