BOXING\Promises kept or broken\Barrera, Kennedy try to answer doubts in tonight's bout.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

The main event tonight at the Forum is being billed as a rare opportunity for L.A. fans to witness a bout between two big-time fighters.

Is it really?

Marco Antonio Barrera, defending his WBO junior featherweight title against Kennedy McKinney, appears to be the real thing. He has been consistently dazzling. McKinney? Well, this fight will answer a lot of questions.

Find a weakness in Barrera. He can box, he can punch and, even at 22, he can think. In his 39 fights (39-0, with 27 knockouts) no one has come close to beating him, one reason he's considered one of the best active fighters.

And he's done it in dynamic style, the kind of style that is winning him more and more fans around the world: He was named international fighter of the year for 1995.

McKinney has a history that would suggest he's in the same class: His marvelous boxing skills led to an Olympic gold medal in 1988, he beat a drug problem (he swears) to win the IBF title in 1992 and he's only 30.

Yet there are those questions.

McKinney (28-1-1, 17 KOs) lost his title to relatively unknown South African Vuyani Bhungu in August of 1994, a fight in which Bhungu outworked the champion and ultimately wore him down for a unanimous 12-round decision.

Some believe they saw the beginning of McKinney's inevitable decline that night.

McKinney blames the loss on a lack of focus. He said he was frustrated as a result of failed attempts to line up a big-money fight and lost motivation for what he thought would be an easy victory.

He also has been inactive. He has fought only once - an eight-round knockout of John Lowey in August to win the next-to-meaningless WBU belt - since the Bhungu bout.

Can he realistically expect to beat a fighter of Barrera's caliber with such preparation? McKinney admits it's a concern.

"I really haven't been all that busy but only because I was hoping one of the champions would give me a shot," he said. "I'm in great shape and up to the challenge."

McKinney and his handlers don't see Barrera's track record as pristine, either.

"Who has he fought?" they ask over and over again. And they might have a point.

Barrera's toughest opponent might have been former world champion Eddie Cook in December of 1994. Barrera won by an eighth-round knockout but Cook frustrated him at times.

Beyond Cook, Barrera hasn't faced well-known opponents.

"Barrera's tough but he's definitely overrated," said Ken Adams, McKinney's longtime trainer. ". . . Experience is going to be a great factor.

"Barrera is coming into the unknown and you don't know what to expect until you're in that situation."

It's not Barrera's style to respond to such comments. His is a quiet confidence.

He seems almost embarrassed by comparisons with aging Mexican idol Julio Cesar Chavez and talk of pound-for-pound greatness, dutifully dismissing it as premature.

At the same time, he senses his own destiny.

When he was asked what his goals are, he said: "I want to make history in boxing."

And he doesn't plan to allow McKinney to stand in his way.

Also fighting: Johnny Tapia (33-0-2, 19 KOs) will defend his WBO super flyweight against Giovanni Andrade of Brazil (17-2, 12 KOs).

The card, which also includes three other eight-round bouts, begins at 6 p.m. It will be televised on a delayed basis by HBO.

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

Marco Antonio Barrera, left, and Kennedy McKinney, right, exchange words at a press conference promoting tonight's fight. David Crane / Daily News