A common notion in the boxing world is to regard a fighter with a recent loss as something less than he used to be four months after the loss in question. Thus, Marco Antonio Barrera was viewed as les of fighter than Erik Morales before their third confrontation, due in part to his loss to Manny Pacquiao. Going further, Barrera was seen as damaged goods after his loss to Junior Jones in 1997, and if you cast an eye a few weight classes higher you have Arturo Gatti, who never should have won another fight in his life after losing to Ivan Robinson. With all due respect, this is a ridiculous notion to judge a fighter?s chances, and Morales? in particular. Like it or not, you can?t help but admit that Morales and his archrival Barrera stand as two of the best fighters of the past quarter-century. They fought an astounding amount of times before their 30th birthdays, and both feature records littered with victories over some of the biggest names in their respective divisions.
If anything, I see Morales coming into his fight with Manny Pacquiao stronger than his fight with Barrera. And for the same reason. Barrera had just taken the beating of his life, and despite a knockout victory over Paulie Ayala his future was still in question. A win over Morales would have reestablished him as a contender. A loss would have taken boxing away from him. His dominant performance in the third fight is what happened when he was faced with that dilemma.
In this fight Erik Morales finds himself in a do-or-die position. He could have fought mediocre opponents and built himself back to Barrera, but instead took a fight with Pacquiao, who had beaten the man (Barrera), who had just beaten him. Beating Manny Pacquiao will cause Morales? stock to skyrocket, but the consequences of a loss are just as dramatic.
Although desperation can be a potent weapon, it is not the only weapon Morales has in his arsenal.
Last week I interviewed WBO super featherweight champion Mike Anchondo on his upcoming fight with Jorge Rodrigo Barrios. While on the line, I couldn?t help myself but ask the question? who will win the other super featherweight showdown.
His response was rather reserved. ?I could tell you who will win and who will lose if they do what and what,? he told me. ?If Pacquiao gets Morales to fight in front of him, he?ll win. If Morales doesn?t get sucked into showing how big he is, he?s going to beat him. I?ve seen him do it, he kind of pick apart his opponents.?
I couldn?t have agreed more. Conventional wisdom may suggest that Pacquiao?s ease with Barrera will spell doom for Morales. But this is harder to call than most others. There is no real innate superiority in either fighter; the end result will come down to boxing smarts rather than boxing brawn. And Pacquiao might take him yet if he forces Morales to fight his fight.
I doubt that would happen. Pacquiao has his strengths with hand speed and power, and Morales is too professional to not give them their proper respect. He?ll instead choose to pick and chose his shots. He does that very well; the rounds were he managed to get Barrera where he wanted him were clear rounds for Morales.
I see a precedent in Pacquiao?s fight with Juan Manuel Marquez last May. When Marquez tried to go toe-to-toe with Pacquiao he paid the price, suffering three knockdowns in the first round alone. The fight ended with a controversial draw when one of the judges failed to score the knockdowns correctly, but from Pacquiao?s standpoint, the fight shouldn?t have ended in a draw in the first place.
Forget about the controversy and give Marquez some credit. What happened is that Marquez was able to turn the fight around to one of his choosing with a more calculated plan of attack that wore Pacquiao down and allowed Marquez an opening to grab a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Do you mean to tell me that Juan Manuel Marquez is better than Erik Morales, the champion in three different weight divisions? Don?t get me wrong, Marquez does his job just fine, but Morales does it better.
Nevertheless, I did mention that this was one of the most difficult fights to call. It all comes down to what fight is fought at the MGM Grand this weekend.
Morales by decision, but I hesitate to even say of what type.
