Plenty of changes in store for the Barrera-Morales rematch

Dean Juipe

Monday, June 17, 2002 | 9:25 a.m.

The rematch may have its similarities to their first fight, but when Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera meet Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden a number of differences should be apparent.

For starters, the stands will be filled -- and so will their wallets.

Morales and Barrera drew a so-so crowd of 5,171 on Feb. 19, 2000, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center but are virtually assured of filling the 14,700-Grand Garden Arena, based on advance ticket sales. And while each man was paid $200,000 for their first fight, both will receive $1 million for this one.

The sequel will also see a different referee and two new judges, as Jay Nady has been appointed to referee by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and Duane Ford, Chuck Giampa and Mike Glienna were picked as judges. Only Ford took part in the first bout, which was refereed by the late Mitch Halpern and also scored by Dalby Shirley and Carol Castellano.

In the ring, Barrera promises a slightly different look as well.

"I'm a little better fighter than I was for the first fight with Morales," Barrera said during a conference call. "I plan to box him more, particularly early. I'm planning to box a lot."

Barrera lost the first fight by disputed split decision, as Shirley (115-112) and Castellano (114-113) scored it for Morales, while Ford (114-113) saw it in Barrera's favor.

Morales landed 319 of 868 punches thrown, and Barrera connected on 299 of 618. A flash knockdown -- caused more by a Barrera push than anything else -- put Morales on the canvas in the 12th round and impacted the scoring, although not the final result.

NSAC executive director Marc Ratner said Sunday that the commission was very cognizant of supplying officials that the fighters would approve.

"We went through the names with both sides," he said. "Both camps had input (and) we anticipate a great fight and one that probably goes to a decision. We selected our officials accordingly."

Another difference for the rematch is that Morales and Barrera will fight at 126 pounds, or four more than they were allowed when they first met.

Trained by Rudy Perez, Barrera said he's in excellent shape and ready to go.

"I'm 100 percent OK," he said from his camp in Big Bear, Calif., where he will depart Tuesday for Las Vegas. "I've prepared for this fight the same as I have for my other fights; there haven't been any major changes."

Barrera wants to handle Morales as he handled Naseem Hamed when they fought April 7, 2001, at the MGM. Barrera won that fight by staying out of Hamed's wheelhouse, giving the British fighter his first professional loss.

"This fight should be a continuation of what I did against Hamed," Barrera said. "Against Hamed I decided to do more boxing and not get hit as much."

Barrera, 28, is 54-3 and a slight betting favorite.

Morales, 25, is 41-0 and will train today in Los Angeles before flying to Nevada.

Initially scheduled for March but delayed by Barrera suffering a rib injury, the bout matches a pair of Mexicans who haven't been getting along. Morales insulted Barrera during an interview and again at a December press conference in Houston, and Barrera responded by punching the World Boxing Council featherweight champion.

"He said something bad," Barrera explained, adding that Morales called him a "little faggot" not once, but twice.

"I waited to see him in person and asked him if he said it," Barrera continued. "He said it again, right in front of me."

Barrera calls his relationship to Morales "a rivalry" and dislikes the fact that "Morales talks down to his opponents."

Since their last fight, Barrera has not only beaten Hamed but also Luiz Freitas, Jose Luis Valbuena, Jesus Salud and Enrique Sanchez.

Morales has added five wins as well, downing Mike Juarez, Kevin Kelley, Rodney Jones, Guty Espadas and In-Jin Chi.

"I've seen mistakes in him, but I can't go by that," Barrera said, assessing Morales' move to featherweight. "Fighters change fight by fight, so I have to adjust."