Erik Morales will not be retiring any time soon, and he will be taking advantage of the rematch clause that was written into the contract for his fight against Manny Pacquiao on Jan. 21 in Las Vegas. The day after Morales was stopped by Pacquiao in the 10th round of that fight, there was speculation that Morales, 29, might hang up his gloves after a long and very successful career in which he has won world titles in three weight classes.
But Morales’ promoter, Bob Arum, on Sunday said that a third fight between Tijuana’s Morales and Pacquiao – each has a victory over the other – is a done deal for Sept. 16, which is Mexican Independence Day.
It will take place at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, the home football field for UNLV.
Their last fight was contested at the super featherweight limit of 130 pounds. The third fight will take place at 132.
“He called me and said he felt he knew what he did wrong in his preparation, that his legs gave out because of the weight problem,” Arum said of Morales, who appeared exhausted when he was knocked down twice by Pacquiao in the fateful 10th round.
“He said he knew how to deal with that, and that he wanted a chance to win the rubber match.”
Morales said after the last fight that he had trouble making 130 pounds and that he would never fight at that weight again.
The Sept. 16 date is more than seven months away. Arum said Morales would not take an interim bout. He said Pacquiao might, and that if he did it would be in his native Philippines.
Corrales-Castillo III: Another trilogy could soon be on tap, this one between Diego “Chico” Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo.
The two – each with a knockout of the other – were supposed to fight again Saturday in El Paso, but Corrales pulled out last month because of a rib injury. Instead, Castillo took on Rolando Reyes of Oxnard and won an easy unanimous decision.
Arum said he is hopeful he get get Castillo and Corrales back in the ring together, as soon as April.
“We have to talk to Showtime (today),” Arum said. “My guy (Castillo) is a warrior. He didn’t have much of a workout (Saturday) and he is ready to go again as soon as possible.”
Gary Shaw, who promotes both Corrales and Reyes, did not have anything good to say about Reyes’ performance against Castillo.
“I am always candid and honest with everybody,” Shaw said, “and I almost thought Reyes was in there to survive. Could he have done better? Yes. Should he have done better? Yes. Every time he threw a jab, he hit Castillo and I think if he would have fought, he could have made a real fight out of it.
“I’m sorry he didn’t show his real, good ability.”
Wright-Taylor: Shaw also promotes No. 1 middleweight contender Winky Wright. Shaw and Lou DiBella, who promotes middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, are still trying to work on a deal for a Taylor-Wright fight.
It was supposed to go to a World Boxing Council purse bid Jan. 30, but the parties asked for a 10-day extension to try and get the deal completed. Three days remain in that extension.
“All I can say on the record is that the conversations between DiBella and I continue,” Shaw said Sunday. “There are three more days before the purse bid. If the dialogue continues, I will ask for another extension.”
Rodriguez wins Silver Gloves: Jesus Rodriguez of Van Nuys won the National Silver Gloves championship at 125 pounds Saturday in Independence, Mo. That makes two national titles in the past eight months; Rodriguez won the Junior Golden Gloves championship last July at 132 pounds.
“I prepared really well, so I knew that I could win the tournament,” said Rodriguez, 15, who is trained by Hall of Famer Carlos Palomino and Tony Villasenor out of the Jeopardy program in Van Nuys.
Rodriguez, who has 43 amateur bouts under his belt, won three bouts at the tournament. Asked his immediate goal, his response was no surprise.
“I want to be on the U.S. Olympic team,” he said.
He’s talking 2008. He’ll be 17 then and just old enough.
Margarito-Gomez: Arum is promoting the Feb. 18 world championship doubleheader at the Aladdin in Las Vegas that will see Antonio Margarito defend his World Boxing Organization welterweight belt against Manuel Gomez and Brian Viloria defend his WBC light flyweight championship against Jose Antonio Aguirre.
Arum said he wants to match the winner of Margarito-Gomez against the winner of the April 8 fight between International Boxing Federation welterweight champion Zab Judah and Floyd Mayweather Jr. The Mayweather-Judah fight, which will be held at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, will be formally announced Tuesday at a news conference in New York.
Robert Morales covers boxing for the Daily News. His column appears Mondays. He can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2313, or [email protected].
