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Columnist Dean Juipe on Boxing: Morales Fighting Mad at Barrera

This is a little different for Erik Morales.

In past visits to Las Vegas, while exhibiting a quiet and earnest confidence in himself, the rising star from Mexico has always kept his emotions beneath the surface. He would politely respond to questions without being overly demonstrative.

He remains low-key and in control.

Yet, perhaps for the first time in his still-young career, Morales has shown a militant side that coincidentally reflects his aggressive style in the ring. Facing the most important fight of his life, he's coming out with a chip on his shoulder.

"This is personal," he said of taking on countryman Marco Antonio Barrera. "This goes beyond boxing."

Morales, 35-0 with 28 knockouts and possessor of the World Boxing Council's super bantamweight championship, will take on Barrera, 49-2 with 36 KOs, Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The HBO-televised fight, which will be held in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,681, matches Mexico's top stars in what will almost certainly be a competitive brawl.

Morales, 23, is a minus 400 betting favorite in the Mandalay Bay sports book.

Barrera, who turns 26 today, is plus 300.

"Barrera's a good fighter but he has a lot of defects," Morales said before working out at the Top Rank gym, with Richie Sandoval serving as interpreter. "He closes his eyes and he doesn't have the confidence he had when he was a champion."

Barrera can argue that he is still a champion, if the lightly regarded World Boxing Organization belt counts. But what Morales was referring to was Barrera's status prior to consecutive losses to Junior Jones three years ago.

In the years that have followed, Barrera hasn't lost but hasn't had a fight of this magnitude either. A loss this week and he'll tumble farther down the totem pole.

"I'm actually going to try and get him out right from the get-go," Morales said of his strategy. "I'll go the distance if need be, but I'm looking for a quick knockout."

He wouldn't elaborate on precisely why he has become annoyed with Barrera, yet Morales made it clear he is annoyed.

"There have been a lot of declarations between us," he said. "We've had our differences and now it's time to fight. A fight was the only way to settle it."

And a fight is what the people in the stands or watching HBO will see.

As of Wednesday, only 700 tickets remain for a card that is stocked with Hispanic fighters and obviously was marketed to attract tourists from Mexico and Southern California.

Morales said holding the fight in Las Vegas, as opposed to Mexico City or Tijuana, was fine with him.

"Oh yes, a lot of people in Mexico would have liked for the fight to be there," he said. "But this is where the money is, so I'm glad to come here. But we could have fought in Mexico if Barrera wasn't a pirate, asking for so much money."

From a promotional standpoint, the main event is designed to showcase Morales. Within a very short time he has slugged his way to the top of the 122-pound rankings and is generally regarded as one of the finest fighters in the world at any weight.

Significant wins over Daniel Zaragoza, Junior Jones and Wayne McCullough have him on the verge of true stardom. A win over Barrera might even double his stock.

"I've gained a lot of confidence in each and every one of my fights," Morales said. "I feel real good about the way things are going."

If he has a complaint, it relates to the difficulty of still making 122 pounds.

"Yes, it's a problem," he said. "I think this will be my last fight at that weight. I want to beat Barrera and move up to featherweight."

At 126 he could land a lucrative bout with Naseem Hamed or pilfer Freddie Norwood's World Boxing Association title.

"I'm wasting too much time trying to lose weight," Morales said, although he maintains he'll hit the mark at Friday's weigh-in. Come Saturday, he intends to see his efforts rewarded.

"Technically, I'm a better fighter than Barrera," he said. "Strategy-wise, too. But we need to get in the ring so that the people can see what I've been saying is true."

Rounding out the Mandalay Bay card: Sergio Martinez, 16-0-1, vs. Antonio Margarito, 20-3, 10 rounds, welterweights; Henry Bruseles, 7-0, vs. Mark Suarez, 14-0, six rounds, junior welterweights; Jesus Sarabia, 28-9-3, vs. Enrique Sanchez, 25-1-1, 10 rounds, super bantamweights; and a women's junior bantamweight bout between Pamela Barker, 5-0, and Terri Cruz, 1-2-1.

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