The veteran trainer whom Manny Pacquiao entrusts to bring his rosary to the ring in every fight said the other day Erik Morales has reached his peak and may be on the way down.
Lito Mondejar, who co-owns the fabled L&M Gym in Sampaloc with Moy Lainez, will be in Pacquiao’s corner once more, carrying his rosary, when he takes on Morales in Las Vegas on Jan. 21 (Sunday morning, Jan. 22, Manila). He leaves for the US on Thursday.
Mondejar said at 29, Morales is nearing the end of the line as a professional boxer and can’t get any better.
“Ang tendency ay bababa na ‘yan,” said Mondejar. “May edad na rin siya. Marami na siyang nadaanan na gyera. Si Manny, paakyat pa lang at bata pa. Sa tingin ko, malaking panalo ito ni Manny. Aayaw na lang si Morales kagaya ni (Marco Antonio) Barrera. Sa totoo lang, mas magaling si Barrera kay Morales at mas malakas. Madulas lang si Morales. Hindi kakapusin si Manny. Ang kondisyon niya sa last round parang first round.”
Mondejar said Morales is slower than Pacquiao and doesn’t hit as hard.
He mentioned three factors in Pacquiao’s favor–power, speed and conditioning.
“Sa first round, pagaaralan muna ni Manny kung anong gagawin niya,” said Mondejar. “Sisilipin niya kung anong uubra–kung kaliwa o kanan. Tapos, unti-unti niyang uubusin si Morales.”
International matchmaker Jun Sarreal said he expects an exciting fight and pegged the odds at 50-50. But when pressed for a prediction, he reluctantly picked Morales to win by a decision because “it’s difficult to beat a Bob Arum boy in Las Vegas on points.”
Sarreal said he’s still making up his mind whether or not to fly to Las Vegas for the fight. Arum, a friend, has reserved tickets for him at ringside in case he decides to go.
“If Manny loses, it won’t be the end for him because he can still earn big bucks by fighting either Barrera or (Juan Manuel) Marquez in a rematch,” added Sarreal.
If Pacquiao beats Morales, a rubber match will be likely to complete a dramatic trilogy. * * * It won’t be Ivan (Relampago) Valle facing three-time Philippine champion Jimrex Jaca in the undercard of the Pacquiao-Morales mainer after all.
Jaca’s manager Rex (Wakee) Salud told The STAR before boarding a Philippine Airlines flight to Los Angeles last Friday that Valle has been replaced by John Nolasco of the Dominican Republic.
Curiously, Nolasco is booked to fight Vicente Escobedo in Tucson, Arizona, on Jan. 27. But if Salud’s information is right, it wouldn’t be surprising for Nolasco to back out of the obscure Arizona card to appear in the HBO pay-per-view show at the Thomas and Mack Center.
Nolasco, 30, has a 15-4-4 record, with six KOs. He was unbeaten in his first 10 bouts and is coming off a split 10-round decision loss to Jason Litzau in Temecula last July. He is a 5-8 stylist with a 70-inch wingspan.
The youngest of five children, Jaca finished only up to Grade 6 in Sibulan. His father Angelito died when he was eight. His mother Filomena has no means of livelihood. An uncle taught him how to box and when he was 11, he left home to fight in provincial amateur shows and carnivals. When he was 14, Jaca spent a year living with battle-scarred soldiers in a desolate military camp and the toughening experience prepared him for a life of hardship.
Determined to make a living from boxing as his way out of poverty, Jaca took a boat to Cebu to find his fortune when he was 16. He eventually met up with Salud, who became his manager, and turned pro on his 17th birthday in 2000.
Jaca, 22, is a 5-7 southpaw with a 25-1-1 record, including 11 KOs.
There are unconfirmed reports that former Philippine superflyweight titlist Vernie Torres of General Santos City may also see action in the undercard. * * * Asked to name his favorite swimmer, Southeast Asian (SEA) Games triple gold medalist Miguel Molina singled out Rattapong Sirisanont of Thailand in a recent e-mail to The STAR from the University of California at Berkeley campus.
“He used to train at Berkeley like I do and I’ve swum against him in the Asian Games, the SEA Games and the Olympics,” said Molina, an All-American senior varsity swimmer. “I just admire his work ethic and the fact that he will compete against you under any circumstance. I really admire his will to win.”
It’s the same will to win that Philippine Amateur Swimming Association president Mark Joseph hopes to inculcate in Molina and parlay into a golden finish at the Asian Games in Doha late this year and maybe, a medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
By the way, Molina’s father Tomas teaches business and economics at St. Mary’s high school in Tokyo while his mother Mitos teaches English as a secondary language to elementary students. The family moved to Japan in 1987. Molina’s sister, who is 18, is enrolled at Stanford University as a freshman. Molina said his parents will retire in the Philippines where his relatives, except two aunts, live.
