Pacquiao bout winner to face Barrera for title

Marco Antonio Barrera must be smelling a Manny Pacquiao victory over Erik Morales later this month that this early, the reigning WBC champion has marked the date for his projected rematch with the Filipino ring gladiator.

Barrera, holder of the World Boxing Council 130 lbs. title, reportedly met with his brother Jorge and adviser Roberto Diaz the other day, and they have agreed that the awaited rematch with Pacquiao should come on March 11 next year.

Barrera lost to Pacquiao by way of an 11th round knockout when they first met on Nov. 16, 2003 in San Antonio, Texas. Almost written off after the loss, the Mexican assassin picked up the pieces, scoring a string of victories that gave him back the world crown.

Barrera has long waited or evaded a rematch with the punching machine from Mindanao. But the time has come and, granting that Pacquiao beats Morales on Nov. 18, in Las Vegas, the rematch is bound to happen early next year.

Jose Sulaiman, the WBC president, presided over the 44th annual convention of the boxing body in Croatia last Wednesday, and among the important matters discussed and decided were the mandatory title defenses in the different weight classes.

The WBC announced that the coming fight between Pacquiao and Morales, who are dead even at 1-1, will serve as the final eliminator to determine the official challenger for Barrera.

Pacquiao is currently the No. 1 contender, and Morales the No. 2. In case they both fail to accept the Barrera fight, it will be No. 3 Humberto Soto of Mexico who’ll be taking a shot at the world crown.

Barrera and Morales have already fought thrice, with the former sealing a 2-1 edge in the form of a 12-round decision on Nov. 27, 2004 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It was a classic series that many boxing fans had hoped would never end.

But the question is if Morales would still agree to fight Barrera at 130 lbs if the former three-time world champion gets by Pacquiao at the Thomas and Mack Center barely two weeks from now.

Barrera looks more interested in fighting Pacquiao that he has already mapped out his training schedule.

It should begin next month with long runs inside the forest of Jalisco, and by January he’d be moving to the Big Bear camp in California for a 45-day regimen.

While Pacquiao and Morales caught the fans glued on their rivalry, Barrera, the champion, was forced to take on lesser opponents, and in the process earning lesser than the two former champions. A fight with Pacquiao would land Barrera a huge paycheck.

Pacquiao and Morales will receive no less than $3 million each for their coming showdown dubbed "The Grand Finale."

Both Pacquiao and Barrera are now under Oscar dela Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, and it wouldn’t be hard to set up a rematch especially if the Filipino wins over Morales. The date, however, may be an issue since March 11 would be too close to Pacquiao’s coming fight.

A rematch between Pacquiao and Barrera will also open the doors to a possible third match in case the heads-on showdown is squared. If this happens, it could even be bigger than Pacquiao-Morales because in this showdown the world title will be at stake.