Barrera Eyes Historic Fourth Title

Marco Antonio Barrera was known as “The Baby Face Assassin” when he started out at the Inglewood Forum in California. Fast forward 20 years, and Barrera is still a recognized name in boxing and will surely end up in the Boxing Hall of Fame. But he’s not finished with the fight game yet – he still has one more goal.

“I want to win a fourth world title, and it’s something that motivates me to train and to fight and to keep going,” said Barrera, a three-time world champion.

The 36-year-old, Barrera is coming back into the ring after a 15-month lay-off to take on Adailton De Jesus Saturday, JUNE 26 AT THE ALAMODOME OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. It’s the co-main event of “Latin Fury 15” a pay-per-view card presented by Top Rank and Zanfer Promotions.

On the same card undefeated world ranked contender Julio César Chávez Jr (40-0-1, 30 kos) will take on Ireland’s John Duddy (29-1, 18 kos) in the main event. Barrera is training in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, where he’s lived the last six year (He moved there from his hometown of Mexico City.) “I am very happy here in Guadalajara. So, along with my team, we decided to train here for my return to the ring on June 26,” said Barrera, who’s known for his victories over Naseem Hamed and his three wars with Erik Morales.

He decided to come back to the ring and seek that fourth world title — something no Mexican-born fighter has ever done – after consulting with his family. “I want to comeback with a spectacular fight. I have trained hard, and, little by little, I am getting better and I want to show everyone how serious I am about getting the fourth world title,” said Barrera, who has won world titles at 122, 130 and 135 pounds during his 21-year professional career.

Barrera last’s fight was in March of 2009 in England against Amir Khan, to whom he lost a technical decision after a cut stopped the fight in the fourth round. “I need to be in great condition – and I will be. I am still very hungry and want to look good in my return to show everyone that I am still capable of winning another world title,” he said.

His brother, Jorge Barrera, is his lead trainer. They run every morning in the Bosque Colomos, then head out to the gym around 2 p.m. for a two-hour training session. “I feel very happy to be training and getting ready for a fight. I have always enjoyed this part of boxing and doing it near my family and with a good team makes it even easier to get ready to fight,” said Barrera.

His team includes his brother, Jorge Barrera, Alex “Pollo” Galindo, Sendai Tanaka. He is sparring with Alfredo Lopez, Carlos Martinez and Adrian Téllez.