Barrera certainly sees it – and that’s why he believes he’s about to pull one last stunner Saturday night to end a career full of them.

Back in 2003, Barrera was a respected champion and a wide favorite over the rising young Pacquiao despite a myriad of distractions, ranging from a wildfire near his training camp to the controversy around a metal plate in his head.

Pacquiao dominated the fight in San Antonio, stopping Barrera in the 11th round for the only TKO loss of his career. The win flung Pacquiao into a four-year whirlwind of fame, fortune and multimedia stardom, while Barrera lost the air of invincibility that defined him.

"It was a total meltdown," Barrera said through a translator.

"I can’t really take anything from that fight. It was Manny’s night. I’ve been thinking about that night ever since. All the time I’ve been preparing for this fight, that’s been on my mind."

Pacquiao is widely expected to triumph in their super featherweight non-title bout at Mandalay Bay despite his well-documented preoccupations with movies, music and politics in recent years. The 33-year-old Barrera claims he’s in his last big-money prize-fight, content to retire as one of Mexico’s greatest champions.

"I don’t want to be in this fight overconfident and give him a chance to win," Pacquiao said. "That’s why I work hard on this fight. ... That’s his life. If he wants to stop boxing, or if he wants to continue, that’s no big deal to me."

Both fighters weighed in at exactly 58.9 kilos (130 pounds)

Friday, with Barrera smiling widely and pumping his fist at the mostly Mexican crowd. His Golden Boy promoters stood behind him – including Bernard Hopkins, who behaved himself on the same stage where he hit Winky Wright with a 0,000 shove at the weigh-in for their July 21 fight.

Pacquiao was business-like on the stage, flashing a V for victory while the fans jeered. Pacquiao has been the scourge of Mexican fighters in recent years, beating Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar Larios and Jorge Solis while fighting Juan Manuel Marquez to a controversial draw.

The matchup is the product of a long-overdue detente between promoters Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya, who wrangled over the rights to Pacquiao for more than two years in a stormy dispute involving lawsuits, harsh words and big stacks of cash.

Arum retained the right to promote Pacquiao, while Barrera is ready for the final major payday of his time with Golden Boy.

"(Barrera) is going to fight a much better fight, because the first time he didn’t know very much about Manny," Arum said. "He went in there feeling he was just fighting some ordinary fighter, and he learned his lesson. He’s going to fight a more intelligent fight."