PACQUIAO DEFEATS BARRERA
WINS BY TKO 11

Round by Round Commentary - by Anne Vitello

ROUND 1
In the first moments Pacquiao hits the canvas after only a few punches are traded! I can't tell if that was really a punch. At any rate whatever it was it loosened up both fighters. Barrera takes the interesting tactic of being the initiator; Pacquiao adjusts, and finds a way to return to his preferred m.o. of going first by the time they enter the third minute of the round. Manny is reaching in with that left, with serious intention and solid results. It's Barrera who closes the round with a good downstairs-upstairs one-two.

ROUND 2
Pacquiao is intent, and coming straight in. Barrera is countering with plenty of confidence and keeping his jab working as a good defensive buffer. Pacman walks in, behind solid straight punches; Marco Antonio does a fine job of deflecting, for the most part. There are some Pacquiao lefts that find the mark. Barrera finds the right moment, and counters one assault with a flurry of power punches. With just over thirty seconds, Pacquiao knows that he has to steal back the round. He closes the round busy. Both men look determined, strong, and fit. This could be a barn-burner if/when a stunned Barrera starts to retaliate in kind.

ROUND 3
UH oh. Not that it's a surprise to see proof that Manny Pacquiao is dangerous: Down goes Barrera! It's a potent left, and it was surgically on the button. Barrera comes back, but Pacquiao is swarming relentlessly; he knows how to finish off after a knockdown, and he's going to make the rest of this round seem like an eternity for Barrera. With a heart of steel, Marco Antonio does survive: He's unable to do any damage in return, but he's not giving up. He doesn't look happy at the prospect of getting into a war tonight.

ROUND 4
Pacquiao's ranginess works to his advantage, as he pesters and pelts Barrera with those long straight punches to the face and head. When Marco Antonio counters, he does neutralize Pacman's main weapon. Barrera is smart enough to know that he should not go toe-to-toe with this guy. With significant swelling accumulating on his left eye, however, Barrera is not coming up with enough to balance out the onslaught that he has absorbed so far. Pacquiao peppers with little hooks whenever he's close enough, and just brings wave after wave of aggression. Can Barrera find a successful plan B (or C) and make up the difference?

ROUND 5
Pacquiao kicks off the action as usual. Manny is on his toes circling, Manny swoops in and always find the mark with those long, stinging punches, Manny is everywhere and turning this bout into a nightmare for Barrera. Marco Antonio just can't seem to tag him with enough counterpunches to make a difference. He is being made to look remarkably sluggish. He is obviously frustrated. And he's got a swollen eye. It's hard to beat the combination of factors that Manny has going in his favor. A win tonight would be phenomenal for Pacquiao, and he can taste it already.

ROUND 6
In addition to the long punches, Manny is more confident up close, and connecting with hooks to the body, with almost anything he wants to! The Barrera we know and love sometimes comes to the surface: At one point he seems to have hurt Pacquiao, and he does follow up diligently. But it looks like there is a darn good reason that Pacquiao is such a sensation in the Philippines. He just does. Non-stop. At one point Barrera goes down; this debatable knockdown seems to be the result of an accumulation of body shots. Close round, but somehow it cost Barrera more than it did Pacquaio.

ROUND 7
Pacquiao plows forward, Pacquiao connects with numerous punches, Barrera copes to the best of his ability. It's no fun to see a wilted Barrera, but it's the reality of the fight game and it's really quite a fiery introduction of a new player. OUCH. An accidental head-butt opens a small but free-flowing cut on Barrera's already swollen left eyelid. Marco Antonio looks like he's wishing for a DQ tonight, and a chance to fight again another day - any day other than today. He then digs deep, and goes after Manny. Pacquiao, as he did earlier in the fight, opens his arms wide in a cavalier display of confidence. Fed up, Marco Antonio intentionally butts the unstoppable Pacquiao. Rough night.

ROUND 8
Just out of curiosity, do a couple of steel plates work to Barrera's advantage or disadvantage in the event of yet another head butt? Now it's OK-corral time. Marco Antonio swings for the moon every time Pacquiao charges in. It's a Hail Mary tactician one of those sweeping uppercuts actually connect and take out Manny? Not if they are all in slo motion. He does land some stiff, isolated punches. Gotta give the champ credit for effort. But this is the toughest challenge Barrera has faced, perhaps ever. Manny Pacquiao has clearly staked a claim tonight. He's dangerous, and he's having fun.

ROUND 9
There are few moments of respite for Barrera. His only chance at winning this fight would be one big punch. And, historically, he has dominated by accumulation of punches, not with one big bomb. Sooo. Pacquiao has incredible speed, endurance, power; the whole package. A frustrated Barrera gets a point deducted for head butting. Usually a poker-faced professional, Marco Antonio is visibly discouraged tonight. His face is swollen and bleeding. He doesn't know how to quit, but nor does he know how to beat this man.

ROUND 10
Barrera is playing it safe, and Pacquiao is still reaching with those long punches, if not with the absolute ferocity of the first two thirds of the fight. Barrera moves evasively and keeps his back off the ropes. Pacquiao follows, always on the hunt (in any other fight, I would caution that following a boxer around will lead you into trouble. But it doesn't seem possible for Barrera to gain that kind of control tonight). Both fighters are subdued a bit in this round. The very final moments see some flashes of power: In close trading, the damage is fairly even with Manny initiating and Marco Antonio taking punches in order to give them. In general this fight has taken quite a toll on him.

ROUND 11
Part of the greatne

ss of an athlete like Barrera is his ability to never give up. But sometimes, discretion really is the better part of valor. This round sees the fight deteriorating to a lop-sided beating. Barrera is just not going to come up with it, and it seems pointless for him to ride it out. Wisely and lovingly, his corner agrees. The great Marco Antonio Barrera is pulled out of the fight. Manny Pacquiao looks elated and ready for eleven more rounds as he climbs the ropes in anticipation of this tremendous victory. There's a new warrior on the battlefield, and he is positively devastating.

POST-FIGHT COMMENTS:
Was it like fighting the 24 year old version of himself? Larry Merchant presented the interesting and apt comparison to the beaten champion. Marco made no excuses, but added that it wasn't just Pacquiao's stunning abilities; it was his own compromised performance that made it impossible to come up with a win tonight. "Tonight wasn't my night." Referring to the issue of his brain surgery and changes in management, he attributed at least some of this devastating loss to outside influences: "There was a lot of distractions, examinations, breaking up the camp." It can bring a touch of sadness, seeing one of the greats grappling with abject defeat. But Barrera was as authentic and understated as ever. He gave plenty of credit to Pacquiao, even as he reiterated that he was far from at his best this evening: "I couldn't see a lot of things, I wasn't really concentrating, I wasn't feeling myself."

Hedging on the question of a rematch (as anybody with an ounce of sense would), Barrera said that he would have to check it over with his promoter. Clearly, he will need some time to absorb the reality of tonight, and move on from there. "I feel real disappointed." Personally I wonder if this may have been one of those fights that leaves a permanent mark. Never was Barrera dominated like this.

As for the little dominator:
In his rudimentary but earnest English, Manny Pacquiao blurted optimistic and respectful comments about the evening. Stating that he "always keep in my head" the vision of victory over Barrera, he seemed to note that when Marco survived the third round, he knew it would be a long night. Not surprisingly, Pacquiao expressed absolute eagerness to rematch Barrera, and to take any and all comers. Tonight was beyond big for this little dynamo of a champion. Stepping up a few pounds took away not a whit of his speed and power. And after an introduction like this, we can only wonder who has the guts to step up and take him on. When a fighter like this comes along with such an astounding breakthrough performance, it is a true pleasure to be surprised and awestruck: Pugilistic evolution - or at least natural selection - took place at the Alamodome tonight.