Can Humberto Soto Knock Out Marco Antonio Barrera?
Although the fight hasn’t been officially announced, all signs point to Humberto Soto defending his WBC lightweight title against Marco Antonio Barrera this September in Mexico City. Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters, has recently said that both fighters have wanted a match for some time and that the bout is lining up to be a classic.
On the surface, the match-up between the two Mexican fighters looks intriguing. Soto (52-7-2, 32 KOs) first came to prominence when he upset Rocky Juarez on short notice five years ago and is today considered to be one of the top lightweights in the world since moving up from super featherweight. Meanwhile, Barrera (66-7, 43 KOs) is a future Hall of Famer who has fought some of the most memorable battles in recent boxing history including a legendary trilogy against Erik Morales and two tough battles with Manny Pacquiao.
Not quite close to a classic
However, the idea that a fight between Soto and Barrera would definitely be a “classic” might be more fiction than reality. Soto has only lost once in his last 10 fights and that was a controversial disqualification against Francisco Lorenzo in June 2008 that he avenged six months later. Soto has won both of his bouts since moving up to lightweight including winning the WBC title from David Diaz with a unanimous decision in March. There’s little doubt that Soto is at the top of his game.
The same cannot be said for Barrera. His 10-round unanimous decision victory over Adailton De Jesus on June 26 was his first bout after a 15-month layoff and it was hardly vintage Barrera. De Jesus seemed hesitant to mix it up against Barrera and was content to stay out of Barrera’s range and avoid trouble. Barrera stalked De Jesus but threw few punches (although he was more active than De Jesus). Barrera did enough to win the fight comfortably, but De Jesus was the type of fighter that Barrera would have easily disposed of just a few years earlier.
On a slide
The bout against De Jesus was a comeback fight for Barrera after his loss to Amir Khan in March 2009. The fight was halted in the fifth round after the ringside physician ruled that a cut suffered by Barrera during an accidental clash of heads in the first round made it impossible to continue. Barrera and his then-manager Don King filled an unsuccessful protest to have the bout changed to a no-contest, but it’s doubtful that Barrera would have had much luck against the bigger and much younger Khan even if the cut had never happened.
The loss against Khan was the third in five fights for Barrera. At 36, it’s hard to imagine that Barrera has much left in the tank. It seems almost certain that Soto should be able to do what it takes to win the bout against Barrera. The only realistic question left is whether or not Soto can knock Barrera out.
Soto was known as one of the biggest punchers in the super featherweight division, stopping people like Bobby Pacquiao and Ivan Valle. However, there are some questions about whether his punch has carried with him in his move to lightweight. His last three victories (including a bout at junior welterweight) have all been via unanimous decision after stopping his last three opponents at super featherweight.
Soto has the boxing ability and skills to easily handle Barrera so there might not be a lot of reasons for him to be too aggressive in going for a knockout. Barrera’s still a tough customer whose only knockout defeat came against Manny Pacquiao. It’s likely that the fight will go the distance, although the frequent cuts that Barrera has experienced in his career could become a factor.
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