Boxing-Marquez outpoints Barrera to lift WBC crown

LAS VEGAS, Mar 17 (Reuters) Juan Manuel Marquez won the World Boxing Council super featherweight championship with a hard-fought unanimous decision over fellow Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera in Las Vegas.

''This was a fight,'' Barrera told Marquez in the ring at the climax of an exciting bout. ''We fought like true Mexicans.'' After a tense start by both boxers, in which the action simmered without ever catching alight, the bout came to life in a dramatic seventh round yesterday.

Marquez, who had been slowly taking control of the contest with a varied, two-fisted attack, landed a left hook and straight right hand that appeared to hurt Barrera.

A series of right and left hands had Barrera in trouble and seemingly on the verge of defeat, but as Marquez threw a big right hand seconds before the bell, the champion landed a short counter right to the jaw and the challenger went down.

Referee Jay Nady, however, did not see the punch and ruled it a slip, before deducting a point from Barrera for throwing a punch at Marquez when he was on the canvas.

''He connected with a great shot on the chin,'' Marquez told reporters. ''Unfortunately, he hit me with the other shot when I was down.'' Energised by the turn of events, Barrera had perhaps his best round of the fight in the eighth but Marquez wasted little time regaining control.

He landed a solid right hand and left hook towards the end of the eighth round, and followed up with a huge right hand and a pair of big left hooks in the ninth.

SHARPER PUNCHES The 33-year-old fighters continued to trade furiously throughout the remainder of the contest, bringing the announced crowd of 8,127 to its feet with excitement, but Marquez looked the fresher and his punches appeared sharper and harder.

As the bell rang to end the bout, Marquez punctuated a fierce exchange with another powerful left hook that left Barrera looking exhausted while his opponent raced to his corner to celebrate his apparent victory.

All three judges scored the bout for Marquez, two by scores of 116-111 and one by 118-109.

''I did the necessary things to win,'' protested Barrera.

''They were bad judges. I won the fight and I don't know what happened.'' ''He is a great champion,'' Marquez said of Barrera. ''He deserves a rematch.'' It was a career-defining victory for Marquez (47-3-1, 35 KOs), who despite being highly regarded for years by boxing enthusiasts, had not achieved the same degree of mainstream recognition as his compatriot.

By contrast, Barrera (63-5, 42 KOs) had fought a series of high-profile world championship bouts, while Marquez had fallen short of the higher reaches of the sport, despite holding the world featherweight championship from 2003 to 2006.

The previous highlight of his career had been a 2004 bout against Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, in which Marquez was knocked down three times in the first round but recovered to earn a draw.

REUTERS SAM KP1439