Barrera confident of hurdling medical tests

As Manny Pacquiao steps up his preparations for his fight against Marco Antonio Barrera in Los Angeles, the Mexican featherweight king hopes to hurdle the latest attempt to derail his own buildup as he undergoes a series of neurological tests in Texas that would officially declare himself fit for the Nov. 15 fight at the Alamodome.

Agreeing to a directive to go through a battery of tests before the Texas Boxing Commission (TBC) could issue him a license, the 29-year-old Barrera is scheduled to travel to San Antonio to Houston Monday (Tuesday in Manila) for the exams which he believes he would pass without a hitch.

"I was never afraid of what might happen," said Barrera as quoted by John Whisler of the San Antonio Express News. "I live a healthy life. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I’m 100 percent healthy."

Generally regarded as the best featherweight in the world, Barrera has been asked to undergo a series of tests following reports that the talented fighter underwent brain surgery in 1997 to repair a small group of malformed blood vessels in the brain, a minor abnormality he had since birth.

During the surgery, a series of tiny, protective implants were inserted. Barrera then resumed his boxing career and has since fought 16 times, including two hard-fought battles with Erik Morales, one each against Prince Naseem Hamed and Johnny Tapia, with no ill-effects.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Ignacio Madrazo of Mexico City, the same neurosurgeon who operated on Muhammad Ali.

But Dickie Cole and the TBC want their own tests conducted. A positive result would pave the way for the cancellation of the mega-buck fight which Pacquiao, now training in earnest under Freddie Roach, has been raring to carry out to further enhance his boxing career.

Barrera was also forced to evacuate his training camp in Pasadena following the California wildfires that hit the area last week and has transferred operations to San Antonio last Thursday.

But Barrera tried to make the best of the unexpected change.

"Being in San Antonio two weeks early will actually benefit me as I prepare for Pacquiao," Barrera said. "My training in Big Bear was going great, and I’m expecting even better things in San Antonio."

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Golden Boy Promotions said ticket sales for the fight have hit the $250,000 mark in just six days after they went on sale Oct. 18.

"I’ve been in boxing for 19 years and this is the biggest fight I’ve been involved with," said Roy Englebrecht, chief operating officer for Golden Boy, the promoter for the fight card. "It’s been pretty awesome."

Although no independent data is available, Lester Bedford, regional promoter for the card, confirmed the $250,000 in sales.

"That’s great, especially considering we have done no advertising to this point," Bedford said.

Bedford said 150,000 Time Warner Cable subscribers who have ordered pay-per-view boxing events in the past two years will be getting a recorded phone message from De La Hoya in the next several days informing them of a card they will be receiving in the mail entitling them to a discount on tickets.

Tickets for the card are still available in all price categories — $300, $150, $75, $50, $35 and $25 — Bedford said.