Barrera, Soto Sets Up All-Mexican Warfare, Winner Takes Morales, Marquez
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum has unveiled a potential super fight between fellow Mexicans Marco Antonio Barrera and WBC Lightweight champion Humberto Soto. Tentatively, the battle between the two Mexicans is pencilled at September.
According to Arum, the bout will be held in Mexico City, in front of thousands of the combatants’ countrymen.
While not exactly a big deal in the United States, the potential clash is a salivating prospect for hardcore boxing fans, and a huge, historic fight for the people of Mexico.
Barrera, a seven-time world champion in three different weight divisions, is on the comeback trail once again. After being dominated for 12 rounds in the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch, Barrera took on Sammy Ventura in a tune-up fight, before eventually facing the Brit upstart Amir Khan.
After losing via a technical decision to Khan, Barrera took a period of inactivity. Barrera then regrouped and fought Adailton De Jesus of Brazil last month. Marco Antonio Barrera was all over De Jesus for 10 rounds, winning by decision.
Barrera was spurred on to fight well past his prime because of his desire to become the first Mexican to win a world title in four different weight divisions.
His counterparts Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez, both in the twilight of their respective careers, are still in pursuit of the coveted title in a fourth weight class. Not even the great Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez has been able to accomplish the feat.
The legendary Barrera now has the perfect opportunity to do just that by dethroning Humberto Soto. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done, as Soto has been on the rise as of late.
The current WBC Lightweight champion is coming off a dominant title defense against Ricardo Dominguez last May. It was all Soto during the May 15 bout, with the Mexican getting 118-110 on two of the scorecards and 117-112 on the other.
Soto captured the vacant WBC Lightweight belt by beating previous Pacquiao foe David Diaz via unanimous decision. Soto dropped Diaz in the first and final rounds.
As revealed by Arum, both fighters are raring to have a piece of each other. And that can only mean a great fight between two proud Mexican warriors. “It’s definitely going to be Soto for Barrera and vice versa. Soto likes it. Barrera likes it,” said Arum. “They both like it, and so it’s going to be in September probably in Mexico City.”
This early, Arum has predicted that the fight between Barrera and Soto will be an intense one. The Harvard-schooled promoter is also confident that a large crowd of supporters will be on deck to show support for both fighters, especially for Barrera who is from Guadalajara but was born in Mexico City.
Meanwhile, Arum has indicated that the Soto supporters from Tijuana, Baja, California would not fail to see their idol Soto fight one of the biggest names in Mexican boxing.
Known for building huge promotions featuring the best Latino fighters, Arum is feeling upbeat about the fight. “Barrera against Soto is a great matchup,” said Arum. “They’ve been eyeing each other for a long, long time... so this one, it’s going to be a classic.”
Arum has been on quite a run this year, delivering a sell-out fight in Dallas between Manny Pacquiao and Ghana’s Joshua Clottey. The Top Rank CEO has also promised a megabuck fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather in November.
But first, the amiable boxing promoter has set his sights on an all-Mexican war between two of its proudest warriors: Barrera and Sotto.
With things looking vague about the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, it might be this all-Mexican warfare that captures the imagination of boxing fans in 2010.
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