Marco Antonio Barrera on the art of running it back

PHOENIX – If anyone is qualified to speak of rematches, it’s the Mexican Hall of Famer Marco Antonio Barrera, who staged the glorious back-and-forth trilogy against once-bitter rival Erik Morales and a two-fight series he couldn’t solve against newly elected Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao.

Barrera spoke to BoxingScene on Thursday after attending the news conference for the Saturday ESPN card at Footprint Center here that pits Mexico’s WBO junior lightweight titleholder Emanuel Navarrete against two-division champion Oscar Valdez and a featherweight title rematch of the WBO title fight won narrowly by Rafael Espinoza over Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez one year ago.

Barrera rallied from a first-meeting loss to Morales in 2000 to claim victories in the next two bouts.

He says Valdez, 32-2 (24 KOs), and Ramirez, 14-2 (9 KOs), need to employ considerable adjustments in order to win.

“Try not to do the same fight, try to avoid the same plan,” Barrera advised. “Try and change about 40 per cent of your style because your rival has already studied you. He’s already figured you out.”

That can be easier said than done since we’re talking about boxers, sportsmen who ooze machismo, fierce pride and hellish stubbornness to make their bouts a test of manhood.

Valdez was dominated in his August 2023 loss to Navarrete. Ramirez’s loss was clinched by a tight margin when he was knocked down by Espinoza in the 12th round of their title bout in Florida.

There might be an inherent persistence in a bout like Ramirez’s to say, “If I had it to do over again, I’d do it the same way.”

Barrera agrees: “Ninety percent, we can’t change. There is a stubbornness, our cajones. When you’re in the ring and the bell rings, you’re just a fighter.”

At 33, with a distinguished amateur career that included two Olympic appearances for Mexico in addition to the 221 professional rounds he has compiled, Valdez is capable of employing a more thoughtful, revised fight plan as he confronts a titleholder shaken by his unimpressive bid for a fourth belt while losing to Ukraine’s Denys Berinchyk on May 18 in San Diego.

Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum called Navarrete, 38-2-1 (31 KOs), “fat and sloppy” in that defeat.

“His best weight is 130,” Arum said. “It’s going to be a great fight. I can’t wait to see it because Valdez is a favorite of mine.”

Navarrete spoke behind sunglasses at the news conference, and veteran observers are interested how he’ll fare at Friday’s weigh-in.

“Everything has gone well in camp,” Navarrete assured at Thursday’s news conference. “We had to make some changes, mostly because my body is not the same as it was. But everything else is good. As soon as I get to the fight location, the switch is on. There will be no excuses. I’m here because I want to be.

“We all have worked and we have planned to put on a war together again. I can’t say much more, I know it will be epic.”

Barrera said while the first bout was “one-sided,” he expects Valdez to produce a compelling showing.

“For Valdez to win, he has to bring three strategies: He has to change his style throughout the fight to win,” Barrera said. “The advantage that Valdez has is that Navarrete has a problem making weight.

“Valdez is an intelligent person, a two-time Olympian. So if I was his trainer, I would plant that chip in his head: ‘Fight like you did as an Olympic fighter.’”

Barrera refused to predict a winner of Navarrete-Valdez II, but he chose allegiance to his nation by selecting Espinoza over Ramirez. He has personally watched Espinoza’s development since the latter’s mid-teens.

Should Espinoza win, Barrera is enthused by the possibility of his countryman earning a title defense in 2025 against undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue of Japan.

“I would love to see it. Not only would it be a competitive fight for the fans and successful financially, it’d be an explosive fight – a big deal,” Barrera said. 

“Mexicans always dream that we can. It’s a tall hill to climb, but we’ve shown as Mexican boxers that anything can happen.”