"Hamed will not know what he is fighting," Barrera said. "How could he know? He has fought some good champions, but not at their prime, not like me. He will find out that he is fighting a man who is willing to go the distance, at the same pace and with the same pressure as in the first round. This will be something new for him, but I have been over this ground before."
Barrera plans to put pressure on Hamed
He says his experience will make all the difference in Saturday's featherweight bout.
April 6, 2001
By CARLOS ARIAS
The Orange County Register
The fight is billed as "Playing with Fire."
It is a perfect title for the Marco Antonio Barrera-"Prince" Naseem Hamed featherweight fight Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
But the question remains: Who is playing with fire, Barrera or Hamed?
Barrera (52-3, 38 KOs) faces one of the most unorthodox punching machines to come along in the past decade. Hamed can launch his punches from any angle, even if he is off-balance, with the same devastating effects.
Hamed (35-0, 31 KOs) faces a relentless offensive fighter who can throw the same punishing combinations from the first round to the final bell.
"I am fighting the best fighter pound-for-pound," Barrera said.
"I am ready to win this fight.
"I still don't think Hamed has fought anyone of my quality, but I have to say he is a great champion of great gifts, and there is all that power."
Barrera said his fight plan is simple.
"I will put pressure on him from the first bell," said Barrera, a two-time WBO super-bantamweight champion. "I will go for a knockout from the first punch and I will raise the Mexican flag."
Many have tried to slug with Hamed and most of the time they ended up unconscious. Wayne McCullough, who lost to Hamed three years ago, offered some advice to Barrera earlier this week.
"Be careful, when he hits you, a shiver will go right down your spine," McCullough warned.
Barrera said it will be different for him.
"Hamed will not know what he is fighting," Barrera said. "How could he know? He has fought some good champions, but not at their prime, not like me.
"He will find out that he is fighting a man who is willing to go the distance, at the same pace and with the same pressure as in the first round. This will be something new for him, but I have been over this ground before."
Barrera has been in wars in the past.
His first memorable battle came when he knocked out Kennedy McKinney in the 12th round on Feb. 3, 1996, at the Great Western Forum. Barrera dominated the action-packed fight, scoring five knockdowns and tasting the canvas once himself before finishing off McKinney in the final round.
Barrera's most recent war was Feb. 19, 2000, when he lost a disputed decision to Erik Morales.
Barrera appeared to win the nonstop slugfest, which was selected the 2000 fight of the year by most ringside observers, but the judges gave Morales a split decision.
"Erik Morales got the decision, but everyone knows I won," Barrera said.
Barrera said he believes the experience he gained in his victories and in his two losses to Junior Jones will give him the edge against Hamed.
"I don't care if I take punches," Barrera said. "I'm not worried about that.
"I have been in wars before. I am still the same, nothing different.
"I wanted this fight badly five or six years ago, but maybe it is good that it is coming now. I have learned a lot in the last few years. Losing to Junior Jones made me think a lot about what I was doing, how I was fighting. I'm more mature now, mentally and physically, and I have a better idea of what I have to do to beat this man."
Barrera, of Mexico City, is already a crowd favorite and a hero in Mexico, but a victory would give him legendary status.
"As a Mexican, I take great pride in the achievements of men like (Julio Cesar) Chavez and (Salvador) Sanchez," Barrera said. "I didn't see Sanchez fight in the flesh but I know what he meant to my country.
"If I beat Hamed I will not say I deserve the right to be ranked with Chavez and Sanchez, but I can say I have added to the honor of Mexican fighters. I can say that I was a great champion who beat a very powerful man."
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