Round by Round: Erik “El Terrible” Morales vs. Zahir Raheem

Here’s how it all went down fight fans!

Round 1: Erik Morales, 134 1/4, comes out in his orthodox stance as Zahir Raheem, 133 pounds, is also in an orthodox stance. Both fighters come out with high guards and Raheem is shooting jabs. Morales shoots some jabs to the body that come out short.

Morales is using a lot of upper body movement. Zahir lands a sharp left hook to the head. Morales comes back with a straight right hand. Left hook by Raheem lands with solid impact. He again lands with a hard right hand. Morales lands a right to the body followed by a right to the head. He lands a short left upper cut followed by a right hand. Raheem misses with a right and is countered by Morales.

10-10 Even

Round 2: Both fighters circle each other and Zahir is shooting left jabs. Erik lands a chopping right hand and goes back to moving his body. Morales blocks several hooks, but is caught with two lefts. A hard right hand lands for Raheem and the speed is bothering Erik. He shoots two left jabs. The fighters get tangled and both go down. Erik lands a chopping right hand but is getting out boxed by the quicker ex-Olympian.

10-9 Raheem

Round 3: Zahir is shooting a lot of punches but misses with many. He comes back with some speed and lands two to three punch combinations. Erik continues to stalk but he is doing very little landing. Raheem lands some hard body shots and steps away. The round ends.

10-9 Raheem

Round 4: Raheem lands a hard left jab and is trying to using quick combinations. Morales circles away and is looking to land some counters. Zahir lands a solid right hand but gets caught with a sharp upper cut and Raheem backs up. Erik lands a sharp right but Zahir lands some good jabs to stem the tide. Zahir lands two jabs. He lands a sharp one-two combination. Morales comes back with two right hooks to the body and a sharp right hand.

10-9 Morales

Round 5: Raheem is using his jab to land and circles away. Zahir lands a sharp, hard right hand and dances away. Morales lands a good right hook but gets countered with a hard left hand. Raheem stuns him with a right hand and Morales wobbles to the ropes, but is not hurt. Morales comes back shooting rights but Raheem lands his own right hands to the head. Zahir slips on a wet spot and the action is stopped. The action resumes with Zahir landing some quick rights. Morales lands some punches but is being out boxed.

10-9 Raheem

Round 6: Erik Morales comes out showing a sense of urgency, as he plods forward shooting power punches. Zahir is wobbled by a right hand and blames it on the canvas. Erik furiously continues to come forward and apply pressure. Raheem lands a beautiful counter left hook. He lands a three punch combination. He slips to the canvas again. Erik continues to stalk and lands a sharp right. Raheem lands two left hooks. As the round is closing, Erik lands a vicious right hand to the body.

10-9 Raheem

Round 7: Raheem comes out shooting jabs and lands a right hand. Erik comes back with a hard right to the body, but Zahir dances away. Raheem lands sharp right hands and jabs. Erik comes back with a hard right to the head and a right hook to the body. Zahir unloads a three punch combination, but only one gets in. The action is stopped because Morales needs to get one of his shoes tied. Erik lands two overhand rights and a hard left hand.

10-9 Morales

Round 8: Morales comes out showing aggression and going to the body. He lands some hard jabs but gets counted with a right hand by Zahir. Raheem goes to the body and digs some hard hooks to Erik’s midsection. Raheem continues to dig to Morales’ body with left hooks. Erik come backs with two right hands. He gets clocked with a one-two combination. The round comes to an end.

10-9 Raheem

Round 9: Morales comes out and lands some hard right hands as Zahir dances away. Raheem lands a hard jab, but dances away. The speed of Zahir is definitely showing as he beats Morales to the punch. He lands some hard hooks to the body while Erik is on the ropes. Morales comes forward but cannot seem to land anything significant. Zahir lands two jabs to the head and one right to the body. Erik lands three punches as the round comes to a close.

10-9 Raheem

Round 10: Raheem continues to jab from a distance as he moves around. Zahir lands a solid left hook lead. Morales lands a hard right hand, followed by a left hook, both to the head. Zahir comes back with three punches and then goes back to the jab. Morales comes forward shooting to the body, but gets countered with a sharp upper cut from Raheem. Erik continues to come forward and is trying to land something that will change the fight. Raheem is using all of his boxing skills and speed. He shoots three jabs and lands a hard left hook to close the round.

10-9 Raheem

Round 11: Zahir continues to pump the jab into the face of Morales. Raheem has boxed beautifully and is in complete control. There is a lot of bounce in Raheem’s step. Erik lands a hard left hook that wobbles Zahir, but Raheem dances away and gains his senses. Erik continues to stalk but just can’t seem to get anything consistent going. Zahir lands some hard punches but Erik lands sharp right hands and left hooks. Erik lands a hard right hand that makes Raheem’s right glove touch the canvas but it is not counted as a knock down. He gets away with it as the replay shows it should have been a knockdown.

10-9 Morales

Round 12: Both fighters come out in their natural stances. Erik comes out with a lot of aggression and stalks the ex-Olympian. He is shooting long, hard right hands to the body and head. Raheem is dancing and not doing much. He must sense he has the fight won. Raheem lands a left hook followed by a sharp right hand. He then goes to the body. Erik comes back with hard right hands but only one lands. He lands three straight right hands and one left hook. Raheem lands a hard right hand. The fight ends and Zahir Raheem should be declared the winner.

10-9 Morales

Official scored cards: 118-110; 116-112; 115-113 to the winner by unanimous decision: Zahir Raheem.