Zahir Raheem shredded the legendary Erik Morales in front of a stunned pro-Mexico crowd at the Stapes Center on Saturday night. It was a lop-sided beating of staggering proportions that reminds one of Leonard-Duran II, Mayweather-Corrales or vintage Roy Jones vs. Most Guys. Raheem even showed their swagger and posturing. Morales is a tough, gritty and seasoned veteran who loves to go to war but it looked as though he may have been sleeping in silk sheets since his war with Manny Pacquiao. He looked stiff, slow and a little soft around the middle. Raheem was able to land cleanly so often that if he had any power the night would have ended early.
When the judges’ cards were read, there must have been some shock at the scoring but thankfully the decision went the right way. I taped the fight and watched it twice, the first time to enjoy it and score it, the second to try as hard as possible to score rounds for Erik Morales. I ended up with the same score both times: 118-110. I was being generous. That one scorecard read 116-112 was bad enough, but 115-113? It is utterly inconceivable that a professional boxing judge could have arrived at that score.
The bottom line is that Zahir Raheem has done to El Terrible the same thing Manny Pacquiao did to another Mexican legend, Marco Barrera. He is firmly in the super featherweight scene now…if anyone will actually want to fight him. He is fast and possessed of superior skills, dazzling combinations and impressive professionalism. It remains to be seen if the power deficit is as serious an Achilles heal for him as it is for Cory Spinks. The big question raised by the Saturday night trouncing however, is where does Erik Morales go from here?
It is a testament to the fighting heart and spirit of the Mexican star that he claims to want revenge against Raheem, just as Pacquiao wants revenge of his own against Morales. In his post-fight interview he admitted Raheem’s style was difficult but that he will figure it out and get the win should a rematch happen. In truth, this fight was as close to a career ending spanking that any prizefighter will face and a rematch would be exactly the same or worse. Raheem is too slick, too fast and elusive for Morales. Erik has fine-tuned his style over the years but the kind of adjustments he would have to make to best Zahir are ones that fighters cannot make this late in their career. Styles make fights and Raheem’s is a nightmare for a guy like Morales.
Top Rank has announced there is no deviation from the planned Morales-Pacquiao rematch tentatively slated for January 21, but unless contractually obligated it seems a strange move for Manny. He obviously feels a need to avenge the beating he took in March but the desirability of that fight has diminished significantly in the wake of the upset. Compounding the Morales loss is the whoopin’ Pacquiao gave Velazquez earlier in the evening. For Manny all options are on the table and the biggest payday out there for him is still a rematch with a Mexican future Hall of Famer, but it’s no longer El Terrible, it’s the Baby-Faced Assassin.
As for Morales, he emphatically stated he would not return to a lighter division and seemed serious enough about proceeding with Pacquiao II. If that fight does go ahead as planned, he can consider himself lucky because it will mean he doesn’t have to face Raheem again, for a while. He will need another brilliant performance to bring the sheen back to his reputation, but his confidence surely took a beating along with the rest of him.
Erik Morales didn’t get exposed, but he did run into a buzz saw for which he was woefully unprepared. This is the type of adversity that only true superstars can overcome and will be one of the biggest tests of mettle in his entire career. If Marco Barrera can rise again after the shellacking he took at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, maybe Erik can return from this monumental setback. It’s the same test Roy Jones is about to take against Antonio Tarver. Two more legends of the sport have the opportunity to dazzle fans with heart and guts and prove their warrior spirit exists even in the twilight of their careers. Let’s see if they can do it.
