PLANET FOOTBALL, SPORT & MUSIC

Throb · Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:36 pm I'll be No 1, says Barrera

From Sky Sports

Marco Antonio Barrera believes beating Manny Pacquiao will make him the pound-for-pound king of boxing.

The pair face off for a second time at super-featherweight at Las Vegas's Mandalay Bay in October in one of the sport's most eagerly-anticipated rematches.

And Barrera, who was stopped for the first - and only - time by the Filipino back in 2003, believes that revenge will leaving him sitting pretty at the top of the pile.

With Floyd Mayweather still technically retired, many consider Pacquiao to be top of the pound-for-pound ratings right now but Barrera, who lost his last outing to compatriot Juan Manuel Marquez, is adamant he will replace him.

"Pacquiao and I have one thing in common and that is this is the fight we have most wanted," he said.

"But Pacquiao should have been more careful for what he wished for because he is going to be in the fight of his life. The battle is on and I am going to leave the ring as boxing's new No 1 pound for pound fighter."

Pacquiao was far from impressive in his last fight, an eighth-round stoppage of Jorge Solis, with many blaming his dip into Filipino politics for a lack of focus.

But the 28-year-old has promised to knuckle down this time and make it two out of two against the Baby Faced Assassin.