No Polemical Decisions

By Bart Barry

When someone asks Marco Antonio Barrera why he agreed to an immediate rematch with Rocky Juarez, Barrera answers, “No me gustan las decisiones polémicas.” That is, polemical decisions do not please him. In Spanish, as in English, a person could more easily call Barrera’s last victory “controversial” or “disputed”; most interpreters, in fact, opt for “controversial” even as Barrera does not.

It is a tiny point, but one worth exploring. In an interview of any kind, Marco Antonio Barrera is careful in his choice of words. He doesn’t hustle through cliché-riddled speeches. He speaks Spanish like a college professor more than an athlete. His voice is soft but firm. There is no faux eloquence. Marco Antonio Barrera does not strain for words.

But this is boxing! What does eloquence have to do with anything? The precise, quick, and relaxed way Mr. Barrera handles interviewers is much like the precise, quick, and relaxed way he handles opponents. And here are three more reasons why Mr. Barrera is a good subject this week.

First, Marco Antonio Barrera is Mexico’s most-accomplished active fighter, and this Saturday is Mexican Independence Day. Second, to celebrate El 16 de Septiembre, Marco Antonio Barrera will headline what should be the year’s finest pay-per-view card, top to bottom, when he makes a rematch with Rocky Juarez. And third, future opportunities to celebrate Marco Antonio Barrera may be few.

A short while after his last bout, in May, Mr. Barrera said he’d fight six more times. But recently he said 2007 will be his last year. The timeline contracts quickly. Something could go badly in Saturday’s rematch with Juarez or a future rematch with Manny Pacquiao. Mr. Barrera might soon retire. To be safe, let’s honor him now. And if I’m a bit early, so what? Marco Antonio Barrera is a person about whom it will always be a joy to write.

Before our celebration really gets going, though, there’s this to disclose: I picked Rocky Juarez to beat Barrera in their May fight, and then I scored that fight 115-114 for Juarez. Of the three ringside judges, only one agreed with me. The official decision was announced as a draw then later changed to a split decision for Barrera.

Youth and power and strength seem to favor Rocky Juarez in this Saturday’s rematch. But youth and power and strength also favored Erik Morales six years ago, and Naseem Hamed five years ago. Against Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera used no defense whatsoever and lost something of a, well, polemical decision. Thirteen months later, Barrera entered MGM Grand as the hand-picked opponent with which Naseem Hamed would launch his pay-per-view franchise. Barrera then embarrassed “The Prince” into pseudo-retirement, by employing flawless defense.

That night, Marco Antonio Barrera emerged from beneath the long shadow Julio Cesar Chavez casts over every Mexican pugilist. Barrera proved himself more than a brawler and left-hook-to-the-body specialist; he proved himself a remarkable thinker and strategist. Since then, the only blemish on Barrera’s record is a brutal knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao – in a fight that saw the Filipino overwhelm Barrera with speed and power.

If there is a blueprint for how to defeat Marco Antonio Barrera, then, it demands relentlessness. Chances are, Rocky Juarez learned this sometime after the sixth round of his first fight with Barrera. When Juarez tried to box or counterpunch, he lost rounds. But when Juarez walked forward and threw heavy punches, he stunned Barrera.

Smart as he is, Marco Antonio Barrera can be goaded into wild exchanges when he’s hurt. If Juarez fights the first six rounds of the rematch the way he fought the last six rounds of the first match, he could well stop Barrera in the late rounds. Barrera knows this better than anyone. The outcome of Saturday’s fight, then, will come to the following question: How able is Rocky Juarez to avoid, or walk through, what traps Barrera sets for him?

Rocky Juarez is a young, hungry fighter whom Marco Antonio Barrera respects. So said Mr. Barrera himself, some months ago in Tucson. That night he was in Arizona for a Golden Boy Promotions card at Desert Diamond Casino. He conducted a small press conference at ringside while appeasing autograph seekers and sidestepping ringcard girls.

Mr. Barrera praised Juarez. He conceded that his own preparation for their first fight, while fine, was not specific to Juarez’s arsenal. He reminded us that Jesus Chavez, not Rocky Juarez, was his originally scheduled opponent.

Trouble was, Marco Antonio Barrera also anticipated every question before it was asked. His intelligence was such that he’d scripted his answers, edited them, and queued them up even while their questions still formed in others’ mouths. It was a worthwhile exercise, then, to ask Mr. Barrera something he didn’t anticipate:

“Last month, our governor declared May 31st ‘Michael Carbajal Day.’ Many of the tributes treated Humberto ‘Chiquita’ Gonzalez and the friendship he and Michael Carbajal now share. They just went in the Hall of Fame together, proudly. What possibility is there that you and Erik Morales will, someday, share the same type of friendship?”

For an instant Marco Antonio Barrera’s face was not placid. There was a twitch. And then Mr. Barrera nodded and answered, “For our part, there is nothing against Morales. I have always said that he is a great champion. It does not displease me that we are mentioned together.”

The inquiry stopped there. Had the question been repeated in numerous ways, had an effort been made to excavate what animosity exists between the two men, in other words, might Marco Antonio Barrera have lost his patience and made a mistake? Perhaps. He can be overwhelmed, after all. But in his interviews, as in his fights, one thing Marco Antonio Barrera cannot be is outsmarted.