8x10 Action Photo against Prince Naseem Hamed that has been
signed in Silver sharpie by this true boxing great the baby
faced assasin from mexico, Marco Antonio Barrera. One of
the great mexican fighters of all time. Marco Barrera can
box and punch. He has defeated some of the best fighters
boxing has ever had to offer. Barrera gave the prince one
hell of a lesson in boxing!
Barrera £45.00
Marco Antonio Barrera, a.k.a. "The Baby Face Assassin"
is the two-time WBO World Junior Featherweight Champion.
Barrera, with his aggressive and exciting style, has been
successful at the top levels of competition for several
years and has been in some of the most exciting fights in
recent memory. At only 27 years old, he's a professional
veteran of nearly 11 years with tremendous punching power,
exceptional skills that wear down his opponents with relentless
pressure. Barrera is a tough, confident fighter with good
stamina and a solid chin that sometimes neglects his defense
to land his own devastating power shot. Marco Antonio Barrera
was born and still resides in Iztacalco, MX, and is managed
by Ricardo Maldonado.
November 22, 1989, at the tender age of fifteen and after
a brief amateur career boasting a record of 56-4 and five
Mexican National Amateur championships, Barrera made his
pro debut as a 111-pound flyweight against David Felix (TKO
2). Barrera went on to post an impressive record and knockout
percentage early, knocking out 12 of his first 16 opponents
before facing Josefino Suarez (13-6-1) for the Mexican super
flyweight title.
On April 1, 1992, in his hometown of Mexico City, Barrera
captured the 12-round unanimous decision by scores of 119-111,
117-113, 117-112 and won his first title. As champion Barrera
successfully defended the Mexican super flyweight title
5-times before his opportunity to fight for the vacant NABF
title.
On August 28, 1993, in Inglewood, CA, Barrera captured
his second title, the vacant NABF super flyweight crown,
by defeating Eduardo Ramirez by decision (D 12).
In 1994, Barrera reached the No. 1 world ranking and was
scheduled to fight on April 13 in a title eliminator bout
against No. 2 ranked Carlos Salazar, but could not make
the 115-pound weight limit. The fight went on, but not as
an eliminator, and Barrera clearly dominated the fight and
won the majority decision (D 12).
Barrera's first chance for a world title came on March
31, 1995, when Barrera took on WBO junior featherweight
champion Daniel Jimenez (19-3-1), in Anaheim, CA. Barrera
was in control of the fight from the opening bell winning
the unanimous decision by scores of 115-112, 116-111, 117-110.
After four consecutive WBO title defenses and four straight
knockouts, Barrera finished the year in spectacular shape
and still undefeated with a perfect record of 39-0, 27 KO's.
On February 3, 1996, in Inglewood, CA, Barrera faced what
was his most formidable opponent to date, former IBF Champion
Kennedy McKinney (28-1-1). Barrera dominated the action
packed fight knocking down McKinney five times while only
tasting the canvas once himself. McKinney answered the bell
for the 12th and final round only to be stopped at the 2:05
mark of the round (TKO 12). Barrera went on to defend his
title three more times before his two epic battles with
Junior Jones.
Tampa, FL, was the sight for the first of two thrilling
WBO showdowns between Barrera and Junior Jones. On November
22, Barrera came out matching punch-for-punch with the quick
and elusive Jones and led on all three scorecards after
four rounds. The tide would turn in the fifth, when Jones
connected and sent Barrera to the canvas with a crushing
right hand to the chin. Although Barrera got up, he was
very shaky and Jones attacked again and Barrera was back
on the canvas for the second time when his corner men jumped
into the ring just before the bell, ending the round and
forcing the disqualification of Barrera (LDSQ 5).
Five months later, on April 18, 1997, at the Las Vegas
Hilton, Barrera looked to revenge himself in the rematch.
Barrera looked great early and went to work to reclaim the
WBO title he lost in Tampa. In what was a very competitive
and close fight, Jones rallied in the late rounds and secured
the unanimous decision by scores of 114-113, 114-112, 116-111
(L 12).
After some brief time off, Barrera returned to action on
February 21, 1998 against Angel Rosario. Barrera was back,
refreshed and ready for war. He took out Rosario by way
of TKO in the fifth round (TKO 5). Two more opponents would
fall to the refreshed Barrera by way of knockout before
he was ranked and back in the spotlight fighting for the
vacant WBO title.
On October 31, against Richie Wenton, Barrera utilized
strong hooks and combinations to get off to a fast start
dismantling Wenton and reclaiming his second WBO junior
featherweight title (TKO 3). Barrera went on to defend his
title two more times in 1999, against Paul Lloyd on April
3 (TKO 1) and Pastor Maurin on August 7 (D 12).
On February 19, 2000, in the WBC/WBO unification fight,
against WBC super bantamweight champion Eric Morales, both
fighters were cut and swollen in a very hard fought slugfest
between the two popular Mexican fighters. Barrera was off
to a fast start in the first three rounds. In the middle
rounds when it looked like the fight could go either way,
Barrera began digging his left hook and left jab.
In what has been called "Fight of the Year" by
most ringside observers, where Morales was busier, but Barrera
landed the harder shots, both fighters gave tremendous efforts,
taking and giving the best punches thrown by each other.
Barrera sent Morales to the canvas to register the only
knockdown of the fight and won the round (10-8). Despite
the knockdown in the last round, Morales had enough of a
lead on two of the three scorecards to capture the controversial
split decision by scores of 115-112, 115-112 for Morales
and 114-113 for Barrera. Outraged by the decision, the WBO
did something that had never been done in the sport of boxing
before, they reinstated Barrera as WBO champion. In their
eye's Barrera won the fight and did not deserve to lose
his belt.
Barrera rebounded by winning two fights in a row since
his controversial loss to Eric Morales at Mandalay Bay.
On June 17, Barrera annihilated Luiz Freitas (KO 1), the
brother of Acelino Freitas, the WBO Jr. lightweight champion.
And on September 9, Barrera returned to the ring to face
Jose Valbuena. Barrera controlled the entire fight and left
the New Orleans Arena with the decision victory (D 12).
On December 1, Barrera defended his title against Jesus
Salud in Las Vegas. Barrera, who was looking down the road
at a possible match up against Prince Naseem Hamed, wasted
no time at all destroying the tough challenger Salud by
way of TKO in the sixth round (TKO 6).
Then on April 7, 2001 came "Playing With Fire"
vs. "The Unbeaten Prince of Boxing" Naseem Hamed.
This was Marco's opportunity to shine and become one of
the world's best pound for pound boxer and at the same time,
become an idol in his homeland of Mexico.
The Prince, who normally showed no respect for his opponents,
was really focused on this fight. He promised to knockout
Barrera come fight night. The MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
was the site of the sold out bout starring the two very
best featherweights of today. During the first round, Marco
Antonio Barrera, in front of 13,000+ anxious fans set the
precedent for most of what was to follow.
Eager to deliver the knockout he promised, Hamed's offerings
always fell short or were blocked and Barrera countered
with sharp, accurate left's to the head, several of which
buckled Hamed's knees. Hamed, frustrated by his inability
to hit Barrera, initiated a bit of rough stuff in the second
round and both hit the floor in an untidy tangle. It soon
became clear that Hamed had no answers for Barrera's tight
defense, flawless footwork and jolting counters. Things
got worse for Hamed as the fight matured. At the end of
the night, Marco Antonio Barrera obtained a well deserved
unanimous decision from the judges. He uncrowned the "Prince"
to become "King" of the featherweight division.
Marco was awarded the WBO's Super World Champion title.
