Marco Antonio Barrera

Did You Know?

• As an amateur, Barrera had a record of 104–4 and was a five-time Mexican national champion.
• Before losing his first amateur contest, Barrera had an undefeated record of 56–0.

Professional career

Barrera made his professional debut at 15 when he defeated David Felix by a knockout in round two on November 22, 1989. The victory marked the beginning of a 43 fight win streak. In 1990, he defeated veteran Iván Salazar by a decision in eight rounds. In 1991, he defeated boxers Abel Hinojosa and Javier Díaz.

Barrera began 1992 by winning his first professional title, defeating Justino Suárez by a decision in twelve rounds to win the Mexican super flyweight championship. He retained the title three times before the end of the year. He defeated Abner Barajas by a decision in ten rounds, and Angel Rosario by a knockout in six rounds. In 1993, Barrera had six bouts, winning each.

He defeated Salazar in a rematch and retained his title against Noe Santillana. By 1994, Barrera was attending university to become a lawyer and also continued his boxing career. On April 13, he defeated future champion Carlos Salazar by a ten-round decision in Argentina. He also defeated former world champion Eddie Cook before the end of the year.

On March 31, 1995, he became the WBO super bantamweight champion by defeating Puerto Rican boxer Daniel Cobrita Jiménez by a decision in twelve rounds at Anaheim, California. He made four defenses before the year was over. On June 2, 1995, he defeated future champion Frank Toledo via second round knock out. On July 15, 1995, Barrera scored a first-round knockout win over Maui Díaz (27–1).

In his next bout, he won a twelve-round unanimous decision over future champion Agapito Sánchez. On February 6, 1996, he fought on the first installment of HBO Boxing's spin-off series 'HBO Boxing After Dark.' In one of the fights of the year, Barrera stopped Kennedy McKinney in 12 rounds, knocking him down five times whilst suffering one knockdown himself. After the McKinney fight, he defeated former WBO champion Jesse Benavides by third-round knockout.

On July 14, 1996, he defeated another former champion, Orlando Fernandez, by seventh-round TKO. On November 22, 1996, he suffered his first career loss and lost his title to American boxer Junior Jones, by a disqualification in round five. On April 18, 1997, he faced Jones in a rematch in Las Vegas and was defeated by a unanimous decision. Barrera announced a comeback in 1998.

On October 31, he became a two-time world super bantamweight champion by defeating Richie Wenton by a knockout in three rounds, winning the WBO's vacant title. In 1999, he had two title defenses. On December 18, he defeated César Najera in four rounds at California, but the California State Athletic Commission decided to rule the fight a no contest bout. In February 2000, Barrera was defeated by the WBC super bantamweight title holder Erik Morales by a controversial 12 round split decision.

The Ring named it the fight of the year. After the bout, the WBO reinstated Barrera as their champion and he defended the title three additional times. On June 17, 2000, he defeated Luiz Freitas (19–1–0) by first-round knockout. In his next bout, he defeated José Luis Valbuena (18–1–1) by twelve round unanimous decision.

On December 1, 2000, he scored a sixth-round knockout over former world champion Jesús Salud. In 2001, Barrera moved up in weight division. On April 7, he handed British boxer Naseem Hamed his first and only loss for the lineal featherweight championship by a twelve-round decision. Barrera was awarded the victory via a unanimous decision, with the scorecards reading 115–112, 115–112, 116–111 and won the lineal and IBO featherweight titles.

On September 8, 2001, he defeated former champion Enrique Sánchez by sixth-round TKO. On June 22, 2002, Barrera defeated Morales in a rematch via a unanimous decision, successfully defending his lineal title and winning the vacant Ring magazine title. On November 2, he defeated former five-time world champion Johnny Tapia by a 12-round unanimous decision. Barrera then competed in his 60th career fight on 12 April 2003, defeating former WBC title holder Kevin Kelley by knockout in round four.

On November 16, 2003, Barrera was defeated by Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao in the eleventh round when Barerra's corner threw in the towel. On June 19, 2004, Barrera defeated former WBA bantamweight title holder Paulie Ayala in Los Angeles by a tenth-round knockout. On November 27, 2004, Barrera fought Morales for the third time and became a three-division world champion by defeating Morales in a majority decision to capture the WBC super featherweight title.

On April 9, 2005, Barrera retained the title with a second-round knockout against future champion Mzonke Fana in El Paso, Texas, this win also marked Barrera's 60th career win. On September 17 of the same year, he unified his WBC super featherweight title with the IBF title by defeating the IBF title holder Robbie Peden by a twelve-round unanimous decision in Las Vegas. On May 20, 2006, Barrera defended his title against American boxer Rocky Juárez with what was announced immediately after the fight as a twelve-round draw, but tabulation errors were found in the judges' scorecards, leading to a split decision in favor of Barerra.

He fought Juárez in a rematch bout on September 16, this time Barrera won by a unanimous decision with scores of (117–111, 115–113, 115–113). On March 17, 2007, Barrera lost his WBC super featherweight title to fellow Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Márquez by unanimous decision. Barrera fought Pacquiao in a rematch bout for the WBC International super featherweight title on October 6, 2007, in Las Vegas. Barrera was defeated by a unanimous decision with scores of 118–109, 118–109, 115–112.

Outside boxing

Barrera's fights were promoted by Oscar De La Hoya under Golden Boy Promotions, and he trained at De La Hoya's facility in Big Bear, California. Since January 2009 he has been a commentator for ESPN Deportes' weekly boxing show Golpe a Golpe, co-hosted with Jorge Eduardo Sanchez. Barrera is a natural left-handed boxer who fought in a conventional orthodox stance.