Erik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera, billed as Campeón vs. Campeón, was a professional boxing bout between the WBO super bantamweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera and WBC super bantamweight champion Erik Morales. It took place on February 19, 2000, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Morales won the contest by split decision, with two judges scoring it 114-113 and 115-112 for Morales and the other scoring it 114-113 for Barrera. The fight was named The Ring Magazine 2000 Fight of the Year and has been regarded as the best fight ever by many.
The fight is the first match in the highly regarded Barrera vs. Morales trilogy. This is also regarded as the most technical fight out of the lot. Many people thought that Barrera should have had the victory and was a very controversial decision, which set up Érik Morales vs Marco Antonio Barrera II on June 22, 2002, which Barrera won by Unanimous decision in again, controversial fashion
The fight was televised on HBO's "Boxing after Dark" programme.
Critics have provided highly positive reviews from this fight. Barrera was the underdog at bookmakers for this fight with some pushing him as up to 5/1 to win the fight and Morales towards evens
Background
Barrera had been the WBO super bantamweight champion in the mid 1990s. Morales, from his part, was undefeated and he had won the WBC super bantamweight title, knocking out Daniel Zaragoza (being the first person to do so) in eleven rounds in 1997. Promoters soon began arrangements for a bout between the WBC and WBO super bantamweight title holders.
Morales' record was 35–0 and he had defeated big names including Junior Jones, who defeated Barrera twice in 1996 and 97. He won his title in 1997 and had made 8 defenses prior to this fight. Barrera's only 2 losses came against Junior Jones, once by DQ and the other UD. He won his title by defeating Richie Wenton by 4th round TKO on October 31, 1998 and had made 2 defenses prior to this.
The Fight
The first round began with Barrera throwing combinations, leading with his trademark left hook to the body. Morales's lanky, tall frame providing a perfect target against which to test Marco's attack. Barrera is fierce, while Morales stands his ground, throwing back punishing combos, using his killer right hand to punctuate them. After the referee cautions Morales on a seemingly low blow towards the end of the round, Barrera refuses to touch gloves to Morales's apology. Round two begins at a slightly slower pace, but soon picks it up. The combos start flowing from Barrera, while Morales deems it wise to counter Marco's violent onslaught by being even more violent himself. A particularly impressive combo from Barrera starts with the jab, followed by the right hand cross, and then the left hand uppercut that pushes upwards and backwards Morales's head. Barrera won rounds one and two clearly, since Morales is still struggling to match his opponent's level of intensity. Great counterpunching by Barrera in round three; when Morales plunges in, he gets caught with Barrera's left hook to the body, which stops him temporarily in his tracks. However, when "El Terrible" reacts, he comes back even fiercer, throwing three punch combinations to the head, taking a step to the side, and doing it again. All the while Barrera keeps his defense up and then goes on the attack himself. In round four, Morales lands a huge right hand on Barrera, and then falls victim to his own over-enthusiasm, as he loses balance while trying to land heavy shots, and hits the floor on a slip. Barrera quickly recovers. There's a sense that Barrera's experience is carrying him through, while Morales is still trying to adapt to being on such a big stage with such a highly skilled enemy in the ring. As they trade ripping shots after three minutes, round four goes to Morales. And then, there was round five.