El Paso, Texas - Fana was supposed to have heart. Fana was supposed to have a nice jab. Fan was supposed to be the number one contender. Barrera vs. Fana was worth $39.95. Really?
Mexico's Marco Antonio Barrera easily took care of ranked challenger Mzonke Fana of South Africa in the second round to retain his World Boxing Council super featherweight title.
Barrera dominated from the opening bell and knocked out the challenger with a devastating right at 1:48 of the second.
Morales had set the tone in the first round with two right hands that rocked Fana.
In the second, Barrera unleashed a right to the head that knocked Fana off-balance, followed by a jab and another explosive right that sent him crashing to the canvas.
Referee Laurence Cole didn't bother to count and quickly called a halt to the action to obvious displeasure of the South African.
"I was not hurt at all," Fana said. "He caught me with a very strong punch, but, believe me, I was not dizzy, I was not hurt. I don't want to blame the ref, but I could've gone on."
Barrera agreed the referee should have at least attempted to count but felt he had done enough to call for a stoppage.
"I respect what Fana says," Barrera said. "But when he got hit, he was hurt. We all saw that he could not go on. But I'm happy it ended in this fashion. It wasn't the quality of the opponent I faced tonight - it was the quality of my preparation."
Fana, 22-3 (8 KOs), fighting outside of South Africa for the second time, earned his shot at Barrera with a narrow split decision over Randy Suico of the Philippines last May. That made him the WBC's No 1 rated contender, but he still arrived in the United States a virtual unknown - even to Barrera.
Barrera improved to 60-4 (42 KOs). He made his first defence of the 130-pound crown he won last November against compatriot Erik "Terrible" Morales in the third fight of their bitter rivalry.
"It was a great victory against the top-ranked challenger," Barrera said. "Now I'll take a break, and see what my promoter, Oscar de la Hoya, decides."
Asked if he would be ready to take on Morales for a fourth time, Barrera said: "If that's what the fans want, I'm here."
With his first title defence behind him, Barrera could now vie for the rematch against Barrera conqueror Manny Pacquiao.
There are also exciting rumours of Barrera moving up to 135 pound division in an attempt to become the first Mexican born fighter to win major titles in four weight classes.
Jose Luis Castillo, Diego Corrales, Joel Casamayor, Juan Lazcano and Julio Diaz all make for great matches.
A welcome future for Barrera because fans are still asking themselves, "Fana who?"
In the co-feature, Fernando Montiel improved to 30-1-1 (24 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of Ivan Hernandez. Montiel, who dropped Hernandez twice in round seven with perfect left hooks to the body, regained the WBO 115-pound title he lost to Mark “Too-Sharp” Johnson via close decision in 2003. Hernandez, who dropped to 21-1-1 (13 KOs), won the title with an eighth-round stoppage of Johnson last year.
Sonny Banerjee
Editor-in-chief
Information from other publications and wire services was used in the compilation of this report.
