By Ashley Bercasio
Mark Anthony Barriga showed his trademark silky smooth defense against World Boxing Organization (WBO) world light flyweight champion Jonathan Gonzalez on June 25 at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida, USA.
While the 29-year-old fighter’s defense was stellar as usual, it was his offense or lack thereof, that had him absorb a unanimous decision loss against the Puerto Rican champion.
Barriga was actually the aggressor in the early rounds, withstanding a left temple cut he suffered in a clash of heads during round two.
He kept attacking Gonzalez in the following rounds, firing combinations and lightning quick jabs while avoiding damage using his cat-like reflexes.
The 2012 Olympian took control of rounds seven to eight, but Gonzalez turned the tables in round nine as Barriga started to lose steam.
Barriga, however, remained slick on defense but Gonzalez’s aggression in the later rounds proved to be the match’s turning point.
All three judges favored the 31-year-old Gonzalez, 115-13, 117-111, and 117-111.
In an exclusive interview with PTV Sports’ Paolo Salamatin, the Panabo City-native slugger said their plan did not pan out against Gonzalez.
“’Yong game plan namin, kina-cut namin si Bomba [Jonathan Gonzalez], tapos ‘di bababa sa tatlo ‘yong punches namin pero kung nakikita n’yo, isa-isa lang ako sumuntok at known din ako talaga na ‘di ako marami manuntok,” Barriga said.
“‘Yong game plan do’n, more on hook and straight, ang problema lang ‘pag ibinabato ko ‘yong suntok na ‘yon, pagdating ng fifth round na siguro, hindi na s’ya tumatama kasi si Bomba, ginagawa n’ya, nagda-duck na s’ya, yumuyuko na s’ya nang mas mababa pa sa akin kaya kami nagkaka-uuntugan,” the Filipino southpaw added.
While acknowledging his shortcomings, Barriga also lauded Gonzalez for exploiting one of his weaknesses.
“Talagang ibinababa n’ya kasi hindi ako nag-a-uppercut,” said Barriga. “Hindi ako mahilig mag-uppercut sa left hand ko kaya do’n n’ya rin ako nadale.”
Barriga also figured that his long layoff may have contributed to his defeat.
The former national boxer came off a nearly 27-month hiatus after losing to Mexican Carlos Licona in December 2018 for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) world minimumweight title.
He returned to action in 2021 beating fellow Filipinos Junuel Nacar and Ramel Antaran before facing Gonzalez.
“May mga rounds na talagang umabot na siguro ‘yong layoff ko na three years, lumabas do’n ‘yong pagod ko, hindi naman kami nagkulang sa training, talagang kinapos na, nando’n na ‘yong pagod na tinatawag natin.”
Despite this, Barriga has no complaints over his loss to Gonzalez.
“Talo, talo talaga, ‘yon na ‘yong naging resulta eh, wala na tayong dapat ipilit sa sarili natin, kung anong desisyon, ‘yon na ‘yon, basta ako, 100% ginawa ko lahat ‘don,” said Barriga.
While they are trying to knock each other’s head off inside the ring, Barriga shared that there’s no love lost between him and Gonzalez.
“Nag-leave s’ya ng voice record sa Instagram ko, nagpasalamat, isa raw ko sa mga kalaban n’ya na nagpahirap sa kanya, kung may maitutulong s’ya sa akin tutulungan n’ya ako, alam mo ‘yon, ‘yong mga gano’n, nando’n ‘yong respect namin to each other.”
Barriga now has a 11-2 win-loss record while Gonzalez improved to 26 wins, three losses, and one draw.
This was Gonzalez’s first title defense after snatching the WBO title from Elwin Sotto in October 2021. – ag
