Mexican boxing legend Marco Antonio Barrera has revealed the man he believes to be the greatest boxer of all time.
Barrera ruled at super-bantamweight, featherweight and super-featherweight during a 75-fight professional career, with his trilogy against Erik Morales forever etched into the history books as one of the sport’s greatest rivalries.
As well as his two triumphs over ‘El Terrible’, Barrera also boasts wins over the likes of ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed – the only man to do so – and Kevin Kelley, with his seven career defeats coming only at the hands of elite operators.
Two of those losses came against boxing’s only eight-division conqueror, Manny Pacquiao, and when discussing the Filipino icon’s rumoured rematch against Floyd Mayweather, ‘The Baby Faced Assassin’ told ES News that he believes Pacquiao to be the greatest of all time, due to the names he faced.
“Manny was looking good in the last fight [against Mario Barrios]. Even now that he is 47 years old, Manny Pacquiao is bigger [than today’s stars], he can do whatever he wants, he is a legend.
“I think so, he is the best. The best because of the names that he fought, big, big names; [Oscar] De La Hoya, [Miguel] Cotto…”
Barrera lost to Pacquiao via round 11 stoppage as a featherweight back in 2003, before losing a unanimous decision as a super-featherweight in their rematch four years later.
Pacquiao is expected to rematch Mayweather later this year, following a turbulent few weeks when it was unclear if the bout would be a fully sanctioned professional encounter or an exhibition affair.
Though most hardcore fans recognise it as more of a spectacle given the age of the two icons, if Mayweather does put his famous 50-0 record on the line, ‘PacMan’ has the chance to add to his legacy further by becoming the only man to beat the previously unbeatable American.
