Wednesday 20 April 2016 12:50, UK
A huge fan of Marco Antonio Barrera, Glenn McCrory watched his hero take on Erik Morales 16 years ago as a co-commentator - and he's still got the t-shirt...
Quite simply, this one is my favourite fight ever.
I've covered plenty of big, famous fights on Sky Sports down the years but this one is still top of the pile and always will be. Yes, the fight was one of three meetings between Barrera and Morales but, like so many boxing trilogies, the first fight was truly special.
The first thing that sticks out was the fight didn't have the same hype and build-up as others I had covered. When it was me and Ian Darke commentating, we often went out to the States a week before a fight but I remember wondering why we were going out there so early for this one.
Yes, it was going to be a Mexican shoot-out and yes, they were both world title holders but there were so many huge fights going on in those days and there didn't seem to be many other people from our part of the world covering it.
We soon realised why we had been asked to travel out there early.
I have never seen two fighters throw so many punches so well and so accurately in my career. It was amazing.
The grudge between Barrera and Morales still exists today. Even if they are both working on a TV show these days, Barrera and Morales just don't talk to each other. They dislike each other deeply and in fight week back then, the bad blood between them was clear.
They were both great guys and me and Ian Darke got great access but even then, you could see the differences.
And as the fight got closer, the press conferences might not have been packed with cameras and reporters, or even Mexican fight fans like they often are, but it was clear Barrera and Morales were different characters out of the ring too.
When we went to see Barrera, he was polite, friendly and all together a bit more official than Morales.
Morales - 'El Terrible' to his fans - was a man of the Mexican people. I'd picked that up in my time out in the States but when we went to talk to him in his hotel room, his people had the fridge open and were offering beers to us all. They were - and are - far more working class guys. They were there to enjoy it - even if Morales didn't have a beer in the build-up.
I do have to admit Barrera was one of my favourite fighters. I'd seen him before and he excited the life out of me, he really did. He did then, and he did for years afterwards.
But when fight night came, we were at the Mandalay Bay on HBO's Boxing After Dark and of course on Sky Sports, not at a huge pay-per-view event with the world watching. I honestly didn't think we were in for a treat, certainly not the treat we were given.
The fight turned out to be absolutely sensational. The outcome - Morales won on a split decision - was controversial. Like most people, I thought Barrera was going to get the decision - especially after the knockdown in the 12th. Of course, that meant we were going to get another fight.
We all certainly wanted to see it again and I know we wanted more that night. It was brilliant.
In my life, I have never seen two fighters throw so many punches so well and so accurately. They both took so much punishment, went on the ropes, got off and put the other one there, it was amazing.
It was almost impossible to commentate on because your heart and your lungs were in your mouth - it was such, such a good fight. It is still difficult to describe what went on.
Barrera and Morales had it all and yes, they went on to have two more fights and retired from the sport as not just Mexican legends but boxing legends.
We just got them both at the right time and I wonder whether we are going to get something similar between Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton. They are both nice guys but they are going to dislike each other immensely and it will be a barnstormer. We might well get another one, that's for sure.
There is one thing that will not happen, I can assure you. In all my career I have only ever asked fighters for autographs for charity stuff but out in Las Vegas for that first fight between Barrera and Morales, I got a fight t-shirt and I got them both to sign it.
It will always be my favourite fight and I can actually say that I've been there, seen it, done it and got the t-shirt.
