Mexican boxing legend Erik Morales assured boxing fans his loss to rival Marco Antonio Barrera is not the end of his career. On Saturday March 18, at the MGM Grand Garden arena, Morales intends to show the boxing world he’s still a force to be reckoned with, as he faces off against Barrera slayer, the dangerous Manny Pacquiao.
“I have been working really hard and I know I am going to be at the top of my form for this fight.”
The Morales fight will be the first time the Philippines’ brightest sportsman has fought at 130lbs. No matter, Morales intends to make this fight about his talents and quality and not his opponents. “Pacquiao is a warrior and a very good fighter… he’s always going forward, applying pressure… throwing fast punches… I think his speed is his greatest quality but like every fighter he’s got weaknesses and I have to take advantage of those weaknesses”.
Interestingly, Morales for the first time in five years is not predicting a knockout. Keeping the cards close to his vest, no one knows for sure; one thing is for sure Morales sounds very focused for this fight and emotionally composed, more so than against Barrera. “All I am thinking about is winning the fight. If a knockout comes it comes, great… no matter I am looking to give the fans a fight they will remember.”
So what kind of fight does Morales and his team envision? How explosive does he have to be given Pacquiao’s reputation for taking it out hot and heavy from the first round? “I think we are different fighters and I do not compare his fight with Barrera to me… I can box him and I can mix it up when I have to… I know I can do what I have to at any time to win the fight… for this fight I know that working on my speed is important and we have done that…”
“We know he’s a strong and fast starter. It’s not just how you start a fight or what happens in the first round or two but how you finish the fight. It’s about controlling the tempo and the way the fight is fought over the entire fight.”
As to his popularity, the modest Morales acknowledges, “I have a lot of fan support from the people in Northern California and I know they will come out for me on the night.”
Defending the fact he is taking on such a formidable opponents right after losing such an emotional contest to his bitter rival Marco Antonio Barrera, Morales feels his promotional company, Top Rank, has not put him out to the slaughter. He fully admits he wanted the Pacquiao fight as no other.
“For me I think that this fight is so important at this point in my career… I wanted this fight after what happened in my last fight; it’s all I can think about… I wanted to prove myself and I want to show what I can do… the last fight was just a bad night and I am feeling great for this fight… I am prepared and ready to do what I have to win this fight… I have gotten rid of some of my team… we went back to basics, just me and my trainer and the basic team… we are doing it the old fashion way. This fight will decide what my career will be and I feel like I still have a lot left…
I never thought about going a lesser route; I plan to have three more great fights in 2005; everyone knows that’s what Erik Morales is all about and I have a promotional company that can make it happen.
I would be lying to you if I said my body reacted the way I wanted in the last fight… some times you train hard and do everything right and you just don’t have the speed… this time you will see me move a lot more and throw a lot more punches; I will throw them harder and faster than I usually do!”
As to his admission about feeling slow in the last Barrera fight, the former world champion wants fans to know “I feel strong; I feel good about the weight… this time I came into camp at a lower weight… I was not as heavy as I normally begin camp so we have had a month to decide how to fight and do strategy instead of just worrying about weight.”
As to finally being from under the WBC championship banner and being one of the WBC’s poster boys, Morales has the practical sense that “this fight doesn’t need any title and I am not worried about that and I know the people are looking forward to the fight regardless.”
Morales may shake his head at the mention of Barrera but when it comes to Pacquiao it’s about the fight, not the fighter. “The key for me is that I cannot be thinking about that; he represents a major fight for me. I have nothing against him… winning the fight is the most important thing at this time and only that.”
Upon hearing that Barrera told the media he is pulling for Morales against Pacquiao because he is a fellow Mexican, Morales dismissed the very idea that there could be even a token solidarity between them.
“He says these things in public but we know what he really means and what he says in private; I know he wants me to lose… basically, I don’t really care about what he says; we fought and I have moved on from that.”
