Welterweight contest between future world title contender Larry "No Fear" Barnes and Jeff Passero. Barnes was the No. 1 contender for Felix Trinidad's IBF Welterweight World title at the time of this fight. More info below... Jeff Passero had a record of 20-9-1 heading into this fight. He started his boxing career in 1979 and retired initially in 1983 with a record of 17-7-1 after facing fighters the likes of Dick Eklund, Davey Moore and Kevin Rooney. After a 10 year break he returned to the ring in 1993. He was big for a welterweight, standing 6ft tall and possessing a 74 inch reach. Larry Barnes had a very impressive 37-1 record and was a former NABF Welterweight champion. His only loss was by split decision to Saoul Mamby, a former WBC World Super Lightweight champion. Barnes had beaten experienced boxers like Harold Brazier, Darryl Lattimore and Glenwood Brown and had a world title fight lined up for later in the year against Felix Trinidad. Jeff Passero would be used as a warm up for the big fight in November. Barnes had a big disadvantage measurement wise against Passero. Having only a 68" reach and standing just 5 ft 5 inches tall, he would need to use his skills to get in close and land blows. Luckily for Barnes, Passero did not know how to use his 6 inch reach advantage effectively and Barnes was easily able to pin him against the ropes and land big shots on his constantly retreating opponent. In round 5, Passero would get trapped in the corner and knocked down from a solid uppercut to the stomach, even though the ref called it a slip. Passero did get back to his feet but he was quickly knocked down again from more accurate body shots. Larry Barnes would have one more warm up before facing Felix Trinidad for the IBF World Welterweight title, winning a 10 round decision. Unfortunately for Barnes, when he finally stepped in the ring with Trinidad, he was TKO'd in four rounds. Barnes retired in 1998 after a second failed attempt at winning a world title with a record of 44-3 and 1 NC. Passero would also retire in 1998 for the second time, but made an ill fated return in 2002, losing by KO to then undefeated Rico Tan, before finally retiring for good with a record of 20-17-1.

• published: 10 Sep 2015
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