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| Two weeks from this Saturday night two of boxing’s pound for pound best clash in an eagerly awaited rematch of their hotly fought encounter last year. In one corner we have Erik Morales, Mexico’s warrior, one of the few fighters in today’s era that puts his money where his mouth is. |  |
A fighter that even after a disputed loss goes straight into another big matchup.
A professional since 1993 when his first fight was at the age of sixteen, Morales has won world titles at no less than three different weights. This is a fighter that as a fan I’ve always held in the highest regard. I first clapped eyes on him in 1996, funnily enough by accident. Like many British fight fans I eagerly awaited Oscar De La Hoya’s challenge to Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez in June 1996. When watching the undercard half asleep on Sky Sports, a young Mexican at the age of nineteen was having his first serious test as a professional, taking on former super bantamweight champion Hector Acero Sanchez. Forty eight minutes later and fully awake, I was a fan when Morales, even at such a young age, masterfully took a unanimous decision.
One year later he took his first world championship, dethroning Daniel Zaragoza in eleven rounds, the same Zaragoza who eight months earlier upset Wayne McCullough to win the vacant title. He then proceeded to dominate the super bantamweight division, defeating the likes of Junior Jones, Juan Carlos Ramirez and McCullough.
By the turn of the millennium, his main rival in the 122 pound division was fellow Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera. Funnily enough when the two met in February 2000, Morales was a hot favourite. Barrera, although he had regained the WBO strap, was thought to have seen better days but over twelve rounds the two bitter rivals threw bombs at each other in one of the great fights of the modern era, maybe even of all time. Morales got the nod but it was a disputed verdict.
Feeling he was tight at the weight, “El Terrible” moved up to the featherweight division picking up the vacant WBC title but didn’t seem to have carried his punch with him. Punishing wins over the likes of Guty Espadas and Injin Chi led him to be made an underdog against old rival Marco Antonio Barrera when they resumed hostilities at 126. Again after twelve hard fought rounds, this time in a more technical fight, Barrera was given the nod but many felt that Morales had been hard done by and that the decision for Barrera was to compensate for the previous bad verdict. The rivalry was 1-1.
Morales showing the “old time fighter’s instinct” shrugged off the decision and proceeded to win a title at a third weight. Also he began to look his old devastating self and it seemed that the extra four pound push up to super featherweight had rejuvenated his career. He picked up two belts defeating Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernandez. Also he made probably his biggest statement by knocking out old rival Guty Espadas in three.
After another disputed loss to Barrera in the rubber match, Morales jumped straight into a fight with Philippine sensation Manny Pacquiao. Do you see a pattern forming here?
Two years Morales’ junior, Pacquiao is a two weight world champion in his own right. He won his first world title at flyweight in 1998. After losing the title due to failure to make weight, he jumped straight to the super bantamweight division and gained major exposure picking up the IBF title on the Lewis v Tyson bill in June 2002. Prior to that, Pacman, although respected in the trade, was an unknown quantity to the casual fan. He then catapulted himself to superstardom by destroying Marco Antonio Barrera in eleven rounds in a non title featherweight contest before having arguably the fight of 2004 against Juan Manual Marquez. In that one he had the 126 pound number one down three times in the first before settling for a disputed draw.
In Morales v Pacquiao 2 we have an early contender for fight of the year in 2006. Their first fight last March probably would have won fight of the year 2005 if it wasn’t for the Corrales v Castillo epic. So what of the rematch?
Many people will look towards El Terrible’s loss to Zahir Raheem as an indication towards what might happen but I disagree. Morales is at his most dangerous coming off a loss. Ask Pacman about that.
With a five inch reach advantage and vastly underrated boxing skills, Morales could box Manny with his jab and is quite capable of doing it. But that’s not Morales’ style and I’ve a feeling that he will want another war. After looking so terrible (pardon the pun) in his last bout, Erik will want to make a statement. Pacman on the other hand is a buzzsaw and the two styles compliment each other perfectly. An early prediction? I sway towards Morales because he walked the walk so many times but come January 21st I won’t be saying that with any confidence!
