Saturday did not quite go according to plan. No, let me rephrase that. Saturday night was a disaster for Erik Morales. He was soundly beaten by the unheralded Zahir Raheem. I frequently talk about opponents being high risk and low reward. Raheem fit that description unequivocally. Boxing insiders knew that he was a clever boxer with speed, endurance, and great reflexes. What he lacked was any significant fights as a professional. Without proving anything in the ring we had no choice, but to consider Zahir the heavy underdog to battle hardened legend Erik Morales. Without any respect in the boxing world, Raheem offered no reward. Even if Erik had gone out and dominated, nobody would have given him any significant credit for his win because it would have paled in comparison to past accomplishments. Morales was caught in a no win situation and took his dangerous foe lightly. Raheem now has an excellent win on his record so we can start taking him seriously now.
The weight step up to 135 turned out to be a favor to Raheem and a disservice to Morales. The thinking going in was that Erik was having trouble making weight and Zahir was last seen as a featherweight. His handlers figured that Morales could use the extra weight to out muscle a smaller opponent. The reality turned out to be exactly the opposite with Morales looking under trained and Raheem energized since he did not have to kill himself to make weight. Even with the loss you know that Bob Arum and Top Rank will still try to get Manny Pacquiao to agree to take the lucrative rematch. Every fighter gets a gimme; an off night that can be forgotten. For Barrera it was his fight against Pacquiao. Erik should take the most lucrative match that he can acquire next to prove that he is still on the map of elite boxers in the world. Erik still has a chance to get that fight since he beat Manny the first time around. Pacquiao would still like to avenge that defeat like all great champions would like to do. It is possible that the return match takes place despite the infomercial not going as planned. I would have a hard time supporting that bout as pay per view worthy however with Morales being beaten so badly.
Give credit to Pacman who did just what he was supposed to do. Hector Velasquez was just as we suspected. A tough, durable, and game opponent, but he just could not withstand the fire of Pacquiao for the duration. Velasquez is the level of opponent that can gauge where a prizefighter is in his career. If you can get past guys like Velasquez then you are officially a contender. If you can dominate and knock them out then you are a superstar. Manny just proved what we already knew, he is something special. If he does not seek the rematch with Morales, then his options are still wide open. Personally, I would like to see him fight Marco Antonio Barrera now. Barrera, the all time great, deserves a second try and Pacquiao has said on numerous occasions that he is more than willing to give him that chance. Also, the intriguing scenario of going down in weight to fight a rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez or fighting In Jin Chi for his WBC belt. Most seem to agree that Manny lives up to his nickname of “The Destroyer” more when he is at the more natural weight of 126 opposed to 130.
