Last Saturday night’s battle between Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez fulfilled its expectations. It was an excellent match-up that produced plenty of drama and skill. We don’t always get that combination, however when we do, it is what makes this great sport truly like no other. As I predicted and expected, Marquez got the better of the battle. I had him winning 117-111, pretty much in line with the scoring of the judges, the only scoring they got right that night at Mandalay Bay, but that’s another story I will touch on a little later. Marquez was clearly the aggressor throughout and despite the fact that he is not and never will be as good as Barrera in his prime. Marco is finally starting to show that boxing wear. Actually, more than that, he has lost just enough of his reflexes to where he is starting to absorb a lot of solid shots. They are shots that in his past he would have easily side-stepped, blocked, or slipped and shots that in recent times he would have rolled with.