Marco Antonio Barrera vs Prince Naseem Hamed Highlights Boxing LESSON

April 7th, 2001. The “Baby Faced Assassin” Marco Antonio Barrera takes on undefeated Prince Naseem Hamed in a battle billed as “Playing With Fire”. Going into the fight, Barrera and Hamed had prefight records of 56(38)-3 and 35(31)-0. The vacant IBO Featherweight Championship is on the line. Barrera is a 3-1 betting underdog, and 28 out of 30 boxing writers picked Hamed to win. The media had largely portrayed Barrera as a ferocious, hard hitting typical Mexican style fighter who stands flat footed and constantly looking to go toe to toe while dishing out as much punishment as he receives. Hamed and his trainer Emmanuel Steward had made preparations to fight this version of Barrera, as portrayed by the media. However, unbeknownst to Hamed’s camp and the boxing world Barrera underwent a major stylistic metamorphosis with this bout; utilizing an authoritative jab, lateral movements with improved technical skills to the surprise of many. Thus, Hamed was not trained for this improved version of Barrera.