Enter the Maze of the Featherweights

by Andres Antonio Carriedo
10/21 - The buildup to Marco Antonio Barrera’s fight against Manny Pacquiao did not focus its attention upon the changing of the guard in the featherweight division. Instead, the talk leading up to that fight revolved mostly around the revelation that Barrera had fought roughly the previous six years with a small metal plate in his head.

However, Pacquiao’s dominant triumph over Barrera marked the tumultuous overthrow of the featherweight leadership. Now, boxing fans continue to attempt to decipher the aftermath of the storm Pacquiao unleashed on the great Barrera that night in November of 2003.

Scott Harrison, Rocky Juarez and Zahir Raheem have all shown promise, but each has also shown vulnerability.

In his only appearance since his victory over Barrera, Pacquiao only managed a draw in his title challenge against WBA and IBF featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez despite scoring three first round knockdowns in the fight. Erik Morales’ last three fights have taken place at the 130 lb. weight limit. He appears to have left featherweight and taken Barrera with him.

Former Morales foe, In Jin Chi proved his mettle by out slugging Michael Brodie over the course of 19 rounds in two fights for the WBC title. Joan Guzman and Oscar Larios appear to have set up shop on the division’s doorstep.

While the division remains very deep the residue of disarray continues to lie at the forefront. Marquez and Pacquiao have distanced themselves from the pack and their forthcoming rematch, rumored to be on tap for February 2005, will, at least for the time being, crown the true champion. However, the departure of Morales and Barrera creaked open the door just wide enough for a new cast of supporting players to step up to the plate and take a crack at division supremacy.

All the players in the division have something to prove. Even Pacquiao, who has arguably achieved the same level of stardom as Morales and Barrera, needs to win his rematch against Marquez in order to cement his assumed position of supremacy in the division; a position he assumed following his win over Barrera.

For Marquez, this rematch may be the last best chance he will get to move himself into boxing’s elite. Everyone else must work his way through the maze.

Larios has a scheduled fight with Nedal Hussein, whose only loss came at the hands of Pacquiao, on the undercard of Morales-Barrera 3.

In December, Juarez will fight former WBC champion and two time Morales adversary Guty Espadas Jr. with the winner securing a shot at Chi’s title this upcoming spring. Guzman appears to be knocking at Larios’ door while Harrison (scheduled to defend his WBO title against Samuel Kebede on 10/29) and Raheem, though on the periphery, cannot be counted out by any means. Also, don’t forget the ageless Manuel Medina. He continues to lurk.

Do not sleep on the featherweight division. The star power may have been drained quite a bit over the last year, but the division still remains incredibly talent laden. With the number of intriguing matchups already scheduled and the promise of even more to come, I expect this to be one of the three most exciting divisions over the course of the next 6 months, right alongside 115 and 140.

Erik Morales - Marco Barrera

Perhaps the two greatest sub lightweight fighters of the last decade will square off again this fall for the third time in their illustrious careers. The Atlantic Northeast can have their Yankees-Red Sox series. I will take this trilogy over any of the "wars" and "battles" those two teams have dished out any day of the week. This rivalry is every bit as intense, contentious and exhilarating plus it’s far more brutally beautiful.

In addition to the rivalry aspect, Morales-Barrera 3 continues to have major implications on the entire universe of weights around 130 lbs., especially featherweight. Don’t be surprised if these two still have the ability to dictate what happens at 126 even after their departure. Boxing’s month long dry period is nearing its end ladies and gentleman, prepare to enter the maze.

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Contact Andres at aac7@georgetown.edu


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