Originally Published: October 8, 2007
Scorecard: Pacquiao sends Barrera into retirement
While it may not have been quite as impressive as he had hoped for, Manny Pacquiao reaffirmed his superiority over Marco Antonio Barrera -- and his place among the sport's elite -- with a lopsided 12 round victory on Saturday.
A roundup of last week's notable boxing results from around the world:
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Manny Pacquiao W12 Marco Antonio Barrera Scores: 118-109 (twice), 115-112 |
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Records: Pacquiao, 45-3-2, 34 KOs; Barrera, 63-6, 42 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Saying ahead of time that this could be his final fight, Barrera was seeking revenge for an 11th-round TKO loss to Pacquiao in a 2003 featherweight championship bout that Pacquiao thoroughly dominated. That win launched Pacquiao, the Philippines' national treasure, to stardom and Barrera has wanted a rematch since. He won six straight after the loss, including winning the junior lightweight title, before losing it to Juan Manuel Marquez in March. His desire for the rematch before retiring combined with the truce between promoters Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions made the fight possible. And the fight had its moments, but the action was a bit sporadic, mainly because Barrera, 33, didn't seem to want to engage. He didn't want to put himself in too much danger of being knocked out again. It's hard to blame him after all the brutal fights he's been in, but the enthusiastic crowd of 10,112 at Mandalay Bay seemed to be expecting a bit more action. Pacquiao, 28, a little less aggressive than usual, boxed well, picked his shots and basically outhustled and outworked the Mexican legend to notch another big win on his ever-growing resume. But it was not an overly impressive performance and reinforced that those folks who rank Pacquiao No. 1 on the pound-for-pound list are lying to themselves. Pacquiao is a terrific fighter and an exciting fighter, but to rank him ahead of Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a joke. It's simply ridiculous. Pacquiao should be No. 2 with a big gap between him and No. 1 "Pretty Boy." Still, Pacquiao will move on to yet another big fight. He's considering moving to lightweight, where discussions were already under way on Sunday about a possible challenge to titleholder David Diaz. Pacquiao also might opt to stay at 130 pounds, where there are numerous attractive matches, including a rematch with Marquez (they drew in a great fight in 2004), the winner of next month's Joan Guzman-Humberto Soto title bout or titlist Edwin Valero (Barrera's buddy). Barrera, meanwhile, announced his retirement after the fight. After an 18-year pro career in which he won world titles in three divisions (junior featherweight, featherweight and junior lightweight) and beat numerous top opponents, he leaves behind a legacy that won't be forgotten. In five years, he will be voted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. |
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Steven Luevano W12 Antonio Davis Retains a featherweight title Scores: 119-108 (twice), 118-109 |
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Records: Luevano, 34-1, 15 KOs; Davis, 24-4, 12 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Luevano was impressive in his first title defense against a difficult opponent. The baby-faced southpaw popped a strong jab, worked the body extremely well, opened a cut over Davis' left eye in the eighth round and dropped Davis in the ninth on his way to a lopsided decision. It was a nice encore for Luevano, 26, who dropped Nicky Cook five times to win a vacant belt on Cook's turf in England in July. If there is one criticism of Luevano -- and it's minor -- it is that instead of boxing Davis in the 12th round, it would have been nice to see him go for the knockout and make a statement with his man so badly hurt. Luevano figures to become a staple of Top Rank's big pay-per-view cards. Although the featherweight division isn't as deep as it used to be, there are still interesting fights for Luevano that are HBO or Showtime-worthy, namely Jorge Linares or the winner of next month's match between titlist Robert Guerrero and Martin Honorio, who handed Luevano his only pro loss. |
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Librado Andrade TKO7 Yusaf Mack |
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Records: Andrade, 26-1, 20 KOs; Mack, 23-2-2, 14 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In an unexpected undercard treat, Andrade rallied from a first-round knockdown and a three-point deficit on all three scorecards to score three knockdowns and the TKO win in the seventh round of an all-action fight. Seeing Andrade on the floor was a shock. Although Andrade has no notion of defense, he has displayed a superb chin, especially during a March challenge against titleholder Mikkel Kessler, an excellent puncher who clobbered him for the entire 12 rounds but could never even wobble him. Mack floored Andrade out of the gate with a left hook and did a good job of peppering him throughout the fight. But Andrade never stopped bulling forward and eventually caught up to a fading Mack, nailing him with body shots repeatedly in the seventh to end the fight. |
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Steve Forbes W10 Francisco Bojado Scores: 97-93, 96-94 Forbes, 96-94 Bojado |
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Records: Forbes, 33-5, 9 KOs; Bojado, 18-3, 12 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Last time out, Forbes was robbed, plain and simple. The Vegas judges gave Demetrius Hopkins a gift against Forbes in March in a fight Forbes, 30, dominated. He didn't dominate Bojado, 24, but he did enough this time to impress two of the judges and earn a split decision in a highly entertaining fight. Forbes, a former 130-pound titlist, is best known for a second-place finish in last season's run of "The Contender." The judges who went with Forbes probably were swayed by his activity. He threw many more punches than Bojado even though Bojado was clearly the heavier hitter. Forbes set himself up for a possible title shot. There were rumblings right after the fight that "The Contender" folks already have been in touch with the handlers of titlist Junior Witter of England for a fight early next year. As for Bojado, what a disappointment. He was the best prospect in boxing after turning pro following a stint on the 2000 Mexican Olympic team and seemed on his way to stardom. But his lack of motivation and dedication has been a career killer. Even when given a chance to change his ways after signing with Golden Boy following a long layoff, he's been disappointing. The dedication and professionalism just isn't there. Even when faced with such an important fight against Forbes, he came in three pounds over the 142-pound contract limit. He dropped one pound and simply paid Forbes an extra $5,000 to go through with the fight. |
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Vicente Escobedo W8 Miguel Angel Munguia Scores: 80-72, 78-74 (twice) |
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Records: Escobedo, 15-1, 11 KOs; Munguia, 15-9-1, 13 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Escobedo, 25, signed with Golden Boy with great fanfare after representing the United States at the 2004 Olympics, but it seems as though he is regressing. Although he's now won six in a row since a split-decision loss to Daniel Jimenez in April 2006, there's something missing. Sure, Escobedo handled Manguia, who dropped his seventh in a row, but he just doesn't seem to be getting any better. |
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Samuel Peter W12 Jameel McCline Retains an interim heavyweight title Scores: 115-110, 115-111, 113-112 |
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Records:Peter, 29-1, 22 KOs; McCline, 38-8-3, 23 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: So much for Peter's supposed iron chin. McCline, by no means a big puncher, dropped the "Nigerian Nightmare" three times -- once in the second and twice more in the third -- but shamefully couldn't finish him off. Peter was able to get himself together and dominate the second half of the fight to pull out the deserved decision against an opponent who took the fight on 10 days' notice when titleholder Oleg Maskaev bailed because of a back injury. McCline, dogged by allegations that surfaced in a New York Daily News report the day before the fight that he received $12,000 worth of steroids over the past couple of years, should kick himself for the rest of his life for being unable to close the deal. Coming off a knee injury in a January title fight loss to Nikolai Valuev, McCline had Peter badly hurt multiple times and let him survive. Disappointment has been the name of McCline's career as he flunked his fourth title fight. How many more chances can he expect? Peter, meanwhile, showed a lot of courage and determination to hang in there and eventually win, but his performance has to be seen as somewhat of a disappointment. If Maskaev is ever healthy, he figures to be next for Peter. After seeing the softness of Peter's chin in this fight, you have to think Maskaev's chances to win just went up exponentially. |
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Daniel Santos TKO8 Jose Antonio Rivera Title Eliminator |
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Records:Santos, 31-3-1, 22 KOs; Rivera, 38-6-1, 24 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Welcome back, Daniel Santos. The former welterweight and junior middleweight titlist from Puerto Rico returned from a 15-month layoff to outgun Rivera to become the mandatory challenger for titleholder Joachim Alcine. It was Santos' first real fight since losing his belt to Sergei Dzindziruk in December 2005 because the one fight the southpaw had after that was a horrific mismatch in July 2006 that lasted less than a round. From the outset, Santos, who turns 32 on Wednesday, took command against Rivera, also a former alphabet titleholder at welterweight and junior middleweight, before dropping him in the eighth round with a heavy onslaught. Although Rivera made it to his feet, he was in bad shape and his corner threw in the towel to send the bruised and bloodied Rivera, 34, into retirement. Rivera has lost three of four, but to good opponents -- Santos, Travis Simms and Luis Collazo. |
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Andrew Golota TKO6 Kevin McBride |
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Records: Golota, 40-6-1, 33 KOs; McBride, 34-6-1, 29 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Golota, 39, of Poland, the infamous low blow artist and four-time title challenger washout, just never goes away. Back again this time to face McBride, who sent Mike Tyson into retirement in 2005, Golota dominated the Irishman by opening a deep cut over McBride's left eye in the fifth round. Golota continued to pound on him until it was stopped with 18 seconds left in the next round. Promoter Don King had hoped to put Golota in the main event against Samuel Peter, but he was criticized for the possible match and rebuffed by Showtime. Now with an OK win to Golota's credit, don't be surprised if King finds a meaningful fight for him soon. We wish Golota would go away, but apparently he won't. It was Golota's second win in a row following a pathetic performance against Lamon Brewster in 2005 in which he was destroyed in 52 seconds. |
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Kali Meehan TKO6 DaVarryl Williamson |
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Records: Meehan, 33-3, 27 KOs; Williamson, 24-5, 20 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: The fight was put together at the last minute when Williamson's opponent, Jameel McCline, was bumped up to the main event when Oleg Maskaev injured his back. Meehan stepped in to face Williamson and, returning to the same ring where he was destroyed by Hasim Rahman in a November 2004 eliminator, knocked Williamson out with a crushing right hand on top of the head at the bell ending the sixth round. Williamson, who had been competitive with Meehan, was wobbly as he got up and the fight was called off after Williamson staggered back to his corner and plopped down on his stool. Australia's Meehan, 37, who came within a whisker of stopping Lamon Brewster for a title two months before the fight with Rahman, fought with a heavy heart, having lost his father-in-law the day before the fight. Williamson, who been knocked out in three of his losses, just does not have the ability to take a punch, and at 39 how many more chances does he get? |
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Bermane Stivern TKO1 Edward Gutierrez |
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Records: Stivern, 13-1, 13 KOs; Gutierrez, 15-5-1, 6 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Stivern was starting to get a some hype as a top-shelf heavyweight prospect when he was stunningly stopped by journeyman Demetrice King in the fourth round in July, opening Stivern's future to many questions. In his first fight since the loss, Stivern dropped Gutierrez three times for the quick knockout. It was the 10th first-round stoppage for Stivern, who wants a rematch with King. Gutierrez, 41, lost his fifth straight. |
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Amir Khan TKO4 Scott Lawton Retains Commonwealth lightweight title |
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Records: Khan, 14-0, 11 KOs; Lawton, 20-4-1, 4 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In July, Khan suffered the first knockdown of his career when Willie Limond dropped him in shocking fashion. Khan got up and eventually finished Limond off in the eighth round. Probably having learned his lesson, Khan's defense was improved and he was more polished in stopping Lawton in dominant fashion. The end came when Khan, the 2004 British Olympic silver medalist, poured on a dozen or so unanswered punches late in the fourth round. Promoter Frank Warren will bring Khan home to Bolton, England, for his next fight on Dec. 8, which just happens to be Khan's 21st birthday. Should be quite a scene for the rising star. |
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Yohnny Perez TKO4 Alexander Fedorov |
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Records: Perez, 14-0, 11 KOs; Fedorov,18-4-1, 10 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: As "ShoBox" main events go, this was pretty weak, although it was a late substitute bout when overrated Timothy Bradley ducked out on a fight with dangerous Randall Bailey in order to sit on his ridiculous No. 2 world ranking given to him by the WBC. Nonetheless, Perez, 28, dominated Fedorov, 30, who came all the way from Russia to get pounded on. It was Fedorov's first fight in 18 months. Perez, a four-time Colombian national amateur champ, won all three completed rounds on all three judges' scorecards before the fight was stopped 44 seconds into the fourth. |
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Mickey Bey Jr. TKO2 Castulo Gonzalez |
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Records: Bey Jr., 9-0, 6 KOs; Gonzalez, 9-4, 3 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Bey, 24, of Cleveland, is an interesting prospect who gained his first national TV exposure on "ShoBox" with this quick victory against Gonzalez. Bey, who scored two knockdowns in the second round before the fight was called off, made the 2004 U.S. Olympic team but didn't compete in Athens because he came down with pneumonia in training camp before the team left for Greece. Now that Bey is with promoter Gary Shaw, we ought to be seeing a lot more of him in 2008 on "ShoBox." |
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Michel Rosales TKO1 Americo Santos |
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Records: Rosales, 13-1, 11 KOs; Santos, 26-3-1, 22 KOs |
| Rafael's remark:In Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo" main event, Rosales dusted Santos in 94 seconds. Santos started aggressively, but Rosales quickly stunned Santos and smacked him around with a barrage of punches until referee Bobby Ferrara intervened, prompting Santos to complain about the stoppage. Rosales, 24, won his second in a row since suffering his only defeat. Santos, 24, was once considered a bright prospect, but has now dropped two of three. |
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Fernando Montiel TKO12 Luis Melendez Retains a junior bantamweight title |
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Records:Montiel, 35-2-1, 26 KOs; Melendez, 25-3-1, 20 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: What an unexpectedly exciting fight! Despite the fact that Montiel dominated on the scorecards -- leading 107-100 (twice) and 107-101 before the stoppage -- there was plenty of back-and-forth action in the Versus main event. Montiel, whose recent fights have been like watching paint dry until now, knocked Melendez to the canvas with a right to the head in the sixth round, but found himself down in the seventh. Finally, in the 12th round, Montiel, bleeding from a cut over his left eye and his right eye a swollen mess, hurt Melendez with a pair of rights and then floored him with body shot. Moments later, he landed two more punches and referee Kenny Bayless intervened to give Montiel his fifth successful defense. |
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Urbano Antillon KO2 Wilson Alcorro |
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Records: Antillon, 20-0, 13 KOs; Alcorro, 25-9, 17 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Several promoters were interested in signing Antillon, 25, a good prospect with an exciting style. He went with Top Rank and in his first fight since signing, opened the Versus telecast with a big knockout, dropping Alcorro for the count with a powerful right hand. Antillon is great fun to watch. |
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Vanes Martirosyan W6 Patrick Thompson Scores: 60-54 (three times) |
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Records: Martirosyan, 16-0, 11 KOs; Thompson, 11-10-1, 4 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Martirosyan, 21, just keeps racking up wins and gaining experience under the watchful eye of Top Rank, which knows how to build a star better than any promoter in history. Getting some rare TV time on the Versus telecast, the 2004 U.S. Olympian worked for the victory but swept all the rounds against Thompson, who dropped his fifth fight in his last six but is the best opponent of Martirosyan's career. |
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Andy Lee TKO1 James Morrow |
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Records: Lee, 12-0, 9 KOs; Morrow, 10-6-2, 5 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Lee, the 6-foot-2, 2004 Irish Olympian with loads of potential, gets better work sparring with Jermain Taylor and Kermit Cintron in trainer Emanuel Steward's camps than he does in meaningless fights like this. Lee, 23, dropped Morrow twice and it was over. Morrow lost for the fifth time in six fights. What Lee needs more than anything now is the stability of a top-notch promoter. He has too much talent and charisma to waste his time on cards against weak opposition. He's a blue-chip prospect who should be gaining exposure on "Friday Night Fights," "ShoBox" or big HBO PPV undercards. |
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Devin Vargas TKO4 Josh Gutcher |
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Records: Vargas, 13-0, 6 KOs; Gutcher, 18-7, 13 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In just his second fight of the year, Vargas, the 2004 U.S. Olympic team captain, dominated Gutcher until it was called midway through the fourth. Gutcher lost his fifth fight out of his last six. Although Vargas, 25, remains undefeated and was on the Olympic team, he is as obscure as most of his Olympic teammates, none of whom have broken out in the three years since the Athens Games. |
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
