 Barrera: "I'll be around a long time!"
Post-fight report by William Trillo
Photos by
Chris Cozzone
"I want to thank all the fans in Los Angeles for coming out and enjoying this fight," said Marco Antonio Barrera at last night's post-fight press conference at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. "We hope we showed that there is still a Marco Antonio Barrera and there will be for a long time to come. I would also like to congratulate Paulie Ayala, a true warrior of the ring.
"I was surprised I put him down. He had gone twelve rounds with many tough opponents but the hard work we did showed tonight and it paid off for us...We trained very hard for six weeks and I hope we showed that we are going to be around for a very longtime to come."
 What's next for Marco?
"A well deserved rest," he said. Possible rematches with Erik Morales or Manny Pacquiao will only be discussed after a vacation, but then Team Barrera will get together with Golden Boy Promotions to discuss the plans for the future.
Paulie Ayala caught the silent crowd off guard with his opening statement, "What's wrong? You act like somebody just died in here."
"You know what man, God is good, all the time. I want to thank Marco for giving me this opportunity to fight such a great champion. Ayala then thanked his wife for her support throughout his career and acknowledged his whole team for their work. "I have nothing to be ashamed of. When I went down the first time, his corner was telling me to stay down, but I am not that type of fighter. They are going to have to carry me out. I take my hat off to Marco.
 "At this moment I think fighting is out of my system. I am going to pray real hard about it. I am going to ask God to lead me and guide me and by doing that I have peace with whatever decision he makes. That's the peace and understanding that my Lord gives me. I am going to seek Him, but for me personally, yeah, [fighting] is out of my system."
Earlier, Raul Marquez was the first combatant to enter the press room (Jermain Taylor was being stitched up in a local hospital). Marquez commented, "I want to thank HBO for giving me this one last opportunity. I prepared myself and I trained hard but it didn't happen for me. I thought I had a little momentum going but Jermain fought really smart. I think this was a great learning experience for him and I feel I was the toughest fighter that he has faced in his career. I think this fight will help him in the future," said Marquez.
 "I knew if things didn't go my way tonight that it would be the end of my career. I think I had a great career. I was an Olympian and a world champion, and now I have a career as a boxing analyst. I am still learning that and I think I am getting better in front of the camera and I enjoy it. This was my last fight and I am looking forward to a long career as an analyst."
"I felt as strong as him and I made him miss. It was a good learning experience for him. I don't think he is ready for Bernard Hopkins though. Jermain is better than I thought he was and I wish him the best."
As to the stoppage of the fight Marquez replied, "They were telling me from the sixth round on that I was going to have to knock him out. Ronnie Shields is a great trainer and I have no problem with what he did."
Shields noted, "I told him I wasn't going to let him take a beating and at the end of that round I could see that he was really hurt so I decided to stop it before he came back to the corner. Jermain was a little to quick for him and it didn't make sense. Raul had a great career, he didn't embarrass himself in any way."
When a freshly stitched Taylor came into the room and took the podium, he was quick to thank Marquez for putting up such a tough fight. "I went in there with a game plan and it was hard for me to execute it," he said. "It wasn't until the last round with the knockdown, that I started putting my punches together. I usually have a hell of a jab but it wasn't what it was supposed to be tonight."
 When asked who is next, Taylor replied, "It doesn't make a difference. I will fight whoever. This guy took me to the limit tonight. I'm a boxer and I'm a fighter. I am ready for whoever."
With a mid round head butt that caused a cut over his eye, one wondered how the extra adversity affected Taylor. "I have been cut before and I know how to handle that. I have an excellent cut man. I knew it was nothing to worry about. It was an unintentional head butt. That's just fighting."
It was confirmed that HBO will feature Jermain one more time prior to the end of the year.
Promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank noted that the Home Depot Center in Carson, California was a perfect venue for boxing and stated that it won't be long before he stages another show there. "We were deluged in the papers by this basketball team that couldn't get out of it's own way and lost in five games. They obviously got the Lions' share of the news, but all in all I am extremely pleased with the live gate," Arum remarked.
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William Trillo
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