TAKE FIVE: MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA VS. JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ

Friday, March 16, 2007 | 6:57 a.m.

Fight facts

Principals: Marco Antonio Barrera (63-4, 42 KOs) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (46-3-1, 35 KOs)

At stake: Barrera's WBC super featherweight title

Time/site: Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Doors open, 3:30 p.m.; pay-per-view begins, 6 p.m.

Tickets: $50 to $400, mandalaybay.com

TV: HBO Pay-Per-View, $44.95

Promoters: Golden Boy Promotions and Romanza Boxing

Featured undercard bouts: Daniel Ponce De Leon (30-1, 28 KOs) vs. Gerry Penalosa (51-5-2, 35 KOs), WBO/IBA junior featherweight championship, 12 rounds; Demetrius Hopkins (25-0-1, 10 KOs) vs. Steve Forbes (32-4, 9 KOs), USBA junior welterweight championship, 12 rounds

Betting line: Barrera -140/Marquez +120

1. End is near

In his 18th year as a professional, after 68 pro fights (including one no-decision) and world titles in three weight classes, Marco Antonio Barrera can sense the final bell of his Hall of Fame career approaching. "Instead of just going into the sunset, he wants to put an exclamation point behind his career," Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, said. Barrera, who would like to fight perhaps twice more before retiring, wants to make his remaining bouts memorable. That should be the case Saturday, when world featherweight champ and fellow Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez moves up to 130 pounds to challenge for Barrera's belt. "I've had a beautiful career," Barrera, 33, said. "It will be coming to an end soon. I want it to be special."

2. Too much sports? Nah.

Saturday's fight is being offered on pay-per-view by HBO during the middle of the second round - and the first weekend - of the NCAA basketball tournament. Yet Mark Taffet, HBO's senior vice president of sports operation and pay-per-view, downplayed concerns about a weekend of sports overkill. "We've been here before on March Madness weekends," Taffet said. He believes fans, looking to stay wired after a full day of basketball competition, will naturally be drawn to switch over to the fight at night. Among notable pay-per-view fights on days with heavy NCAA tournament action: Erik Morales vs. Manny Pacquiao in 2005, and Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis in 1999.

3. Bragging rights

Although both fighters hail from towns in Mexico's Federal District - Barrera from Iztacalco, Marquez from Iztapalapa - they have yet to meet in the ring. Barrera hinted he's anticipating a toe-to-toe tussle rather than another stick-and-move boxing clinic like the one he put on in his most recent fight, a 12-round unanimous-decision victory against Rocky Juarez last September at the MGM Grand. "We should never forget that in our blood, in our roots, we're always going to have that warrior mentality of throwing and receiving punches," Barrera said, encapsulating the traditional Mexican approach to the sport.

4. 'Pacman' fever

The specter of Manny Pacquiao, another of the world's leading 130-pounders, looms behind the scenes of Saturday's showdown. Pacquiao stopped Barrera in 2003 and fought Marquez to a draw in 2004 after knocking him down three times in the first round. Both crave another shot at the explosive Filipino, along with the accompanying big payday. Barrera said he wants to take care of business Saturday before thinking about his next fight. Marquez, meanwhile, is commanding plenty of respect at the betting windows in Las Vegas, where money has driven the price on the underdog down from plus-150 (risk $1 to net $1.50) to plus-120, according to MGM Mirage odds.

5. Long time coming

A counterpunching specialist, Marquez, 33, elicited some surprise by projecting a victory by knockout. His opponent wasn't buying it. "A lot of people dream of knocking out Barrera," Barrera said. "That's all it is - a dream." Marquez has been yearning for a fight with Barrera for at least five years. "No regrets," Marquez said. "The opportunity is here and I will take advantage of that. It's going to be a very tough fight, a war. He wants to retire, but he wants to retire as a champion."