By: Christopher Roche

In yet another sign that boxing is having a great year, fans will find themselves in a quandary this Saturday night, as two nationally televised cards will hit our screens.

Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao will undoubtedly put on a great show, as they face off in a rematch of their 2003 bout. Their bout on Saturday night, from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, promises to be a thriller, and passions will run high. Barrera has won 6 of his last 7, and Pacquiao is on a five fight-winning streak. Both men are giants of the sport, and they are icons in their respective countries. The national pride of the Philippines and Mexico is on the line yet again. Those two nations have developed a massive rivalry, and this bout will go a long way in securing bragging rights for the rest of the year.

Pacquiao told HBO.com that this is a career highlight for him, and he trained harder than ever for this bout.

“Fighting Barrera is a career highlight for me,” said Pacquiao. “He has already beaten great world champions like Erik Morales, Naseem Hamed and Johnny Tapia and I know I am going to have to train harder than I ever have before to beat him. But I am fully prepared to sacrifice and do everything necessary to beat him. And I will. It’s going to be another exciting night for fight fans.”

Barrera, for his part, is looking to move to the top of the pound for pound rankings, and he told HBO.com that Pacquiao should be careful what he wishes for in this fight.