When Manny Pacquiao fought Erik Morales for the first time in 2005, Marco Antonio Barrera said he'd be rooting for his old nemesis, because of his Mexican heritage. Although there was always bad blood between the "Baby-Faced Assassin" and "EL Terrible", and Barrera's loss to Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez--who drew with Pacquiao in 2004--was disputed by a bitter Barrera, the latter has always claimed to support his fellow Mexican fighters when they went up against the Filipino hurricane. Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Barrera has his chance at revenge, in what will likely be his last professional fight.

Pacquiao, 44-3-2 (35), has made quite a name for himself as a destroyer of Mexican fighters. Since 2003, Pacquiao has fought ten times against nine Mexicans, and won all of them except his first fight with Morales and the draw with Marquez. Among Pacquiao's victims were Barrera, Morales, Jorge Solis, Oscar Larios, Hector Velazquez, and Emmanuel Lucero. Pacquiao--who trains in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Freddie Roach--must be the most hated man in Mexico, where they love their fighters' machismo and blood-and-guts mentality; where they made warriors like Julio Cesar Chavez into national icons. Make no mistake, Mandalay Bay will be rocking as Mexican fans cheer on their man, and boo the man who is as big in the Philippines as Britney Spears is (or was) in America.

Barrera, 63-5 (42), who last fought and lost his 130-pound title to Marquez in a thriller back in March, is looking for redemption after Pacquiao obliterated him in November of 2003. We all know the story leading up to that fight--the news of a metal plate in Barrera's head, the disrupted training camp--which gave Barrera an excuse while he conceded he had a bad night. Barrera vows to be better prepared, and said he had a smooth training camp, but that may not be enough. Pacquiao, at 130, is the stronger fighter, retaining the speed and power he possessed at featherweight. Pacquiao is also not the same fighter as he was when he first bested Barrera: he's better. Using angles and throwing more than just a jab-straight left combination, Barrera will find it very difficult to contain Pacquiao for 12 heated rounds. In his fight with Marquez, Barrera showed that the legs are not there, and looked ready to go on several occasions. And Marquez, though he has considerable power, does not hit like Pacquiao.

Barrera is using his underdog status, and that the media has once again written him off, as motivation for victory. At 33, he has been in many wars, and his younger arch-enemy Morales has already retired two months ago. At 28, Pacquiao is in his prime, and has showed no signs of slowing down.

That's bad news for Barrera.

Prediction: Pacquiao KO 5