My copy of Boxing Digest arrived on Valentines Day. I sat down on the couch and the cats came and sniffed as the always do paying special attention to the Valentines Day card my Nana sent. I?m checking out the table of contents, giving it a quick scan, turn the page and there it is on a 2 page spread: Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao. I heard Cupid?s wings flapping away rather pleased with the work he had done years ago. I love boxing. How unbelievably cool is this fight going to be. Don?t miss this one folks; this is going to be one hell of a fight.
I hate saying that any fight is going to be in the top 5 of the year, especially this early into 2005 and due to the fact that I?m a fan first and columnist second I occasionally?ok more than occasionally – lose my perspective and let my out and out enthusiasm get the better of me. Fortunately this is one of those glorious times where both fan and writer get to revel in what is about to happen in the desert on March 19th.
Yes Virginia, this is going to be in the top 5 of 2005?s boxing?s fight of the year. The MGM Grand in Las Vegas is going to rock.
Let?s take a look at the players. IBO?s number 2 ranked Super Featherweight Erik Morales and the 126-pound number 1 ranked Manny Pacquiao.
First up – Manny ?Pac Man? Pacquiao:
A great team surrounds Manny. He?s managed by Shelly Finkel and trained by the very capable Freddy Roach; I love Freddy?s work, he had done great things with Mike Tyson, even though Tyson lost his last fight he looked like the Mike of old?or young as it were.
I digress ? sorry.
Pacquiao is amazingly fast. Put a pair of gloves on the Road Runner and feed him 12 cappuccinos then you?ll get a glimpse of what Manny looks like on a slow day. He has 39 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws. One of the draws I?m still pondering. May 8th 2004 against Juan Manuel Marquez. Marquez was down three times in the first round and the rest of the fight was not a stunning overcoming of that round, but yet the judges had it as a draw.
Manny has astonishing knockout power, which always amazes me when these little guys have that kind of power. Out of his 39 wins 31 of them were by knockout.
4 things that stand out about Pacquiao:
(1) He hasn?t lost a fight in 6 years.
(2) He?s a southpaw
(3) He?s blazingly fast
(4) He?s Manny Pacquiao
The man on the other side of the ring is Erik ?El Terrible? Morales
Morales has a concrete chin ? he has never been knocked out. He is a real hard hitting Mexican never say die fighter. He?s hard hitting in technique and strength as well as hard hitting in his attitude and temperament.
Out of 47 fights Erik has the same amount of loses as Pacquiao – 2 – both of them to one opponent – Marco Antonio Barrera. This hard fought trilogy has helped to define Erik?s career and character.
Here?s a great example of Morales? never say die nature. When he lost to Barrera in November of 2004 (closing out the trilogy) he wanted to get right back in the ring and fight one of the toughest fights he could find, and this one more than fits bill.
I?ve been reading a lot of press lately that?s basically saying how Morales doesn?t really have a chance. I think that?s way off. This fight is more than just a fight for ?El Terrible? it?s a shot at redemption. Not that he needs major redeeming, but that?s his character to think so. An A- is just that – it?s an A- and Morales demands an A+ from himself.
For those of you thinking to yourself that there?s just no way for Morales to win and looking at Pacquiao?s 11th round TKO of Barrera and how Erik couldn?t do that, well this is a completely different story.
This is entirely a different kind of fight. For Pacquiao it?s an incredibly important fight. Imagine if Pac-Man eats up both Barrera and Morales.
?There can be only one!? ? go rent Highlander if you don?t get the quote.
For Morales this is a personal mission. This fight is not a job for Erik, but a chance at redemption. If he beats Pacquiao in a sense it?s almost better than if he won the Barrera trilogy ? almost.
If Morales beats Pacquiao then he is truly ?El Terrible?.
