Marco Antonio Barrera (#10) of Mexico, the "baby-faced assassin", was actually a mature, true gentleman in and out of the ring. In a nation with its fair share of boxing bravado, Barrera on the contrary was of a calm, thoughtful nature.
On one occasion, facing Phillipino superstar Manny Pacquiao in the ring, Pacquiao was so impressed with Barrera, Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach had to tell him "Don't treat him as the gentleman he is!"
As a fighter, Barrara went from being a slugger to a refined, intelligent boxer. But he always kept his toughness close to his game.
Barrera's signature move was to take punches from his opponent seemingly straight on, not doing anything to avoid or block them. But what actually happened was he turned his head or body ever so slightly, but still enough to deflect most of the impact away from his body. And immediately following, as part of the same movement, Barrera would throw a looping shot or straight hand at his opponent.
Another Barrera favorite was the left hook to the body, then a flurry upstairs.
All in all, because of his personality, boxing craft and creativity, I have my number 10 most exciting modern fighter Marco Antonio Barrera.