Morales, from his part, was undefeated and he had won the WBC super bantamweight title, knocking out Daniel Zaragoza (being the first person to do so) in eleven rounds in 1997.
Promoters soon began arrangements for a bout between the WBC and WBO super bantamweight title holders.
The first bout took place on February 19, 2000, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, in Las Vegas and was televised on HBO Boxing.
Morales was declared winner by split decision, with scores of 115-112, 114-113 and 113-114 and captured the WBO Super Bantamweight title.
Barrera was nonetheless declared the winner by unanimous decision, with scores of 116-112 and 115-113 and captured the WBC Featherweight title.