Barrera Reduces Prince to Pauper

LAS VEGAS —  Prince Naseem Hamed’s entrance was much better than his exit.

Marco Antonio Barrera endured a month of Hamed’s bragging about being the best featherweight on the planet, a week of Hamed strutting around Las Vegas, a 52-minute delay by Hamed before the start of Saturday night’s main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and a grand entrance by Hamed that looked like a ripoff of Fan Man’s act.

But once the opening bell rang, it was Barrera who took center stage, avoiding the previously unbeaten Hamed’s vaunted power and outboxing Hamed to win a unanimous decision before a loud and largely pro-Barrera crowd of 12,847.

In what was billed as the people’s championship since no title was at stake, Barrera (53-3, 38 knockouts) finished well, connecting on 65 punches to 17 for Hamed (35-1, 31 knockouts) over the last two rounds.

Judge Duane Ford scored it 115-112, judge Chuck Giampa 116-111, judge Patricia Jarman-Manning 115-112. The Times had Barrera winning 115-112.

“The guy doesn’t hit as hard as everyone thinks,” Barrera said. “I hope now everyone will believe in me and what kind of fighter I am.”

There were no knockdowns in the fight though Barrera staggered Hamed several times.

In defeat, Hamed was gracious. In a refreshing departure from other recent matches, there were no excuses from the loser, no complaints about the scoring, no sudden post-fight revelations about a hidden injury that cost him the fight.

“The fact is, great fighters get beat,” Hamed said. “Great fighters come back. He was the pure winner of the fight and that was the truth. The guy boxed a better fight than I did tonight. That was it plain and simple.

“Maybe I tried too hard. I never handled him the way I wanted to.”

Indeed, Hamed couldn’t seem to put together a combination and couldn’t get his jab working.

He spent the first few rounds merely spinning his lead hand around in a circle without landing a punch. Perhaps Hamed was trying to hypnotize Barrera into believing Hamed was as good as he claimed to be.

After proving ineffective with a southpaw style, Hamed briefly switched to the right side midway through the fight. That proved to work much better, but, inexplicably, Hamed didn’t stick with it.

If Barrera had stuck to the style that had made him so deadly in the past, he would have charged in. But that was not what Hamed got.

“We changed our style because we knew what they’d expect,” Barrera said. “We didn’t charge at him. I didn’t want to take the chance. My trainer prepared me well and now you see the end result.”

Said Hamed: “He would have gotten knocked out if he’d charged me.”

Known for his grand entrances, Hamed had promised a big one for his first Las Vegas appearance and, in that regard, he didn’t disappoint.

Hamed’s entrance began on a second-level stage high above most of the Grand Garden crowd. When the curtains parted, there was Hamed, with fireworks, smoke and shooting flame behind him, looking more like an opening act of Vegas performer Rick Springfield.

After a few minutes of firing up half the crowd and antagonizing the other half, Hamed took his place on a seat mounted on a large, glittering hoop and was lowered into the crowd.

Just as he reached the floor, he was doused with a beverage.

Bad omen for a bad night.

“I gave him all the congratulations and love for the future,” Hamed said. “I’m going out as a champion but I will be back.

“I got a rematch clause in my contract. I will get a rematch, probably by the end of the year.”

Barrera, who came up from 122-pounds super bantamweight division to 126 for this fight, isn’t so sure.

“I am going to rest for now,” he said, “and see if I stay at 126 or go back down.”

All three U.S. Olympians from the class of 2000 won preliminary four-round fights.

Middleweight Jermain Taylor (2-0), a bronze medalist, stopped Kenny Stubbs (9-5) on a TKO at 2:28 of the second round. Bantamweight Clarence Vinson (2-0), also a bronze medalist, won a majority decision over Bryan Garcia (4-4). Heavyweight Michael Bennett (3-0) ended his match with Billy Zumbrun (4-3-1) on a TKO 2:49 into the first round.