"He's used to fighting Mexican fighters who don't know how to react against his tactics. Tonight I used his own tactics and beat him at his own game." said Marco Antonio Barrera. 

April 8, 2001 -- Mexican boxer, Marco Antonio Barrera, defeated the flamboyant Prince Naseem Hamed by unanimous decision last night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

In one the biggest upsets in recent years, Barrera (53-3, 38 KOs), who many had as the underdog, pushed and wrestled the smaller Hamed (35-1, 31 KOs) around the ring and handed him his first loss of his boxing career.

"What can I say? I gave him the fight and he won the fight. He won the fight clearly in my eyes. I didn't box to the best of my abilities. I just want to say that credit is due to him and that...I'll be back," said a more subdued Naseem Hamed.

The fighter from Mexico City, Barrera, took advantage of his opponent's unorthodox style and lack of defense to constantly land straight right hands to the head and body of Hamed. 

Those right hands by Barrera stunned Hamed twice in the opening round, the first time about 1:30 minutes into the round and the second time just before the bell.

In the second round, it got a bit dirty as Barrera and Hamed clinched and wrestled each other to the canvas.  When it was all over, Hamed right eye was swollen and Barrera's nose started to bleed.

Barrera out-boxed Hamed throughout most of the fight and in the 4th round wobbled Hamed with a flurry of combinations. Barrera took advantage of Hamed's lack of defense and kept landing straight right hands and body shots.  Barrera backed up Hamed throughout the round, while Hamed was holding and dancing around the ring. 

However, each time Hamed was in trouble, he was able to either move away or clinch before Barrera could finish him off. 

In the middle rounds, Hamed landed some good shots which bothered Barrera, but he kept coming forward.

"The guy doesn't hit as hard as everybody thinks" Barrera said of Hamed. "I hope now everyone believes in me and what kind of a fighter I am."

There were no knockdowns in the fight, but Barrera controlled the entire fight. 

The 10th round was Hamed's best round. He scored when he had Barrera against the ropes. However, Barrera was never in any danger and fought back in the round. Barrera came back to win the 11th and 12th rounds.

Barrera, who moved up in weight from 122 to 126 was the bigger and stronger man in the ring. Also, Barrera at 5-7 is four inches taller than Hamed.

Barrera took home a paycheck of $1.8 million and Hamed received $2 million for the fight.

Judge Duane Ford  scored it 115-112, judge Chuck Giampa scored it 116-111 and judge Patricia Manning scored it 115-112 all in favor for Barrera.

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