Peden, Barrera put friendship on hold for unification bout

Friday, Sept. 16, 2005 | 9:16 a.m.

Robbie "The Bomber" Peden, the affable IBF super featherweight champion, was willing to touch on a number of topics in a relaxed and wide-ranging conversation Thursday.

But like a skilled boxer isolating then attacking an opponent's weak spot, Peden kept circling back to hammer home one central point.

In a division laden with star power, Peden feels in his heart that he's No. 1.

"I honestly believe that I am the best 130-pounder out there," Peden said while relaxing in his suite at the MGM Grand. "If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be here. I'm in it to win it." Peden hopes to prove his point Saturday night when he takes on WBC champ Marco Antonio Barrera in a title unification fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. HBO Pay-Per-View will televise the scheduled 12-rounder ($44.95) presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Goossen Tutor.

The undercard features "Sugar" Shane Mosley against Jose Luis Cruz in a welterweight bout, and a lightweight title fight between Leavander Johnson and Jesus Chavez.

Though Dan Goossen, Peden's promoter, has predicted a knockout victory for his fighter, Peden has favored a low-key approach leading to the showdown against Barrera.

The two fighters, former sparring partners, have a long-standing friendship outside of the ring -- although it has been put on hold until after Saturday's bout, Peden said.

"I'm not the kind of guy who's going to call somebody a bum or anything like that," Peden (25-2, 14 knockouts) said. "I'm not going to belittle someone just to get my name in the headlines. I know I'm the best and that I'm going to win, but would belittling someone make me a better man?

"My life is bigger than boxing. I want people to remember me as a person, not just as a fighter."

In Barrera (60-4, 42 KOs), Peden will be facing a fighter who's a hero in his native Mexico as well as a consensus selection at or near the top of boxing's pound-for-pound rankings.

Barrera, 31, is a betting favorite of nearly 6-1 and figures to enjoy the crowd's support on the weekend of Mexican Independence Day.

"I'm going to be in there on Mexican Independence Day against a Mexican legend," Peden, 31, said. "It doesn't get much hotter than that. Of course I have my work cut out for me. But once I win it, I'll be the man in this division.

"There's a reason people would rather give up their belts than face me. They turn me down for fights. They know I'm too tough an opponent. But after I win, they'll have to come to me."

Barrera has fought just once since scoring a majority-decision victory against Erik Morales last November, stopping mandatory challenger Mzonke Fana in the second round this past April.

The knowledge that he would be meeting a fellow world champ this time around lit a fire under him in training camp, Barrera said.

"I could feel there was more enthusiasm and intensity this camp," Barrera said. "We trained harder because we knew we had to.

"He's a very strong opponent and it's going to be a very difficult fight. There's a good reason he's a world champion."

Peden evidently got the better of Barrera in a 2002 sparring session that left Barrera with a broken rib.

He did not realize at the time that Barrera had sustained an injury, Peden said, and the incident did not engender any ill will.

"I was disappointed it happened," Peden said. "He told me not to worry about it, that it's just one of those things that happen in boxing. That's the way he is. There are some people in boxing you don't like, but I can't say a bad word about Barrera.

"He's a devil in the ring but an angel outside of it," Peden said, pointing out that Barrera has earmarked a portion of his earnings from the fight to help orphaned children in Juarez, Mexico.

Peden characterized the misadventure with Barrera as one in a series of strange episodes he has experienced that range from merely bizarre to nearly tragic.

The most horrific came in 1999 when Peden was attacked in his home in his native Brisbane, Australia, by a deranged intruder who broke in and brutally beat Peden with a club, causing damage that required 55 stitches to Peden's face as well as broken bones. The attacker was arrested for attempted murder and eventually served time in prison.

Another time, Peden said, in a less serious but still trying incident, he tried to break up a scuffle involving the entourages of former heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman and former super welterweight champ Fernando Vargas in a Florida hotel, and ended up with a dislocated shoulder for his trouble.

And in a 2000 loss to John Brown, Peden sustained a freak rotator cuff injury.

"I try to look at these things as a series of tests, little tests that you have to get past," Peden said. "I just deal with it -- if these things don't kill you, they make you stronger."

It was Peden's ability to mentally and psychologically regroup after the vicious attack in his home that particularly impressed Goossen. The attack left Peden unable to sleep properly for many months as he struggled to recover.

"It's a true statement on his desire and his ability to overcome obstacles," Goossen said.

A signature moment in Peden's career came in his 2004 fight against Nate Campbell in Temecula, Calif. When Campbell dropped his hands to his sides and invited Peden to deliver his best shot, Peden obliged with a sensational left hook to score a fifth-round knockout.

Goossen remembers not only the knockout but also a big body shot that Campbell landed moments earlier.

"Rather than going down on one knee, (Peden) absorbed the body shot, sucked it up, came right back and got the knockout," Goossen said.

Peden beat Campbell again in a rematch a year later, notching an eighth-round TKO in Australia. And on the eve of the biggest fight of his life, Peden says he feels stronger and more focused than ever.

"Life is good," he said. "I'm in Vegas. I have family and friends coming in from Australia to watch me fight. Life is good -- but it will be even better once I come away with that victory."

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