2005: Marco Antonio Barrera Defends Title and more


LOS ANGELES, April 14, 2005 – It was a weekend to remember for Golden Boy Promotions, as not only did boxing superstar Marco Antonio Barrera defend his WBC super featherweight crown with a devastating second round knockout of number one contender Mzonke Fana, but two new world champions were crowned for the Golden Boy team.

Last Friday night, at the Miccosukee Gaming Resort in Miami, Florida, Argentina’s Jorge Rodrigo Barrios stopped previously unbeaten Mike Anchondo in four one-sided rounds to win the WBO super featherweight crown.

The very next night, at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas, Fernando Montiel was just as devastating, delighting boxing fans with a seventh round knockout of another previously unbeaten foe, Ivan “Choko” Hernandez, to earn the WBO super flyweight title. The victory earned Montiel his third world championship in two divisions.

“I know the hard work it takes to win a world championship, and I’m very proud of our two warriors for what they accomplished last weekend,” said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “This is the start of great things for both fighters, and fight fans can be assured that we will be pursuing the biggest fights possible for Jorge and Fernando.”

Barrios and Montiel join Marco Antonio Barrera, Bernard Hopkins, and Oscar Larios as current world champions on the Golden Boy Promotions team.