That was quite a pay per view on Saturday. Erik Morales boxed beautifully and recorded what may be considered his career defining performance. The scorecards were close, but I don’t think there is any question that Morales was the better fighter that night. I remember thinking that Larry Merchant was being biased towards Pacquiao during the telecast, especially after 6 rounds when he said that he had the fight just about even when Morales was obviously carrying the fight at that point. Also, during the post fight interview Larry Merchant let Manny have the microphone for a few minutes to give out all of his thank you’s. When is the last time you saw Merchant let a boxer give out more than a couple shout outs without cutting them off? Pacquiao is one of Merchant’s favorite boxers and it showed during the broadcast.
There is no knock on Manny putting up an egg because he did nothing of the sort. He fought with heart, passion, and did everything in his ability to try to win the fight. Pacquiao is an early round fighter, but he showed his growth by taking a few of the later rounds with his aggression. Everyone in the Philippines should be proud of his efforts on Saturday. Manny did his best so all the credit must go to Morales. He fought intelligently by not letting Pacquiao get close to throw punches without forcing him to eating some vicious counters. This essentially neutralized the Pac Man for most of the contest. Erik also traded with Manny in the later rounds giving the fans a thrill that the entire family could enjoy.
There was a big deal concerning the issue on Winning gloves versus Reyes gloves. As far as I am concerned, if a fighter has to use a specific kind of glove to win, he is not a great champion. There is no excuse there so I hope people stop the talk of how Pacquiao would knock Morales out if he is able to wear his Reyes gloves.
Erik is putting together a first ballot hall of fame career. He had a WBC super bantamweight championship reign in which he went 10-0 with 8 knockouts, essentially cleaning out the division. Then Morales was able to win belts at featherweight and super featherweight. During this time he beat world class opposition, including Marco Antonio Barrera, Manny Pacquiao, Jesus Chavez, Junior Jones, Paulie Ayala, In Jin Chi, Carlos Hernandez, Wayne McCullough, etc. His record is 48-2 with the only two losses being very close, memorable decision losses to his arch rival Barrera. Not bad, he has got my vote.
Fans are starting to wonder what is next for Morales. I seriously doubt that he wants to fight Barrera one more time. When Larry Merchant mentioned Barrera after the fight, Erik rolled his eyes and had a look of disgust on his face. After three fights and 36 tough rounds, the two Mexican warriors have had enough of each other. There are many other options for Morales. The winner of fights between Rocky Juarez and In Jin Chi or Mike Anchondo and Jorge Barrios would be excellent opponents. Another route would be to convince Joel Casamayor to come back down to super featherweight. Although I think a move to lightweight would be too hasty for Erik, it is also an option.
The wildcard opponent at 130 pounds is Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai (3-K Battery). I have seen tapes of this kid and he is a monster. I even think that he is on par with the terrific trio of Morales, Barrera, and Pacquiao. Hailing from Thailand, Nanthachai is starting to venture over to the United States to grab some attention. Last August he beat Steve Forbes on the undercard of Frietas vs. Corrales. None of the big three would step into the ring with him at this point because he is too dangerous for such a small reward because he is unknown to most Americans. 3-K Battery is one of the best contenders around though and he holds the WBA trinket. Be sure to check him out on the undercard of Trinidad vs. Wright. I know that once boxing fans see 3-K Battery fight, they are going to want to see how he fares against the big boys.
How about that Jorge Arce character on the undercard of Morales vs. Pacquiao? He would not let anything stop him from winning that fight against Hussein Hussein. Not fatigue, not a huge gash on his nose, and not the hard counter shots he was eating as he dove in to attack. Arce is one tough hombre that strongly reminds me of the Wild Man Ricardo Mayorga. I would like to see both Arce and Hussein on TV again as they made for a great action bout.
Martin Castillo made a strong impression on me as well. When Eric Morel first emerged into the spotlight by winning a world title, he was tinkering on the outside of people’s pound for pound lists. The way Castillo made Morel look like an over matched club fighter means either one of two things. First, Castillo is one of the best boxers in the sport today; or second, Morel has slipped tremendously. I am guessing the former rather than the latter. The trouble for Martin now is that he may not have a suitable opponent to fight next. I would be hard pressed to name 5 super flyweight contenders off the top of my head. The best ones are from Asia which does not look good for the future if fans are looking for a unification contest. In the past, the Asian champions have sat on their belts and fought mandatory opponents while the Mexican champions did the same thing on the other side of the world. That may be the last high profile fight of Castillo’s career unless he decides to move up in weight, perhaps to challenge Rafael Marquez at bantamweight.
Speaking of the Marquez brothers, they are starting to go down the wrong path. I think both are excellent fighters and it is fun debating who is better pound for pound, but what have they been doing lately? My issue with them is not whether or not that they are not good boxers, but that they are not seeking out the best possible opponents. Rafael is scheduled to take on Ricardo Vargas on May 28th as a part of an all Mexican Pay per View event. Vargas is more of a fringe contender and really has little business fighting for the bantamweight title. Rafael was really an exciting commodity after beating Mark Johnson twice and then Tim Austin. Those were three great wins over “A” level opponents. Since then, he has taken on relatively easy marks. Vargas will be his fifth straight uninspiring title defense. The younger Marquez brother’s career has gone from awe inspiring to downright boring.
The recent career choices of older brother Juan Manuel leaves much to be desired as well. A rematch with Manny Pacquiao was logical and every boxing fan would have loved to see it. Somehow, the Marquez camp talked themselves out of that fight by asking for too much money. The opportunity to fight the Filipino sensation was then taken by Marquez’s countryman Erik Morales. Juan Manuel had let another super fight slip away from him because of poor negotiations. So who did he fight instead? An average fighter named Orlando Salido who was so surprised to get a title shot that he forgot to fight. Next up for Marquez is a match against Victor Polo on the Corrales vs. Castillo undercard. Polo earned a draw against Scott Harrison in his last fight, but other than that has done little to merit the opportunity. Featherweight is a deep division yet Juan Manuel is fighting B and C level guys. How long will he hold his belts hostage?
