It was just a look.
A look and the subtlest shake of the head.
But it said so much.
On Saturday night at a packed out Thomas & Mack Centre in Las Vegas, Erik Morales, one of the best little men of recent times, finally got old.
He was forced to acknowledge that Manny Pacquiao was the better man.
Forced to admit defeat.
It had taken three fights, plenty of blood and sweat and no little drama, but when Morales looked to his corner after being dropped for the third time by the marauding Filipino he knew enough was enough.
A Pacquiao victory had been expected. But the manner of victory had not.
Morales, a three-weight world champion and proud Mexican warrior, looked shot to bits but still went out on his shield.
At the very time his battered and exhausted features looked on helplessly from the canvas, it was hard to imagine a more withered looking 30-year-old anywhere else on the planet.
The fight had lasted less than nine minutes, but it was ample time to show us ‘El Terrible’ simply had nothing left in the tank.
His punch resistance looked as though it was gone, and once that goes it doesn’t come back.
A sell-out crowd of 18,276 had come anticipating a war.
What they saw in fact was an execution as Pacquiao tore into Morales from the outset.
To his eternal credit Morales tried to blast back, but it was all in vain.
By the start of round three the Mexican looked like he’d already fought 10 or 11 hard rounds.
He was catching an alarming amount of leather before that final left hand ripped through his jaded guard to send him careering across the ring.
It was no disgrace in losing to Pacquiao, the whirling dervish who may just be the most exciting fighter on the planet right now.
However one hopes this is the end for Morales.
He has made some decent money from the ring and is financially secure.
His willingness to engage in a brawl has earned him legions of fans and he’s been involved in some memorable tussles.
But where does he possibly go from here?
He’s lost four out of his last five fights and surely can’t reinvent himself, even as a lightweight.
As the Roman rhetorician Quintilian put it: ‘When defeat is inevitable it is wisest to yield’.
Morales has shown an rare and absolute warrior spirit throughout his long and distinguished career and he went out with his guns blazing against Pacquiao.
If he were to stick around it would only harm his legacy and that would be, well, just terrible.
