Mark Anthony Barriga (born 11 June 1993) is a Filipino

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who challenged for the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

mini-flyweight title in 2018. As an amateur, Barriaga represented Philippines at the 2012 Olympics, reaching the round of 16 of the

light-flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a Weight class (boxing), weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York (s ...

bracket.

Personal life

Barriga was born in Danao,

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...

but grew up in

Panabo Panabo, officially the City of Panabo ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Panabo; fil, Lungsod ng Panabo), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 209,230 people. Panab ...

, Davao del Norte. Mark Anthony was born to Edgar and Melita Barriga, the former a printing machine operator for a Korean company in their hometown. Barriga took up boxing at the age of 10, encouraged by his father. He studied business at the UM Panabo College and plays guitar as a hobby.

Amateur career

Barriga's participation at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

ended after he lost to Kazakh boxer

Birzhan Zhakypov Birzhan Zhakypov (born July 7, 1984) is an amateur boxer from Kazakhstan, best known for winning the light flyweight gold medal at the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships, 2013 World Amateur Boxing Championship. He qualified for the 2008 Olympi ...

, 16–17, in their August 4 round-of-16 match. Barriga was slapped with a one-point deduction in the middle of the fight's third and final round, enabling Zhakypov to eke out a one-point win despite trailing by two (8–10) after the second round.

2011 World Amateur results

*Defeated Stefan Caslarov (

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

) 12–5 *Defeated

Paddy Barnes Patrick Gerard Barnes (born 9 April 1987) is an Irish former boxer who competed as an amateur from 2005 to 2016 and as a professional from 2016 to 2019. As an amateur he competed in the light-flyweight division, representing Ireland at the 200 ...

(

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) 20–12 *Lost to

Zou Shiming Zou Shiming (; born 18 May 1981) is a Chinese former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2017 and held the WBO flyweight title from 2016 to 2017. As an amateur, Zou is China's most successful boxer of all time. In the light-flyweight div ...

(China) 5–12

2012 Olympic results

*Defeated

Manuel Cappai Manuel Cappai (born 9 October 1992 in Cagliari) is an Italian boxer who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the light flyweight division where he lost in the first round to Mark Anthony Barriga. Cappai won a bronze medal in the flyweight div ...

(Italy) 17–7 *Lost to

(Kazakhstan) 16–17

2013 Southeast Asian Games

*Defeated Huynu Ngoc Tan (Vietnam) 2–1 *Defeated Mohd Fuad Mohd Reuvan (Malaysia) 2–1 *Defeated Konelis Kwangu Langu (Indonesia) 3–0

World Series of Boxing

2013–2014 Season boxing fighting for Italia Thunder * Defeated

Leandro Blanc Leandro Blanc (born 2 May 1993) is an Argentine professional boxer who has held the South American light flyweight title since February 2020. As an amateur, he represented his country in the men's light flyweight event at the 2016 Summer Olymp ...

(

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

) of Argentina Condors (3–0) * Defeated Ovidiu Berceanu (

) of Team Germany by points (3–0) * Defeated Lü Bin ( China) of USA Knockouts by points (3–0) * Defeated Ovidiu Berceanu (

) of Team Germany by points (3–0) * Lost to Khamza Nametov (

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

) of Azerbaijan Baku Fires due to TKO-Injury

Professional career

He decided to turn pro after

Rogen Ladon Rogen Ladon (born November 10, 1993) is a Filipino amateur boxer. He first took up boxing in 2007, and won medals in international tournaments such as the Asian Amateur Boxing Championships and Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games ...

qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics as a flyweight, which was Barriga's weight class. Barriga was set to become a professional boxer on June 18, 2016 against Mark Anthony Florida at the Philippine Navy Gym in

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

in the mini-flyweight division but this match was later cancelled. Upon turning pro, Barriga signed to manager Jason Soong and was trained by Joven Jimenez. A new debut match was scheduled and Barriga was pitted against 18-year old Melvin Manangquil in an undercard match in a show organized by

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. Acc ...

-based promotion OPSI at the Robinsons Galleria in Cebu in July 2016. Barriga's match with Manangquil was fought in six rounds instead of four which is customary for debuts of novices in the mini-flyweight division. Barriga won by unanimous decision (60–54, 59–55, 59–55) Barriga's third fight was stopped in the fifth round of eight scheduled, after Barriga was cut by an accidental headbutt. He won the fight by

technical decision A technical decision is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because of a headbutt. In boxing fights, referees have to pay deep attention to the action going on between the fighters, especially when the two combatants are fightin ...

. Barriga got his first stoppage win in his fifth fight, scoring a round 2 technical knockout over Marlou Sandoval. On September 9, 2017, Barriga defeated former world title challenger Samartlek Kokietgym, out boxing him en route to a wide unanimous decision win (100–90, 100–90, 100–90). Barriga won the WBO International mini-flyweight title in this fight. In May 2018, Barriga defeated Gabriel Mendoza, another former world title challenger, by unanimous decision. With the win, Barriga improved his record to nine wins and zero losses and became the

's mandatory challenger. This was Barriga's first twelve-round fight. Barriga called out the IBF mini-flyweight world champion,

Hiroto Kyoguchi is a Japanese professional boxer. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF mini-flyweight title from 2017 to 2018, and the WBA (Super) and '' The Ring'' light-flyweight titles from 2018 to 2022. As of October 2022, he is ranked a ...

, but Kyoguchi moved up a weight class to

light flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920, ...

shortly thereafter. The IBF ordered a match between Barriga and

Carlos Licona Carlos Rogelio Licona (born March 3, 1995) is a Mexican-born American professional boxer who held the IBF mini flyweight title from 2018 to 2019. Professional career Licona turned professional on 5 December 2014 with a first-round knockout of ...

for the vacant title. After negotiations stalled for a few months, the fight was agreed for the undercard of

Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury was a professional boxing match that took place on December 1, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Undefeated defending WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder faced undefeated challenger and f ...

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Mark Anthony Barriga
on London 2012
Profile in AIBA INTERNATIONAL BOXING ASSOCIATION
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barriga, Mark Anthony 1993 births Living people Boxers from Davao del Norte Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Light-flyweight boxers Olympic boxers of the Philippines Asian Games medalists in boxing Boxers at the 2014 Asian Games Filipino male boxers Asian Games bronze medalists for the Philippines Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Southeast Asian Games medalists in boxing Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Southeast Asian Games competitors for the Philippines Competitors at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games