This week’s MMMB is dedicated to the purest warrior of our era, the man, the myth, the monster: Erik “El Terrible” Morales. Fight fans comment on his latest 12-round classic, the close but clear decision over Manny Pacquiao this past Saturday, and inquire about his place in history, pound for pound, and what he might do next. Read on and enjoy!
HOW GREAT IS MORALES?
Now that’s why I love boxing! But it chaps my ass that there was very little mainstream press promoting Morales-Pacquaio, but Tyson’s next circus will be covered all over ESPN et al.
Where does this victory put Morales? He’s lost 2 of 3 to Barrera, but maybe Marco is just a guy that matches up well, as well as Morales waiting too long to get started in fight 3. I want to lift Morales into the elite level all time based on all the wars he’s won, but it’s tough because there is a guy in his era who has the edge on him.
Also, is Pac-Man the next Fernando Vargas? By that I mean, a championship level fighter who can beat anybody except the very elite (although he did beat MAB). Marquez, after getting shocked in the first round, pretty much handled him and I think exposed his limitations. I think Barrera would fare better in a rematch if he fought smart.
The glove issue for Pac-Man–legitimate or a fighter making excuses? – BangkokBobby
You gotta ignore the mainstream press, Double B. They’re never going to view a real fight like Morales-Pacquiao as news worthy. I was shocked by the lack of East Coast news media ringside for Saturday’s excellent card, but the fact is the sports editors of the many fine fight scribes in Baltimore, Philly, New Jersey, NYC and Boston viewed Morales-Pacquiao as either a “Mexican” fight or a “Filipino” fight or a “West Coast” fight or something other than a fight that East Coast fight fans would be interested in. But those editors were dead wrong. I met a lot of folks who flew in from out east to watch a great fight at the MGM Grand this weekend. At the end of the day it’s the mainstream media’s loss and MaxBoxing’s gain.
Regarding Morales’ place in boxing history after this victory, why can’t both El Terrible and Barrera be viewed as great fighters? I think both Mexicans are first ballot hall of famers. On my personal scorecard Morales is 0-2-1 in his trilogy with Barrera, but that doesn’t erase his victories over quality fighters like Daniel Zaragoza, Junior Jones, Manny Pacquiao, Paulie Ayala, Wayne McCullough, Jesus Chavez, Carlos Hernandez, Injin Chi, and Guty Espadas Jr.
Don’t forget, this guy has won world titles in three weight classes, and they way he is, I wouldn’t count him out of becoming the first Mexican to win titles in four divisions (the winner of April’s WBA lightweight title fight between Juan Diaz and Ebo Elder would make a perfect opponent for El Terrible). My Uncle Mike would probably disagree with me, but I think Morales has done enough to be mentioned among the all-time great featherweights and Mexican fighters.
Is Pacquiao the next Fernando Vargas? I don’t know. Is that a bad thing? Vargas has thrilled millions (as has Pac) and he’s made millions. No shame in that. I wouldn’t say Pacquiao can’t beat the elite fighters, he’s basically even (1-1-1) with the three best Mexican featherweights of this era. The Barrera win was one-sided, the Marquez draw was controversial, and the Morales loss was close and competitive.
Regarding the glove issue, this is how I see it: the shoes did not make Michael Jordan a great baller and the gloves don’t make a boxer a great champion. Then again, I’m not a boxer and I can’t play basketball worth a s__t, so what do I know?
BACK ON TOP
Dougie, You hit the nail on the head, when you said Morales is the purist warrior in the game. NOBODY does more for the sport, than he. I’ve been watching boxing for 20+ years now and Erik has never wasted my money.
Do you think he should fight MAB a fourth time or move up in weight? Where do you rank him in your P4P list? Why do you think he’s been able to stay around the ring for as long as he has esp at the level he fights?
And he does it all for the public… get’s my money any day!!! – Nathaniel
Morales is worth paying for; I’ve never seen him in a bad fight and I’ve had the privilege of covering 13 of his fights (including all three Barrera fights). I’ve seen him go from the bottom of Top Rank undercards to main event status; from Boxing After Dark to HBO PPV. At different times I thought he was underrated (following his accomplishments in ’98 and ’99), overrated (going into the first Barrera fight), a spent bullet (post Barrera I), a rejuvenated marvel (post Barrera II and Ayala), a mean SOB (post Velardez), a racist (pre-Espadas II), a pound-for-pound player (during 2004), and now a truly great fighter. Regardless of my temporary impressions, I always referred to him as a pure warrior.
I think a fourth fight with Barrera would be another classic, a big fight for the game, but part of me wants to see if Morales can become the first Mexican fighter to win world titles in four weight classes. As for his P4P placement, check out my updated list for one man’s opinion. As for his longevity at this level, I think one word can explain it: PRIDE.
A ‘TERRIBLY’ GREAT FIGHT
What’s up Doug First of all Pac-Morales will be a fight to remember, 20 or 30 years later it will be one of those fights to tell our grandchildren about and I’m glad I’m living in a great boxing era.
I’m one of Morales biggest fans, but why? why? why? did I just root for Pacquiao? To be honest with you Doug I knew that Morales was going to fight the way he did, and I knew that in the close war, which is what Morales likes, Pacquiao was not going to be that successful because no matter how good Pacquiao is, he is one of those fighters that can not keep his feet in the same place when throwing a punch, making him get off balance almost with every punch, very dangerous against Morales . But still I let the media and fight analysis and comments by almost every writer get to me, so I started to think hmmm, maybe Morales is really slower, maybe Morales will not be able to deal with Pac’s speed, or maybe Morales had too many wars so he will be 50 years old for the fight, so what I did do — I jumped in the wagon and rooted for Pacquiao…. Wrong!!!!
The Morales that showed up for the fight was EL Terrible, the same Terrible that is going to be a first time vote for the hall of fame and the same one that should be on the top 3 or 4 on everyone’s P4P list. Thanx Doug – Efrain, FT. Lauderdale Fl.
Morales is definitely a top three or four pound-for-pound fighter. Look at his last four opponents: Chavez, Hernandez, Barrera and Pacquiao. For the last year and a half all he’s fought have been current champs and great fighters.
Your observation about Pacquiao’s flawed footwork is right on the mark. He was not able to stand his ground, and he’s not he kind of fighter who can fight backing up. In fact, his offense is his defense, so if he’s not advancing behind explosive one-two combos, he’s retreating to avoid punches, and the way he does that is to nearly turn around and run out of the way before leaping back in hopes of catching his tormentor by surprise (which didn’t work against Morales, but made for an exciting fight).
Don’t be hard on yourself for picking Pacquiao to win the fight. This isn’t the first time the oddsmakers and media were wrong about a big fight, or Morales in particular. Even ardent Morales supporters (from members of Top Rank’s staff to hardcore Mexican media) were sweating bullets in the hours before this fight. They were nervous, buddy. But hey, the veteran warrior did his thing. My hat’s off to him. He’s been in three of the best fights I’ve ever witnessed live: Barrera I & III and the Pacquiao fight.
ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE
Boy what a night of boxing Doug, I gotta say makes me wish I was there in person. What did it feel like being there with so many electrified boxing fans? I was very nervous for Morales that so many fans actually underestimated him. What more can Morales do for his career? He should definitely take a break this time. I bet your heart must of been pumped up too. Also el Travieso fight against Hussein was just icin’ on the cake. Many people are gonna remember and talk about these fights for a long time. – TRU MEXICAN
The atmosphere before the main event was almost overwhelming, TruMex. The energy from the proud Filipino and Mexican/Mexican-American fans, and a decent number of hardcore boxing junkies who came from all around just to see a great fight, had my heart pounding before the first punch was thrown. Only two crowds that I’ve witnessed live come close to the electricity Morales-Pacquiao produced Saturday night, both took place in 2001: the MGM Grand crowd for Hamed-Barrera and the Madison Square Garden crowd for Joppy-Trinidad. The Mandalay Bay crowd for Trinidad-Vargas (2000) gets an honorable mention.
What more can Morales do for his career? I think he’s done enough but a second win over Barrera and perhaps a lightweight title would set him apart from even the greatest of Mexican fighters. Regarding Arce-Hussein, I was skeptical if Morales-Pacquiao could out-do that flyweight brawl, but they did it. I can’t wait to see Arce fight again. In fact, I think Arce is my favorite fighter right now. Fenech stopped the fight just in time (some would say prematurely), so I think Hussein can come back and perhaps even win a world title in the near future.
SO RIGHT, YET SOOOO WRONG
The fight between El Terrible and Pacman was so right for boxing, but so wrong as far as predictions went. Things I learned during the fight:
-Morales would eat only 1-2 of Pacman’s barrage of shots because he circled under fire, Pacman would move straight back and allow Morales to land many more punches.
-Morales was able to fire back while moving away from Pacman, Pacman seemed unable to fire when in his defensive mode.
-Pacman seemed unable to throw punches in close quarters.
-Morales seemed to position himself towards the right of Pacman’s right jab, causing him to nearly turn sideways when trying to rush in and often times leaving him off-balance when countered.
I think these factors allowed Morales to control the tempo of the fight. When Pacman cannot rush in and be effective, he seems to bounce side to side looking for another answer. The problem is, he usually just tries to rush back in at another angle. I thought Pacman would slaughter El Terrible, but I greatly underestimated what a difference the little things mentioned above would have over plain old hand speed and power. Go figure.. but it was a great fight no less. I don’t see much difference in a rematch, but what do you think would happen should we see a Morales/Pacman II? – Joseph
Based on what happened in the first fight, I would have to favor Morales in a rematch, but I could be very wrong, as I was about Saturday’s fight. It’s a boxing match, who really knows what’s going to happen!? I thought Morales would beat Barrera in their rubber match. I thought Barrera would handle PacMan in their fight. You never know what’s going happen until they step in there and start scrappin’. Personally, I think fight fans get way too caught up in predictions. Fight picks are supposed to be for fun, folks. They’re just opinions. I don’t know why Morales fans even feel slighted, it’s not like he was a 3-to-1 or 4-to-1 betting underdog. And most media predictions that I read were evenly split (of the 10 MaxBoxing writers who participated in the Staff Picks before the fight, six picked Morales). Anyway.
Regarding your “factors of the fight”:
-Morales not only avoided most of Pacquiao’s salvos, he took the first one or two shots that Pac landed very well and immediately fired back, which prevented PacMan from following up.
-Pac has no “defensive mode”; his offense is his defense, and he does not know how to get off while backing up.
-Was Pac “unable to throw punches in close quarters”, or was he unwilling to do so? I think he was unwilling to commit to fighting on the inside because he felt Morales’ power early and knew El Terrible could hurt him and perhaps get him outta there. The choice to stay on the outside and jump in and out when he felt he could land something blew a big part of his gameplan – and something I thought would be very effective if he could do it consistently – and that was go to Morales’ body.
-Pac has great speed and power (and heart, of course), but his balance is mediocre.
THE GLOVES
Sup Doug, Curious to hear your opinion regarding Pacman’s comments saying he would of knocked out Morales had he used the Reyes gloves. Sounds like an excuse. Are the gloves to this fight what the wraps were to Hopkins-Trinidad? Your ol’ buddy – Alric
I don’t think hand wraps or a particular brand of gloves can make someone into a puncher. And I don’t think Pacquiao would have won Saturday’s fight if he had Reyes gloves on. I’m sure Manny and Freddie Roach would disagree with me on that, and I have to respect their opinions, but I believe Pacquiao lost this fight because he didn’t or couldn’t do two things: keep from backing up (you can’t do that with Morales and expect to win) and go to the body in every round, particularly early in the fight (it’s a must if your fighter is facing a veteran who has struggled to make weight and ballooned in-between fights for many years).
In my opinion, wearing Reyes gloves would have allowed Pacquiao to bruise up Morales’ face more than he did with the Japanese brand, but he still would have got beat by the better man that night. But I’m not a fighter or trainer, so what do I know? Fighters and trainers have often told me that wearing comfortable gloves can make all the difference in a fight.
PARTY ANIMAL
Hey, great work this week. Great build up and coverage.
My buddies went to the fight and the entire week in Vegas before the fight. They said that they saw Morales out the Wednesday before the fight with friends. They said he wasn’t drinking but eating and partying. What’s up with that??!?!? They also said that he was with a seriously hot chick!
What the f__k?
Is that why he struggles to make weight? Not the same effort? How can he party 3 nights before a fight and go 12 like that? Thanks – Mr. Krikett
Hey, Ricardo Mayorga’s got nuthin’ on El Terrible. Yeah, I’d guess that’s one of the reasons he struggles to make weight. Check this out, I heard that he broke camp a few times just two weeks before the fight. One of the reasons I went with Pacquiao in this fight was because I’d heard repeated stories of Morales doin’ the nose candy as well as some hot young hoochie even after the fight had been announced. I guess the great ones can get away with it. Morales is a party animal who is also a beast in the ring. He must have the spirits of great partying badasses like John L. Sullivan, Mickey Walker, Sugar Ray Robinson and Ruben Olivares in him.
EXCUSES, EXCUSES
What’s happenin Doug,
I know your getting a ton of mail on the Morales-Pacquiao fight, but here are few interesting points I would like to bring up:
1. I still have respect for Manny as a fighter, but he just made himself look bad by totally making excuses after the fight, there are three I can think off the top of my head (gloves, the clash of heads, which Morales suffered too remember, and now his vision), he should be a man and give the man his respect and admit that he lost fair and square.
2. During the telecast, I heard Jim Lampley say that a fighter can choose to listen to the commentary if he likes. how do they do that, do they put an earpiece in or what?
Thanks Doug, you always give me a spot in the bag, lets go 3 for 3. – Junior from Bakersfield
Pacquiao gave Morales his props at the post-fight press conference, and El Terrible, who can be very nasty in victory when he wants to be, gave respect to Pac. Pacquiao didn’t make a big deal about the gloves to the media immediately after the fight. His corner (mainly Freddie Roach) was upset about the gloves, but not Manny. People brought up Morales’ greater size and other things, but Pac said that wasn’t why he lost. He basically conceded that he lost to the better man that night, but he did add that he couldn’t see, which I believe, because it was a bone-deep cut right near the eye.
I haven’t seen the broadcast of the fight, but I would guess that Lamps is saying that fighters can hear HBO’s ringside commentators (he, Merchant and Jones) from their corners in-between rounds and it is up to them if they want to listen to it (or focus on what their trainers are telling them).
GREAT FIGHT, GREAT CONFIDENCE
All to often you hear a veteran fighter say I have experience edge only to get clobbered by the younger man. Well Saturday the experience of Morales really showed. It just seemed he knew when to box and slug at the right times. Nothing Pacman had could faze him. Sure he was buzzed a few times but his chin is so granite he dosen’t always have to be perfect. I would like to see a rematch but not right away. Pacman needs another tuneup fight otherwise I predict the same results. Pacman looked good and his right is coming along and since he is only 26 I don’t see the need to rush back into a war again. I think maybe Valero in sparring with Morales did the trick. Since Valero is such an animal Morales knew that nothing pacman had could equal what Valero gave him in sparring. Therefore giving him the confidence he needed. – Joe
I’m sure sparring with lefty young guns like Edwin Valero and Steven Luevano helped get Morales in shape and get his timing together, but I think he was with born with the confidence that he can kick anyone’s ass. He’s always carried that attitude into the ring, and I think that messed with PacMan as much as his experience and his knowing when to box and when to slug (and you are absolutely right about this observation, by the way).
I’ve received a lot of email with subject lines that state “PacMan Exposed” and “PacMan Overrated”, but I agree with you, he’s only 26 and he still has a lot of potential. While I don’t think he’ll ever be the complete fighters that his Mexican rivals (Barrera, Marquez and Morales) are, he can improve his footwork, defense and even his offense (such as his right hook as you mentioned). Hopefully, Manny’s promoter doesn’t just go for the big bucks and allows the fighter’s trainer to have some input as to what his next step should be.
THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR
Wow what a fight. That was definitely fight of the year. I love how Morales always gives us a war every time out, I really loved when he said to Merchant that he basically slugged it out at the 12th while knowing he was ahead on the judges cards. What was odd is that I read that some people had it a draw, are they blind? Pacquaio won the 1, 9 & 12th. I would love to see him against Barrera again, I truly believe that he did not feel good in the early rounds because when he did get into his groove he dominated the second half. If Morales fights and feels the way he did against Pacquiao he will knockout Barrera. Who do you think will win in the following fights?
Morales vs Barrera, Corrales, Castillo, Juan Diaz. – Paul Bedi
I had it like just about everyone else in the arena – including the Mexican media that stood and cheered for Terrible from press row – 7 rounds to 5, for Morales. I thought Morales swept the first four rounds (although the first and fourth rounds were close) and Pac edged out the middle rounds (which were also close) when they were exchanging a lot (rounds 5, 6 and 7). I thought Morales took the eighth, but Pac out-worked him in the ninth. Rounds 10 (which was close) and 11 belonged to Morales and Pac won the 12th pretty clearly. I have no idea what it looked like on TV, but I did hear of a few folks who thought Pac earned a draw, but I can’t see that even though one round different on the official scorecards would have made it so. It was a competitive fight, but Morales was clearly the superior fighter in terms of skill and strength.
If Morales fights like he did against PacMan vs. Barrera, I can see him winning that fourth fight, but then I have to remind myself that although Barrera lost to Pac, he’s still a MUCH better (and smarter) boxer. I think a fourth fight between the rivals would produce a controversial split-draw. I think Corrales is too damn big for Morales and will TKO El Terrible in a great brawl. Likewise with Castillo, who would walk him down and lump him up en route to a unanimous decision. Diaz provides the perfect style for Morales. I think he out-points the Baby Bull on the strength of a knockdown (courtesy of a perfect uppercut) in the kind of classic 12-round fight we have come to expect form him.
