When looking back at the career of Erik ‘El Terrible’ Morales there are countless battles and performances from the Tijuana fighter that stand out. Halting Brooklyn’s Junior Jones in a bull ring in Tijuana, three memorable tussles with Marco Antonio Barrera, dominant junior lightweight conquests over Carlos Hernandez and Jesus Chavez all instantly come to mind.
But if you had to pick a fight where Morales’ back was to the wall and he came through after making a valiant stand, you would look no further than his March 2005 upset over Manny Pacquiao inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Coming off of a bitter loss with fierce rival Barrera in their third fight, this bout was looked at as Morales’ last stand given the rising tide that Pacquiao had shown himself to be.
<--- Slideshow: Behind the scenes in Las Vegas with Manny Pacquiao, Ines Sainz, Shane Mosley, Freddie Roach, Naazim Richardson and others at the final pre-fight presser
The unassuming General Santos City fighter by way of the Philippines was coming off a destruction over Marco Antonio Barrera in November of 2003 and a follow-up majority draw with Juan Manuel Marquez that left many breathless. Despite failing to officially defeat Marquez, Pacquiao’s stock was still high because of the savage nature of the fight, one in which he floored the Mexico City fighter three times in the opening round.
Pacquiao figured to be a little too much to handle for Morales heading into the contest yet what we saw from Erik was an inspirational and gritty performance. For twelve pulsating rounds the two men traded blows at a constant clip but for the most part it was Morales who was a little sharper and more effective with his shots, ultimately winning a close unanimous decision while also showing new wrinkles to his game as he outboxed Pacquiao during key portions of the fight.
Well-respected trainer and cut man Miguel Diaz was in Morales’ corner that night and spoke with admiration of his fighter’s effort.
“Morales fought a perfect fight that day,” Diaz reflected. “I worked his corner and I remember that he did everything. He boxed, boxed, boxed, and he didn’t get into the movement of typical Mexican fighter. And he offset all the moves of Pacquiao. Pacquiao was not the same guy that he is right now. He was coming up as a star.”
But the glory would be short-lived as Morales would go on to lose his next four fights, including two disheartening stoppages to Pacquiao in return bouts in Las Vegas. I asked Diaz if seeing Morales crumpled on the canvas after absorbing sustained punishment in his second fight with Pacquiao was all he needed to realize that the legend’s career had seen his best days past and he agreed.
“Of course,” said Diaz. “He said that he wasn’t really enjoying what he was doing. You saw the the results in the last fight with [Marcos] Maidana. He enjoyed what he was doing and he produced a tremendous fight.”
When mentioning the name Maidana, Diaz is referring to the dramatic battle between the clubbing Argentinean and Morales inside of the Mandalay Bay last month. The 34-year old Morales was looked at as a sacrificial lamb heading into the fight but produced an astonishing effort that same him match Maidana punch for punch in losing a very close decision verdict.
