No Love Lost for Barrera, Morales

Nestled in opposite corners of a crowded room, where fans, photographers, members of the media, assorted hangers-on and strolling mariachis all angled for position, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales glared at each other whenever possible.

The two featherweight fighters were assembled at a Mexican restaurant in Industry on Sunday to promote their June 22 rematch in Las Vegas before heading to the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area to address an estimated crowd of 70,000 celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

They purposely were kept apart, lest they reenact the blows they threw at each other the last time they shared the dais, during their winter press tour. After Morales was awarded a split decision on Feb. 19, 2000, the two engaged in a nasty war of words that was fueled by Barrera pulling out of the originally scheduled rematch March 2 because of a rib injury.

Barrera (54-3, 39 knockouts), a law school-educated son of Mexico City, referred to Morales as dumb and uneducated. Morales (41-0, 31 KOs), from the border town of Tijuana, used a slang term to question Barrera’s manhood.

And while the rhetoric was a bit toned down Sunday, the animosity between the two was evident. After all, the fight has many cultural implications in their homeland.

“Something’s wrong with him,” Barrera said of Morales. “Maybe he’s got bad advice. The way he talks, the way he expresses himself, it’s like he studies what he says, like he’s told what to say.

“I think people don’t respect him because he talks too much. He talks out of character and doesn’t give his opponents respect. Before fighting me, he called out my mother a bunch of times. That’s a lack of respect.”

It was a reverse of field for Barrera from last week, though, when he praised Morales’ ring skills in the Mexican press. The seemingly contrived adoration only served to upset Morales.

“I don’t need him to tell me what I already know--that I have a great heart, that I can do all these great things,” said Morales, the World Boxing Council champion. “Everybody already knows these things and I’ll show it again in the ring.

“He’s finally seeing the reality of it and he knows I’m not an easy fight. He knows I’m not going to be a day at the park.”

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An announcement is expected to be made this week that Staples Center will be the site of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Jose Luis Castillo rematch Aug. 10. In the April 20 fight that many believed Castillo won, Mayweather was awarded a unanimous decision in Las Vegas.