Today in Boxing History: Marco Antonio Barrera/Erik Morales III

On this day in 2004, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales fought the final bout of their intense trilogy. In this rubber match, Barrera won a majority decision.

Morales won their first bout by split decision in 2000. In their rematch in 2002, Barrera evened the score with a unanimous verdict.

Between their second and third bouts, Morales remained perfect. Barrera, however, was savagely knocked out by Manny Pacquiao in the 11th round in November of 2003. The loss was so one-sided that it made many writers and fans question Barrera’s future in boxing.

He bounced back with a 10th-round stoppage of a fading Paulie Ayala in June of 2004. Still, it remained unclear whether Barrera had aged tremendously since his second bout with Morales.

But from the opening bell, Barrera, a 5-2 underdog, attacked Morales and won the early rounds. Morales managed to win the middle part of the bout and the last three rounds were a free-for-all as the two fighters viciously hammered away at each other. In the end, the scorecards read 114-114, and 115-114 and 115-113 in favor of Barrera.

While Morales seemed on top of his game and Barrera was thought to be washed up coming into the bout, the outlook on the two has changed since that night. Barrera has not lost since the Pacquiao bout. Meanwhile, Morales has lost three of his last four fights. His last two losses have been knockouts at the hands of Pacquiao.