MAYOL TOPS UNDERBELLY OF PPV SHOW! Chicago, IL- Tonight, the story will be on the “Rematch of the Year” pitting Rafael Marquez vs. Israel Vasquez on a great Showtime card. A secondary boxing story of the weekend is the return of Erik Morales, 48-5 (34 KOs), who attempts to take the WBC lightweight (135 lbs.) title from David Diaz (32-1, 17 KOs). Many felt it was time for Morales to hang up his gloves after suffering his second knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao. However, fighters like Arturo Gatti got a number of shots to reclaim glory, this fight with Diaz gives Erik a chance at a 135 lb. title. IS DIAZ MERELY A RECIPE FOR DISASTER? David Diaz has not fought since last year when he took, at the time interim, title from Jose Santa Cruz. In that bout, Cruz was cruising along his fight well on the way to retain his belt by unanimous decision, when Diaz unloaded in 10th and stopped Cruz in the same round. Diaz is the type of fighter who will not back down and will constantly put pressure and punches together. Although he does not have one punch knockout power like Pacquiao, he can wear a fighter out over a long fight and is always dangerous, as illustrated in his fight with Cruz. That could spell doom for Morales, now 30, and has looked progressively worse in recent fights. In his only venture past 130lbs, he was handily beaten by Zahir Raheem and looked sluggish and slow. The worse case scenario for Morales is another long grueling fight against a pressure fighter like Diaz. In boxing, it is the long fights where the fighter constantly gets hit but doesn’t go down that causes the most long-term damage. Let’s hope if Morales does get in trouble, the referee will save this boxing hero for any unnecessary damage. WILL MARCO BE ERIK’S LAST FOE? Erik Morales is still one of boxing biggest draws and most exciting fighters. He was willing to stand toe-to-toe for three fights against Manny Pacquiao—something neither Marco Antonio Barrera nor Juan Manuel Marquez attempted to do. You can never count Morales out of a fight and more importantly there are still big fights out there for him. The biggest would be a fourth fight with Barrera. That fight would still sell out most arenas in California, Mexico, or Las Vegas. Barrera is set to seek revenge over Pacquiao this October. In the event both Morales and Barrera lose their fights in the upcoming weeks, it may be that the only fight they could make is against each other. Of course, the wise decision would be retirement. 108 LB. SLUGGERS TOP THE UNDERCARD The light flyweight (108 lbs.) division has generally not been known for big punchers. However, on the undercard of Morales-Diaz, two power punching light flyweights will battle for the IBF version of the crown. Ulises Solis, 24-1 (18 KOs), will make his fifth defense of his title against young Philippine Rodel Mayol. Solis is the top light flyweight in the world today, recently disposing of ex-champion Jose Aguirre last May. Mayol, 23-1 (18 KOs), has not fought since last September—due mostly to managerial issues. Mayol is most known for being one of a handful of Filipino fighters who went into Mexico and got his hand raised. In his only title challenge against Eagle Kyowa, Mayol blitzed through the champion through the first four rounds. However, Mayol lost steam late and the champ, Kyowa, rallied to score a unanimous decision in a 2006 Fight of the Year candidate. SOLIS WANTS REVENGE FOR BROTHER JORGE Last April, Ulises Solis worked the corner when his brother Jorge Solis fought Manny Pacquiao. The Pac-Man scored an either round stoppage over Jorge. Now, Ulises will try to redeem the family name in defeating one of the Philippines’ top fighters. This bout has all the makings of a exciting contest. Mayol has more than a chance to score the upset, as he is younger and stronger than any fighter Solis has faced recently. Mayol, like other Filipinos who have failed in title bids, must avoid using up all his energy in the early rounds. He made the same mistake against Kyowa and if he wants to be the third Filipino champion, he must be prepared to fight twelve full rounds. CONCEPCION FACES HIS TOUGHEST TASK! 19-year-old Bernabe Concepcion faces his toughest opponent to date, also on the Morales undercard. Concepcion, 21-1 (11 KOs), takes on Gabriel Elizondo (22-2, 10 KOs) for the NABF super bantamweight (122) crown. Elizondo’s only two defeats were against elite fighters in Jose Navarro and Jhonny Gonzalez. Concepcion is highly regarded by his co-promoter, Manny Pacquiao, and fought on the undercard of Pacquiao’s last two fights. Bernabe benefited from sharing a camp with Pacquiao but he’ll have to do all on his own this Saturday. Concepcion does everything in the ring well but at only 19, he is still a work in progress.
