411’s Prizefight Preview 03.13.09: Khan vs. Barrera
Posted by Matt Knowles on 03.13.2009
The lightweight star of the future meets the featherweight star of the past, this Saturday on pay-per-view!
Welcome back to the Prizefight Preview!
This Saturday night, the boxing world will be given an intriguing match-up that should answer a number of questions about each participating fighter. In the main event, lightweight prospect Amir Khan takes the biggest risk of his career as he steps into the ring to compete with multi-division former champion Marco Antonio Barrera. The bout is being held at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England, and is available in the US via pay-per-view.
For Amir Khan (19-1, 15 KO's), this Saturday night will be a golden opportunity to show the world what he's really made of. For the past few years, he has been one of the main hot-button topics of the Euro boxing scene, with his cover-boy looks and dynamite power. As he rose through the ranks, Khan fed on an assortment of overmatched opponents who posed little-to-no threat. As the wins piled up, his detractors clamored for Khan to step up his level of competition, while his supporters were simply thrilled to have a new star on the UK scene with the recent retirement of Joe Calzaghe.
The Khan express hit a major roadblock last year when he was matched up with fellow unbeaten prospect Breidis Prescott. In that bout, Khan was caught cold in the first round and taken out in less than two minutes. The nay-sayers and doubters were given a major chunk of evidence to support their claims, as the ever-so-aggressive sports media in Europe and beyond took it upon themselves to bury Khan and his career progress to that point.
To Amir Khan's credit, he didn't run from the scrutiny or make zany excuses for his performance that night. He took the loss in stride, and has now begun the process of rebuilding his reputation and career. In boxing, you are always one punch away from fame and/or infamy, and when he steps back into the ring this Saturday, Khan will have the golden opportunity to silence the critics and recapture the hearts of his fans by taking on the most credible opponent of his young career.
The credible opponent in this scenario is the one-and-only Marco Antonio Barrera (65-6, 43 KO's). For the past 15 years, Barrera has competed at the highest level of the lower weight classes. His hit-list is a who's-who of the great champions of this era, including Morales, Tapia, Hamed, Juarez, and McKinney. His losses to the likes of Pacquiao, Jones, and Marquez were in highly-competitive super-fights. As a guaranteed first-ballot hall-of-famer, Barrera's legacy is already etched in stone, regardless of what takes place this weekend in England.
The fact of the matter is, however, that Barrera will be putting his name and legacy on the marquee for at least one final event. And, sadly, in this feeble world of sports that we reside in, an athlete is only as good as their last performance. For this reason, Barrera will have to summon all of his remaining will and skill in order to compete with Khan and remain at the pinnacle of boxing. Barrera has been in this spot before, specifically in his 3rd bout with arch-rival Erik Morales, where Barrera turned back the clock and put forth an awesome effort to claim his 3rd world championship. The question remains, however: does Marco have one great fight left in him?
This, of course, is impossible to predict until the opening bell rings. On that same note, this bout is one of the more unpredictable match-ups in recent time. You could make an argument that, because of the infinite question marks surrounding each man, this fight can end in any conceivable fashion; either man could take a points decision, either man could win by KO, and a draw is not out of the question either.
When I try to dissect this match-up, I'm constantly left with more questions than answers. Saturday night will mark Barrera's 1st major outing at the 135-pound limit. Will the extra weight be a benefit to his energy and conditioning, or will the size differential be too much to overcome? On the other side of the token, how will Khan react to sharing the ring with a bonafide superstar? Will he excel under the pressure, or fold like an accordion?
Questions, questions…and more questions! One thing's for sure: we'll get an answer this Saturday night. Until then…
