There are a hundred ways to look at Saturday night’s showdown between three-time world champion Erik Morales and two-time titleholder Manny Pacquiao, but speed vs. size may in the end be the most telling way. Battles that pitted such contrasting strengths and styles have produced some of boxing’s greatest and most grinding confrontations. Ali-Frazier. Leonard-Hearns. Arguello-Pryor. Taylor-Chavez. Basilio-DeMarco. Leonard-Duran. The list is a long and proud one.
In the case of Pacquiao-Morales, can the smaller, faster man hold off the more ponderous but stronger big man? Can Pacquiao’s chin stand up to Morales’ power? Can Morales handle the speed and difficult southpaw style of Pacquiao or will he become as undone by them as his countryman and long-time rival, Marco Antonio Barrera, was when Pacquiao stopped him in the 11th round two years ago after dominating him for most of the night?
Those are the questions to be answered Saturday evening on HBO pay-per-view and until they are, the debate will rage because this is already being projected as a potential Fight of the Year candidate and with ample reason because these are not only two of the best fighters in the world but also two of the most aggressive.
Morales has long been considered among the elite boxers of his time at 122, 126 and now 130 pounds. Pacquiao has been a champion at 112 and 122 and although his dismantling of Barrera at 126 brought him no formal title, it lifted his name into any discussion of the dominate fighters at featherweight and super featherweight in the present era. If he could add Morales to his list of conquests he arguably could claim the elite position among boxing’s little warriors.
That he handled Barrera so convincingly while Morales lost two of three nip-and-tuck battles with his great rival has left Pacquiao a slight betting favorite, but it may also have turned him into a boxer who may be mistakenly placing a bit too much faith in the contrast between what happened for each of them against Barrera. Although Pacquiao has said only respectful things about Morales when asked to comment, he recently made a tell-tale statement that had to make his trainer, Freddie Roach, blanch and should make some of his supporters concerned.
“I think he’s an old guy,” the 26-year-old Pacquiao said of the 28-year-old Morales, a reference not to his opponent’s chronological years but the many wars he has been involved in.
Those wars, some in boxing believe, may have taken just enough edge from Morales to make the difference against a faster opponent who packs a considerable wallop. Never one to avoid a fight when a boxing match would have sufficed, and all too often a guy whose nose seemed hard pressed to avoid incoming fire, Morales (47-2, 34 KOs) knows such whispers are out there about his perceived vulnerability. He knows, too, that his critics feel he’s been hit too much already and that if he allows Pacquiao to do the same he could pay dearly for it even though he’s never been close to being stopped because his chin is as resilient as Mt. Rushmore.
Morales knows these things are being said about him yet he is suffering no crisis of confidence. Rather he believes that his two close losses to Barrera will have little to do with what happens Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, because if you change 10-9 scores in two or three rounds he’d still be undefeated and there would be none of this talk of his looming demise.
Just as significantly in his mind, while he may have had more trouble with Barrera than Pacquiao did he’s not fighting Barrera this time. He’s fighting a miniature super featherweight who, he thinks, can be hit and if he’s right about that things can’t go right for Pacquiao.
“He looked great against Barrera and (Juan Manuel) Marquez (against whom Pacquiao fought to a draw after dropping Marquez three times in the first round) so they figure he can do the same against me,” Morales acknowledged. “But we’re different fighters. The other two guys have different styles. I think I’ll be able to box with him and I’m willing to exchange with him, too.
“His speed is his biggest asset but like every fighter he has weak points. I have to take advantage of them. I know he’s a fast starter but it’s not important how you start the fight. What’s important is how you finish the fight.”
Morales finished his third fight with Barrera last November with a rush that nearly overcame his lackluster start and the considerable lead Barrera was able to pile up. He fought back with grim determination and the consensus felt that while he may have lost he would not have succumbed if champions were still judged over 15 rounds because he was the stronger man at the end.
That strength will be countered by Pacquiao’s characteristic early aggressiveness, his considerable punching power, especially with the left hand, and what his trainer insists is a new-found willingness to use a right hand he has often all but ignored.
Certainly Pacquiao has knocked out 31 of his 39 victims in a career in which he has amassed a 39-2-3 record, a fact that speaks to his own dangerous power. That he’s 13-0-2 in his last 15 fights against some top competition makes clear his dangerous combination of speed and punching power as well. Yet there remains a lingering doubt about Pacquiao because it is now clear that the troubled Barrera he fought is not the one Morales had to contend with three times in fights that all ended with close and debatable decisions.
More importantly, Morales is a better boxer than he’s given credit for and he’s facing an opponent who has proven he can be countered if you are patient, brave and can stand up to his payload. Morales is all of those and when one adds hiss two-inch height and reach advantages and his own power one can easily see a scenario in which he could create a long, hard night for Pacquiao, especially if Pacquiao reverts back to the one-dimensional left-handed power puncher he was against Marquez.
If Pacquiao makes the mistake of taking too much for granted with the heavy-handed Morales as well, he may learn a painful lesson that styles make fights, not resumes. And Morales’ style is not Barrera’s.
“I wanted this fight,” Morales said. “I needed something big to come back with. I wanted to show the people what I’m still capable of. Sometimes you just have one of those nights. Against Barrera my body just didn’t respond like I wanted. I don’t know why. I don’t want it to happen again. It will not happen again.
“I don’t know if there will be a Morales-Barrera IV but there will be a Morales-Pacquiao I and it will be as enjoyable as anything you’ll see. I had one bad night. I doubt I’ll have a second bad night like that in a row. My record speaks for itself.”
So does Pacquiao’s, which is what makes this a highly anticipated showdown of speed vs. size. Although Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao won’t end that argument over which is the bigger advantage in boxing they’ll surely write another proud chapter in its long running debate.
Copyright 2005 ConanSports LLC
