Post-fight Report: ìHeís the true champion now . . . î His puffy eyes and bruised face concealed by sunglasses, former featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera was all about respect, shortly after his devastating 11th round stoppage at the hands of newly-crowned king Manny Pacquiao. ìI have no excuses,î said Barrera. ìHe was the better man tonight. I have a lot of respect for the new champion.î click here for post-fight report on last night's huge upset!

PACQUIAO DETHRONES BARRERA

by Christian Schmidt & Will Armstrong at ringside

IBF jr featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao moved up a division to score an eleventh round TKO over universally recognized featherweight king Marco Antonio Barrera Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Barrera was credited with a knockdown in round one by referee Laurence Cole although he did not land a punch when an off-balance Pacquiao went down. Pacquiao roared back in round two and scored a legitimate knockdown against Barrera in round three with a straight left. Pacquiao continued to outwork and outgun Barrera. An accidental headbutt in round seven left a cut over Barrera's left eye and Barrera was deducted a point in round nine for hitting on the break, putting him even further behind. Pacquiao finally dropped Barrera again in the decisive round eleven and Barrera's corner stepped into the ring to stop the carnage. Official time was 2:56.

Former world champion and current junior welterweight contender Jesse James Leija (44-6-2, 18 KOs) looked impressive in stopping Fernando Mena (18-4) in the co-feature to the Barrera-Pacquiao showdown on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Leija, fighting in front of his hometown crowd for the 22nd time in his 15th year as a pro, started off slowly in the first round establishing his jab and landing a few straight rights while Mena remained cautious. Leija came out strong in the second and dropped Mena with 1-2 combination in the first thirty seconds. Mena beat the count and the referee Rafael Ramos allowed the action to continue after a close look. Leija immediately backed Mena into a corner and unloaded a barrage of ferocious punches that almost sent Mena through the ropes. Mena was helpless and the referee stepped in to the rescue. Leija was so intense that the referee had to physically get in between the fighters to stop the action. Leija was accidentally sent tumbling to the canvas during the partition. The usually durable Mena (17-5-2, 15 KOs) was totally destroyed and offered no protest to the stoppage. Leija (45-6-2, 19 KOs) was awarded a TKO at 57 seconds of the second round. Leija, a former WBC super featherweight champion, recently signed a four-fight deal with Golden Boy Promotions and is hoping for a fight with Arturo Gatti or another try at the 140-pound title.

Julio Zarate (20-2-1, 13 KOs) captured the NABA super flyweight title with a close win over Oscar Andrade (31-23-1, 18 KOs). Zarate was booed when the decision was read and even the ringside press seemed mystified the decision. Andrade controlled the fight with his aggressiveness and more skillful foot movement. Zarte was knocked down by a left hook to temple in the second but he recovered nicely. No other fireworks occurred and but the action remained competitive. Andrade seemed to dominate the remaining rounds although Zarte never quit. The crowd booed the as the scores were read 95-97 twice and 96-93.

Miguel Huerta (18-6, 12 KOs) won an unanimous decision over Roque Cassiani (22-13, 15 KOs) in a jr lightweight bout. The fight was booed a lot due to the showboating of Cassiani and the one-sided action (by Huerta). Huerta was aggressor, often having to chase Cassiani around the ring to land his punches. Huerta dominated Cassiani with strong combinations throughout the fight but Cassiani offering little resistance. Several times Cassiani complained of low blows that no one but himself could determine. At one point in the fourth round, Cassiani stuck his head out between the ropes to avoid the relentless punches of Huerta. The scores were 96-93, 97-92, and 99-90.

Hot prospect Gabriel Elizondo (13-0, 7 KOs) boxed his way to an unanimous decision over Juan Francisco Soto (record unavailable) after suffering a flash knockdown in the opening stanza. Soto landed a prefect left hook t midway into the first round to knock Elizondo down. Elizondo got back up on his bicycle and used his boxing skills to stay away from the power of Soto for the remainder of the round. Elizondo continued to outbox Soto to a dominating degree. The corner of Soto tried to throw the towel in during the first minute of the sixth round, but the towel bounced off the ropes. It didnít matter for long because suddenly Soto was able to turnaround the action. The scorecards of the judges read: 58-54 twice and 58-55.

Undefeated lightweight prospect from Garland, TX, Americo Santos (13-0, 12 KOs) TKOíd highly-entertaining veteran Rudy Lundsford (12-26-3, 7 KOs) in the 5^th to win the vacant Miller Lite Texas superlightweight bout.

Houston light heavy prospect Miguel Martin (16-0, 8 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Sebastian Hill (8-6, 6 KOs).