Much — but perhaps not enough — has been made of Erik Morales becoming the first Mexican fighter in history to win a world title in four weight classes on Saturday night. That fight, like the rest of the terrific pay-per-view undercard, has faded into the background as the world has focused on the controversy of the Mayweather vs Ortiz main event.
But it was a special moment, even if there was also deserved criticism, and even if it’s hard for some to take the achievement seriously.
I said after the fight in the immediate recap that no matter what you think of the title, it meant a lot to Erik Morales and Mexican boxing fans, and I truly believe that. Morales, now 35, wasn’t supposed to get here. Back in 2006, “El Terrible” looked washed up as a top fighter. After defeating Manny Pacquiao in a 2005 thriller, Morales was stunned in an upset loss to Zahir Raheem six months later with a Pacquiao rematch waiting for him in January 2006.
Though he lost, Morales vs Pacquiao II went ahead. This time, the younger, quickly-improving Pacquiao stopped Morales in ten rounds. And ten months after that, when they met for a third and final time, Pacquiao got Morales out in the third, as the Mexican warrior was unable to cope with the speed and power of his Filipino rival.
It was a memorable sight: Erik Morales, seated on the canvas, shaking his head, “No.” He wanted no more. He didn’t need anyone else to tell him that he was no longer at Pacquiao’s level.
