#what they did after defeating superfly

[duckdodger]

Thank u for the free art idea Micah 🫡

[imagionationstation]

DA BOIS

I SAW THE MOVIE

I WAS INTRODUCED TO THE UTTER NONSENSE THAT IS MM /aff

I HAVE THOUGHTS

NOT, LIKE, ANALYSIS WHICH MAY COME LATER

JUST THOUGHTS

AND SPOILERS

So I’m studying the boys and at first I was just “They really are leaning into this whole teen thing, huh” but then I thought back to every memory I have of my brothers and how they interacted and was just like- OH

OH WAIT

THIS IS ACCURATE

🤣 The bacon and egg scene- literally my brothers in a nutshell. The constant quotes and references- a little on the nose, but accurate.

BUT I SPENT

THE ENTIRE MOVIE

Waiting to see which turtle would spike my patented they need some hurt/comfort and at first I was leaning towards Leo- BUT THEN WHEN THAT BUS/TRUCK (I forget exactly what it was) FLEW STRAIGHT AT DONNIE AND MIKEY’S WATCHING IN HORROR AND DONNIE IS STUMBLING AND HURT AND OBLIVIOUS AND LOOKS ONLY HALF PRESENT-

Hands down. That got me.

I has a favorite and he’s so innocent and bright-eyed and deserves injury and kidnapping. I will make this happen.

The boys as a family were so fluffy and vibrant and relatable.

The boys as individuals…?

Leo has personality and concerns and attachments and a crush and flaws and strengths and he just felt like an person.

The rest seemed kinda… Plain. Raph had the anger thing going for him, but I have a hard time distinguishing Mikey’s and Donnie’s personalities. Mikey was friendly and liked improve, but that was never really touched on at all. In battle or otherwise- Donnie was the one who was thinking fast and taking the lead when talking to the Superfly. And Donnie was the one who Leo described as the best with people.

I’m not exactly sure what Mikey had going for him…

Donnie isn’t much of a techie, other than his headphones and phone, which is only used casually. He can drive and read comics, but that’s not really an abnormal teen thing. Like, any of his brothers couldn’t have driven using game skills? Or come up with a comic/movie solution to defeat Superfly?

That’s more nitpicks than anything tho. I might have missed things as well- it’s only my first watch. You shouldn’t make any firm decisions or judgements based on a first meeting. Hopefully, I’ll spot differences between them later on or they’ll flush out the characters more in the series.

They pushed a LOT into this movie. Everything was happening all at once. Like, they didn’t skip a BEAT when shifting from evil mutants trying to kill the boys to TCRI is locking them up.

And what the heck did Leo expect April to do?? SHE WAS ON A HIGHWAY BRIDGE?? DID HE EXPECT HER TO JUMP DOWN- SHE’S COMMENTED ON HOW CRAZY THEIR ROOFTOP TRAVEL IS! What makes him think she can do that??? 🤣🤣

At the very least she had to bike around and off the bridge to do anything, and he would have been unconscious by then. Boi just like “she abandoned us 🥺” when she could have been trying to help them while they were being loaded before going to get Splinter.

All hypothetical, of course. Would make for a good OneShot tho.

I like how the April betrayal was just a “I guess I was wrong” type of disappointment and not some dramatic heartbreak, because that feels more realistic to me. Relieved the crush wasn’t played off for laughs and all the brothers seemed disappointed.

April was such a good teen. They never played her off as anything but a normal person who didn’t have quite the right amount of self-preservation. Probably where the journalism comes in.

She was also a good representation that you don’t need green skin to not fit in. Life is hard, man, and I hope the series explores that even tho people don’t scream when they see them, that doesn’t mean life will be any less difficult. School is still prey grounds and people are still predators .

OMGEE SUPERFLY THO

DUDE WAS SCARY. BUT THE WHOLE TIME. I WAS WATCHING.

I COULDN’T NOT LIKE HIM FOR BEING EVIL

Dude got his daddy KILLED after daddy talked about raising him and his siblings and being a loving family by a bunch of weapon-using scary humans that also tried to kill them WHILE HE WAS A BABY

TCRI CREATED A FORMATIVE MEMORY THAT WAS STRAIGHT TRAUMA! OF COURSE HE HATES HUMANS-

That poor fly 🥺😔

The parallel between Splinter and Superfly was interesting. Felt a tiny bit forced at the end there, but I can respect it. Can’t dictate a fam’s every choice. That’s not fair. Gotta let your fam be free to grow and make their own mistakes and create their own morals~

I have a couple other thoughts, but I want to formulate them a bit more. See if I can make stuff off of them.

One last thing before I go…

MY SOCIAL ANXIETY HEADCANON STILL STANDS

NOT ONCE IN THE WHOLE MOVIE WERE THEY SEPERATED UNTIL THE SCHOOL

And even then it’s in a controlled environment. They all know where the other is. It seems safe.

But what happens when that illusion is gone…?

[itcamefromthetoybox]

Super Freak, He's Super Freaky!

And we���re back! Greetings and welcome back to “It Came From The Toy Box,” where we look at different toys on the market! Yes, I know it’s been a while. My computer kinda sorta died and it took a while to get a new one, but I did, so now I can finally get back to doing this blog. That being said, let’s get to it. I’ve been wanting to talk about some toys from a movie that came out recently for a while now, and they’re still on the market, so for the next few weeks, we’re looking at some of the figures for the movie “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” So this week, we’re looking at “Teenager Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Superfly!” Should this bug infest your collection? Let’s find out!

I never got the chance to see “Mutant Mayhem,” due to a lot of life stuff that came up, which means I can’t actually put spoilers in this review since I don’t know any. That being said, here’s what I do know: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” is the latest installment of the classic “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” franchise, was released in August of this year (2023, in case you’re reading this in the future), and introduces the turtles as a group of young teens hoping to find acceptance in the world.

The subject of today’s review, Superfly, is the main antagonist of the film. As I haven’t seen the movie, I’m not gonna go too much into who he is, but I can provide some background info on where he came from. In the original Ninja Turtles cartoon of the late 80’s-early 90’s, which was based on a surprisingly dark comic book series, Baxter Stockman was a hapless scientist who, after failing to sell his inventions, was recruited by the evil Shredder to be his personal tech guy. After some defeats at the hands of the turtles, Stockman was eventually transformed into a fly mutant and driven completely insane, as tends to be the case with people turned into fly mutants. Remember kids, if he’s got bug eyes, bug wings, and some extra limbs, odds are he’s not well. Superfly’s whole look and status as a fly mutant villain is taken from this version of Stockman, though I’ve got no idea if they’re the same dude in this version, since I’ve been avoiding spoilers.

In Soviet Russia, fly swats YOU!

The figure himself looks great. Like, I really love the look of this toy and have zero complaints. I absolutely love the torn clothing he wears, and extra details like his left foot bursting out of a sneaker really show the love that got put into designing this figure. I’m also a big fan of the torn up shirt and sweater vest, and the comically ill-fitting tie. It has an air of trying to seem human, but rejecting it in the end. Honestly, it gives me peak “I was once a man” vibes. I also really like the head sculpt on Superfly. Despite the general lack of human facial structure in it, he still manages to have an angry expression, and one gets the impression he’s cocking an eyebrow, if he had eyebrows. It’s a really expressive face for a bug. I’m also a fan of Superfly’s two extra arms at his waist. They’re tiny and can’t hold anything, but I really feel like they’re a nice touch that adds something fun and gross to his whole look. Superfly’s a bit physically lopsided, as you can tell by using your damned human eyes to gaze upon his visage. One arm’s a regular, though blue, arm that can hold his accessories. The other’s a massive, bulky claw arm that looks like it packs a hell of a punch. It’s a cool addition that shows that this guy’s able to throw hands, and I like that it suggests that Superfly’s mutation wasn’t exactly a controlled, successful one. Something very much did not go right when this dude was created. I’m also a fan of his translucent bug wings. They’re not comically small, and they’re not so big that they take away from his own stuff. They’re a nice, medium size.

In terms of articulation, Superfly’s pretty great. He’s got articulated shoulders, thighs, knees, and a neck and left elbow, which all adds up to a surprisingly articulated figure. His two little arms aren’t articulated, but I’m actually fine with that. Really small joints, like the kind those arms would need, tend to become looser easier. My one complaint is that his large, right claw isn’t articulated. I feel like the designers missed an opportunity there, and it also only gives him one hand to hold things with.

"Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I. Insects... don't have politics."

I also really like how balanced this figure is. His insect feet give him a high degree of balance, making up for any issues caused by his huge torso, though his large right arm can cause him to tilt or lean, so watch out for that. Now, earlier, I mentioned that Superfly’s left foot is bursting out of a shoe. The way the shoe’s positioned on his leg, it actually helps balance him. I feel like that’s a really nice touch.

Superfly comes with action packed Male Pattern Baldness!

Superfly, like any good Ninja Turtle toy, comes with a variety of accessories. What I really love is that most of those accessories come attached to a sprue, just like the original toys from the 80’s. In fact, a lot of the accessories are similar to the ones included with the original Baxter Stockman fly. His main accessory, though, is a ray-gun that he can hold in his left hand. It’s both not attached to the sprue and has more paint used on it than the other accessories. Superfly’s wings also come as an accessory and are not attached to the figure. Instead, they must be pegged into his back, which is fine since the connection’s a strong one, so you don’t need to worry about the wings falling off. What’s weird, though, is that one of Superfly’s four wings is actually separate from the other three. It has to be attached to the rest of the wings before they’re attached to the bug himself. Maybe this made packaging him easier? It’s just a bit odd to me. Unfortunately, the way that one wing comes detached means it comes off easier than the other wings. Keep an eye on it, because it does want to come off, so you’ll need to keep pushing it back in as you play with the figure. It’s the one big weakness of an otherwise solid toy.

No, that wing isn't broken. Yes, I checked. No, I didn't break this toy right out of the box and then spin an elaborate lie to cover my ass. It's just a weird design choice.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Superfly” currently goes for about $10 at mass retail, which, considering the rising prices of toys, is a terrific deal. He, like the rest of the “Mutant Mayhem” mainline of toys, is aimed at ages 4+, which is a good age for him just so long as you make sure nobody’s still in that “put the small thing in my mouth” stage. And now, the moment of truth: would I recommend this toy? Oh, absolutely. He’s a well-articulated figure with fun accessories and really good detailing, and, aside from the issue with that one wing, he’s really fun to play with. TMNT fans of all ages will definitely like this guy, so I’d say to go grab him as soon as possible. Next week, we’ll be continuing our look at the “Mutant Mayhem” figures with another baddie, so I’ll see you then! This is JS signing off and wishing you Happy Toy Hunting!

[chaoticxbeast]

Rocksteady got roused up as he Superfly pronounced to be alive. "That's what I kept saying." Giving Bebop a brotherly shove.

"It's hard to always think positive like you do." Bebop said, and shrugged. "But I ..guess I knew deep down." He mused softly, a finger to his lips.

Rock and Bebop exchanged glances at the talk about de-mutation. They couldn't quite understand what had happened, but he was back. And more shimmery and colorful than ever. Like a magic trick.

They both got the idea that their relation had taken a bad turn, but perhaps something was salvageable. Perhaps if they shared the whole story he would help them.

Mikey was filled with hope at the idea of his brothers justing hanging out at some hospital. But even though he tried his best to believe it, it didn't make sense. If only one of them was hurt, why hadn't he heard from them?

Rock and Bebop was thinking something along the same thing. After living with the group for over 4 months on and off, they had seen the way the blue one was looking after the orange one. Always checking in, always helping with homework.

But that wasn't the only fishy thing going on. "Well..eh....Some of the others are missing too. Ray..When the turtles began blending in with humans, Ray did too. He's been singing his heart out at a bar down town, attracting a lot of attention. And Ray is gone. Mondo too. He's been going to all there raves..We can't reach him. A few of the others have been looking, and they dissappeared, one by one. I think someone is playing tricks on us.

"Yeah..it's odd."

"So... they're not at the hospital?" Mikey asked, disappointment spreading further across his face.

Rock grabbed Mikey's arm, effortlessly lifting him as if he weighed nothing, and placed him in front of the group—either as some kind of offering or to make a point.

"Look at him. He's puny. His big brothers never leave him out of their sight." Rock said, proving his point further.

"Ow! Hey! And they leave me all the time." Mikey said, and rubbed his arm, giving Rock a frustrated look.

"I know. But it's to protect ya. Not to leave you out! But lil' runts like you don't get that."

Mikey looked defeated, wanting to leave, but Bebop offered a hand on his shoulder. "They took the others..The same dissapearin' acts again and again. These are kidnappings and I bet we find OUR brothers where we find his brothers. And we're gonna go find them. I guess all we need to know Superfly, is if you're in."

     “ ‘COURSE I’M ALIVE, “  the fly retorts. Had they believed otherwise ?  As soon as the thought comes to fruition, he has to try and shove back the vision of his siblings believing that he was gone in the aftermath of that day. He just…doesn’t want to think about it. He’s mad at them. He’s supposed to be mad at them.  “ I was never dead. I was just DE-MUTATED, no thanks to y’all. “  He’ll leave it at that; as much as he’d like to rant about how he was stuck as a mindless insect in a jar, he doesn’t want to prompt them to ask questions. Hell, maybe even telling them he de-mutated at all was one detail too many already.

     Yet despite that rage that he insists on stubbornly holding onto, the sight of these two beginning to break down is stirring something within him. For as emotional as they could get in terms of their anger, they were typically tougher than some of the others. So seeing them cry…man. They really did miss him, didn’t they ?  However, his claw curls at that thought, his hand clenching into a fist. If they missed him so damn much, then why’d they turn on him in the first place ?  It made no sense to him, putting themselves through that heartache instead of just listening to him when it mattered the most.

     He’s almost glad for the interruption Mikey provides, even if he’s not someone Superfly exactly wishes to speak to. At the very least, he can target those mixed feelings towards someone outside of his siblings. He quirks a brow at the mention that one of his brothers texted Mikey his name, evidently puzzled by this information. The reveal that they apparently disappeared, however, prompts him to furrow his brows instead.

“ I know they took off in an ambulance after one of ‘em got a bad bump t’ the head. I didn’t stick around much longer t’ see where they went, but I’d assume they went straight to a hospital after that. “  But Mikey would have known that, wouldn’t he ?  Surely for the amount of time it’s been, he’d have found out by now. His head recoils slightly at the realization.  “ ‘Less you’re tellin’ me they didn’t ever made it there. “

[nerd-breached-containment]

@captain-calamaria

It’s actually two, I forgot the other negative thing about the game:

Spyro: Year of the Dragon had a lot of story potential, and I mean a lot.

The story is the Sorcerer’s henchman (if this is the proper word), Bianca and the army of Rhynorcs are sent to steal all the eggs which we later discover that the Sorcerer wants the hatchlings’ wings for her immortality spell, and it’s up to Spyro with the help of Hunter and the newcomers to get them back.

But, we then learn that thousand years ago, dragons used to live in the Forgotten Worlds, which was once filled with magic due to the dragons being the source of magic until the Sorcerer banished the dragons to the other side of the world, making the magic wither away and make some portals stop function.

Unfortunately, the game doesn’t go any deeper than this which, as someone who loves darker, cruel plots (just the idea of the Sorcerer wanting to kill the hatchlings just so that “they stop wriggling so much” when taking their wings out is fucking brutal and dark, imagine if the Sorcerer didn’t wanted to kill them first, it would be outright cold blood torture)... it’s a shame they didn’t went more into detail which brings me more questions than answers:

Why did the Sorcerer banished the dragons? Did they do something to make her angry? Did she had a problem to which they couldn’t solve? Did she banished out of jealous or banished them out of anger for not having the same source of magic capabilities or wings like them and they couldn’t fix that either? Maybe that’s why the Sorcerer wants the hatchlings’ wings, in a way that she’s taking revenge over her lack or removal of her wings, who knows.

How did she found Bianca? And convinced an army of Rhynorcs to join her side? What happened after the eggs were rescued? Did some dragons returned back to Forgotten Worlds or they decided to kept it withered?

Just, I really wished that the game would’ve gone more in-depth about this story because it’s a very interesting backstory which unfortunately isn’t explored.

And then, the real ending felt.. very rushed and anti-climatic. Hell, even both final battles felt.. heh.

In Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage, from what I’ve gathered, you had to bring your A+++ dragon game into the battle, but, in the Sorcerer’s battle, you have to use 3 variations of a cannon (the cannon, a movabl cannon and a flying saucer) to defeat her as opposed to use your own powers or even use a super boost.

After beating the Sorcerer, the Super Bonus Round can only be unlocked after collecting all the treasures/gems and the current eggs that you can collect. The name makes you think that ok, this is just a bonus round.

Actually, no. It’s a bonus round that contains the necessary final egg (yin yang) and the true final battle which is even worst at the final battle as in this one, you simply use a flying saucer to defeat her. Why not Bianca giving you a special spell that she succesfully learned where you get superflame, supercharge (to speed up flight) and superfly all at once for a great, grand and glorious true final battle?

And, the normal ending at the least gave you a small recap about the other characters and if they’re okay or not, the true ending just... shows the dragons with their babies, Spyro hands a baby to a dragon, the baby then burps, the dragon places it on the floor, baby burps again, Spyro does his iconic “oh goodness..” head shake and that’s it.

You go back to the game and that’s it. Honestly, it’s very anti-climatic after a ong, challenging game...

But, really, other than those two factors, I found the game to be enjoyable and makes me want to play it despite it’s flaws.

[frontproofmedia]

A Rare Breed: Marco Antonio Barrera

Marco Antonio Barrera was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame this year. Barrera will go down as one of the greatest fighters in the history of Mexico, and one of the most exciting of the last generation. 

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By Hector Franco

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Published: June 23, 2017

The last few weeks in the sport of boxing have been filled with announcements of upcoming fights and new ventures in the television landscape. Last week, the divisive yet financially lucrative fight between a returning 40-year old Floyd Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs) and Mixed Martial Art’s star Conor Mcgregor (21-3) was announced for August 26th. This week Boxing Promotion Top Rank announced that 8-division champion Manny Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) would be facing Jeff Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs) on ESPN. It could lead to future shows that include the likes of Terence Crawford (31-0, 22 KOs) and Vasyl Lomachenko (8-1, 6 KOs). 

We also had the press tours for Adrien Broner-Mikey Garcia and the mega-fight of Canelo-GGG. It cannot be forgotten that Andre Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) and Sergey Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) fought for the second time. This time with a clear victory for Ward, but with a controversial ending that will be debated for years. 

Lost in the shuffle may have been the International Boxing Hall of Fame held in Canastota, New York. This year’s entrant’s included the late Johnny Tapia, Evander Holyfield, Jerry Roth, Steve Farhood and Barry Tompkins among others. One of the standouts this year was Mexican legend, Marco Antonio Barrera (67-7, 44 KOs). Barrera who began his career in 1989 at the age of 15 is among not only the greatest Mexican fighters of all time but an important piece of boxing’s last generation. Almost everything that you can experience as a professional boxer happened in the career of the 3-division champion. 

HBO Boxing After Dark

The HBO Boxing after Dark series is going through a renaissance after being all but dead in the water. In July, Miguel Berchelt (31-1, 28 KOs) will defend his title against Takashi Muira (31-3-2, 24 KOs) headlining an outstanding triple-header with Joe Smith (23-1, 19 KOs) taking on Sullivan Barrera (19-1, 14 KOs) on the undercard. Afterward, on September 9th Roman Gonzalez (46-1, 38 KOs) will rematch Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (43-4-1, 39 KOs) as part of what is being called the ‘SuperFly’ triple-header card. Fighters like Gonzalez and Berchelt in the lower weight classes may not even be featured on HBO if it were not for the success of the first Boxing after Dark telecast. 

On February 03, 1996 the first HBO telecast of Boxing after Dark took place headlined by Barrera and Kennedy McKinney (36-6-1, 19 KOs). It was seen as the biggest test of the young Barrera’s career against a former Olympian and IBF world champion. That night Barrera and McKinney put on a fight that would forever be the bar to which fights on Boxing after Dark are held. In the fight, Barrera was down once in the 11th and McKinney down twice in the eighth, once in the ninth, and twice in the 12th.  The fight is an absolute classic with infinite replay value as the standard bearer for great fights in the upcoming era. 

Afterward, Barrera would go on to be part of one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the sport and a mid-career renaissance that would change how he would be viewed for the rest of his career. 

Rivalry

In 1996, Barrera fought a total of five times making four successful defenses of his WBO 122-pound championship. The Mexican star was growing in popularity not only in Mexico but California as well as he became a staple at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood.  At the end of the year in November, he met Junior Jones (50-6, 28 KOs) and the first defeat of his career. After four rounds, Barrera was up on the judge’s scorecards until he ran into Jones’ lethal right hand. The Mexico City native hit the canvas hard and got up to a barrage of punches from Jones. Barrera’s corner had entered the ring before the referee called the fight off causing the fight to be ruled a disqualification loss for Barrera. 

Not one to rest on his laurel’s Barrera went immediately into a rematch with Jones in April 1997. Barrera showed signs and indications of changes he would master in the future almost pulling off the victory in a close fight. The judges, however, scored the fight for Jones by unanimous decision. Barrera spent the rest of 1997 outside of the ring only to return in 1998 four times. He was able to win back his WBO 122-pound title against Richie Wenton (24-6, 10 KOs) in New Jersey by the end of 1998. Now the time was for a fight with the other popular Mexican fighter in his weight class, WBC champion Erik Morales (52-9, 36 KOs).

Going into the first fight with Morales, Barrera was a heavy underdog as Morales was coming off some big victories including a fourth round stoppage over Junior Jones. Many had thought Barrera's best days were behind him. The fight with Morales was personal for Barrera, as the two had exchanged insults in Mexico. The fight was the hardcore boxing fan’s wet dream, and it did not fail to disappoint. The fight took place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in February 2000. In the fight, Barrera proved that he was far from done as he engaged in an absolute war with Morales that would end up as the standard for the entire decade. It was a fight that can be shown to people who do not watch boxing to convert them to hardcore fans. Morales ended up winning a narrow split decision that was so disputed that the WBO refused to relinquish the title from Barrera. In a year with fights like De La Hoya-Mosley I and Trinidad-Vargas, Barrera-Morales stood above them all to win fight of the year honors for the year 2000.  

The fights between Barrera and Morales were so good that the term Barrera-Morales has become part of the boxing lexicon as a term for a great back and forth fight between two Mexican fighters.  The two men would go on to have two more fights in 2002 and 2004 with the third match-winning fight of the year honors. The Barrera-Morales fights interweaved a mid-career renaissance for Barrera. In his fights in between facing Morales, Barrera would utilize more of a boxing style with an elite jab. During this time Barrera was ranked consistently in the top five of the pound for pound rankings. He was able to show that while comparisons to Julio Cesar Chavez (107-6-2, 86 KOs) were valid that other comparison’s to Mexican greats such as Salvador Sanchez (44-1-1, 32 KOs) were also warranted. 

The Barrera-Morales rivalry is one of the greatest in the history in the sport. They not only produced unbelievably violent fights but also had a level of hatred and animosity that brought it to another level.  As significant and historic as the Barrera-Morales fights and rivalry were, the fights are arguably not the most important of Barrera’s career. That night belongs to April 7, 2001, where Barrera had his most historic performance. 

Historic Nights

After the first fight with Morales, the detractors and those who had written Barrera off disappeared. The Morales fight was the catalyst although not in the actual fight itself for a change to a more technical style for Barrera. It was all put together as a prelude for all to see in late 2000 against Jesus Salud (63-13, 38 KOs). After Salud, Barrera was ready to put on the best performance of his career. 

In 2001, the landscape of boxing was unique. It was filled with punchers like Felix Trinidad (42-3, 35 KOs) and boxing savants like Floyd Mayweather. Undoubtedly, the fighter with the most charisma was Naseem Hamed (36-1, 31 KOS). At the time Hamed was thought of as the biggest puncher in the sport with victories over Kevin Kelly (60-10-2, 39 KOs) and Vuyani Bungu (39-5, 19 KOs). The man known as ‘The Prince’ made 15 defenses of his WBO featherweight championship. He also unified the WBC and IBF titles along the way only to vacate them both keeping the WBO title. Needless to say, Hamed was a heavy favorite going into the fight against Barrera. 

For those boxing fans who are either too young or didn’t follow the sport closely in 2001, Barrera’s performance against Hamed can only be rivaled by Marcos Maidana’s (35-5, 31 KOs) win against Adrien Broner (33-2, 24 KOs) in December 2013. Barrera not only beat Hamed on that night but also embarrassed and humiliated him. The victory will go into the annals of boxing history as one of the most satisfying wins for any fighter. Although Hamed was a popular fighter with many fans, he also had plenty of detractors because of his pension to trash talk with a sense of confidence that came off arrogant. 

In the final round of the fight, Barrera slammed Hamed’s head into the ring corner causing him to lose a point, but Barrera’s point had been made. The Mexican champion won a unanimous decision victory and earned his place in boxing history for providing a historic night in the sport. 

Many point to the 1980’s as a golden age in boxing referencing the famous ‘Fab Four of Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler. The 2000’s had it’s own ‘Fab Four’ with Juan Manuel Marquez, Manny Pacquiao, Erik Morales, and Barrera. All four gave fans great fights and for Barrera to be the first of the four in the Hall of Fame is appropriate. The man known as the ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ will be remembered for the bravery he showed inside the ring, the intelligence to adapt his style, and the great nights of boxing that fans will never forget. Boxers like Barrera are a rare breed, and we may not see many like him in the future. 

(Feature Photo: HBO Boxing)

[frontproofmedia]

A Rare Breed: Marco Antonio Barrera

Marco Antonio Barrera was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame this year. Barrera will go down as one of the greatest fighters in the history of Mexico, and one of the most exciting of the last generation. 

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By Hector Franco

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Published: June 23, 2017

The last few weeks in the sport of boxing have been filled with announcements of upcoming fights and new ventures in the television landscape. Last week, the divisive yet financially lucrative fight between a returning 40-year old Floyd Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs) and Mixed Martial Art’s star Conor Mcgregor (21-3) was announced for August 26th. This week Boxing Promotion Top Rank announced that 8-division champion Manny Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) would be facing Jeff Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs) on ESPN. It could lead to future shows that include the likes of Terence Crawford (31-0, 22 KOs) and Vasyl Lomachenko (8-1, 6 KOs). 

We also had the press tours for Adrien Broner-Mikey Garcia and the mega-fight of Canelo-GGG. It cannot be forgotten that Andre Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) and Sergey Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) fought for the second time. This time with a clear victory for Ward, but with a controversial ending that will be debated for years. 

Lost in the shuffle may have been the International Boxing Hall of Fame held in Canastota, New York. This year’s entrant’s included the late Johnny Tapia, Evander Holyfield, Jerry Roth, Steve Farhood and Barry Tompkins among others. One of the standouts this year was Mexican legend, Marco Antonio Barrera (67-7, 44 KOs). Barrera who began his career in 1989 at the age of 15 is among not only the greatest Mexican fighters of all time but an important piece of boxing’s last generation. Almost everything that you can experience as a professional boxer happened in the career of the 3-division champion. 

HBO Boxing After Dark

The HBO Boxing after Dark series is going through a renaissance after being all but dead in the water. In July, Miguel Berchelt (31-1, 28 KOs) will defend his title against Takashi Muira (31-3-2, 24 KOs) headlining an outstanding triple-header with Joe Smith (23-1, 19 KOs) taking on Sullivan Barrera (19-1, 14 KOs) on the undercard. Afterward, on September 9th Roman Gonzalez (46-1, 38 KOs) will rematch Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (43-4-1, 39 KOs) as part of what is being called the ‘SuperFly’ triple-header card. Fighters like Gonzalez and Berchelt in the lower weight classes may not even be featured on HBO if it were not for the success of the first Boxing after Dark telecast. 

On February 03, 1996 the first HBO telecast of Boxing after Dark took place headlined by Barrera and Kennedy McKinney (36-6-1, 19 KOs). It was seen as the biggest test of the young Barrera’s career against a former Olympian and IBF world champion. That night Barrera and McKinney put on a fight that would forever be the bar to which fights on Boxing after Dark are held. In the fight, Barrera was down once in the 11th and McKinney down twice in the eighth, once in the ninth, and twice in the 12th.  The fight is an absolute classic with infinite replay value as the standard bearer for great fights in the upcoming era. 

Afterward, Barrera would go on to be part of one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the sport and a mid-career renaissance that would change how he would be viewed for the rest of his career. 

Rivalry

In 1996, Barrera fought a total of five times making four successful defenses of his WBO 122-pound championship. The Mexican star was growing in popularity not only in Mexico but California as well as he became a staple at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood.  At the end of the year in November, he met Junior Jones (50-6, 28 KOs) and the first defeat of his career. After four rounds, Barrera was up on the judge’s scorecards until he ran into Jones’ lethal right hand. The Mexico City native hit the canvas hard and got up to a barrage of punches from Jones. Barrera’s corner had entered the ring before the referee called the fight off causing the fight to be ruled a disqualification loss for Barrera. 

Not one to rest on his laurel’s Barrera went immediately into a rematch with Jones in April 1997. Barrera showed signs and indications of changes he would master in the future almost pulling off the victory in a close fight. The judges, however, scored the fight for Jones by unanimous decision. Barrera spent the rest of 1997 outside of the ring only to return in 1998 four times. He was able to win back his WBO 122-pound title against Richie Wenton (24-6, 10 KOs) in New Jersey by the end of 1998. Now the time was for a fight with the other popular Mexican fighter in his weight class, WBC champion Erik Morales (52-9, 36 KOs).

Going into the first fight with Morales, Barrera was a heavy underdog as Morales was coming off some big victories including a fourth round stoppage over Junior Jones. Many had thought Barrera's best days were behind him. The fight with Morales was personal for Barrera, as the two had exchanged insults in Mexico. The fight was the hardcore boxing fan’s wet dream, and it did not fail to disappoint. The fight took place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in February 2000. In the fight, Barrera proved that he was far from done as he engaged in an absolute war with Morales that would end up as the standard for the entire decade. It was a fight that can be shown to people who do not watch boxing to convert them to hardcore fans. Morales ended up winning a narrow split decision that was so disputed that the WBO refused to relinquish the title from Barrera. In a year with fights like De La Hoya-Mosley I and Trinidad-Vargas, Barrera-Morales stood above them all to win fight of the year honors for the year 2000.  

The fights between Barrera and Morales were so good that the term Barrera-Morales has become part of the boxing lexicon as a term for a great back and forth fight between two Mexican fighters.  The two men would go on to have two more fights in 2002 and 2004 with the third match-winning fight of the year honors. The Barrera-Morales fights interweaved a mid-career renaissance for Barrera. In his fights in between facing Morales, Barrera would utilize more of a boxing style with an elite jab. During this time Barrera was ranked consistently in the top five of the pound for pound rankings. He was able to show that while comparisons to Julio Cesar Chavez (107-6-2, 86 KOs) were valid that other comparison’s to Mexican greats such as Salvador Sanchez (44-1-1, 32 KOs) were also warranted. 

The Barrera-Morales rivalry is one of the greatest in the history in the sport. They not only produced unbelievably violent fights but also had a level of hatred and animosity that brought it to another level.  As significant and historic as the Barrera-Morales fights and rivalry were, the fights are arguably not the most important of Barrera’s career. That night belongs to April 7, 2001, where Barrera had his most historic performance. 

Historic Nights

After the first fight with Morales, the detractors and those who had written Barrera off disappeared. The Morales fight was the catalyst although not in the actual fight itself for a change to a more technical style for Barrera. It was all put together as a prelude for all to see in late 2000 against Jesus Salud (63-13, 38 KOs). After Salud, Barrera was ready to put on the best performance of his career. 

In 2001, the landscape of boxing was unique. It was filled with punchers like Felix Trinidad (42-3, 35 KOs) and boxing savants like Floyd Mayweather. Undoubtedly, the fighter with the most charisma was Naseem Hamed (36-1, 31 KOS). At the time Hamed was thought of as the biggest puncher in the sport with victories over Kevin Kelly (60-10-2, 39 KOs) and Vuyani Bungu (39-5, 19 KOs). The man known as ‘The Prince’ made 15 defenses of his WBO featherweight championship. He also unified the WBC and IBF titles along the way only to vacate them both keeping the WBO title. Needless to say, Hamed was a heavy favorite going into the fight against Barrera. 

For those boxing fans who are either too young or didn’t follow the sport closely in 2001, Barrera’s performance against Hamed can only be rivaled by Marcos Maidana’s (35-5, 31 KOs) win against Adrien Broner (33-2, 24 KOs) in December 2013. Barrera not only beat Hamed on that night but also embarrassed and humiliated him. The victory will go into the annals of boxing history as one of the most satisfying wins for any fighter. Although Hamed was a popular fighter with many fans, he also had plenty of detractors because of his pension to trash talk with a sense of confidence that came off arrogant. 

In the final round of the fight, Barrera slammed Hamed’s head into the ring corner causing him to lose a point, but Barrera’s point had been made. The Mexican champion won a unanimous decision victory and earned his place in boxing history for providing a historic night in the sport. 

Many point to the 1980’s as a golden age in boxing referencing the famous ‘Fab Four of Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler. The 2000’s had it’s own ‘Fab Four’ with Juan Manuel Marquez, Manny Pacquiao, Erik Morales, and Barrera. All four gave fans great fights and for Barrera to be the first of the four in the Hall of Fame is appropriate. The man known as the ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ will be remembered for the bravery he showed inside the ring, the intelligence to adapt his style, and the great nights of boxing that fans will never forget. Boxers like Barrera are a rare breed, and we may not see many like him in the future. 

(Feature Photo: HBO Boxing)