Erik Morales says he hates talk, but he is hearing a lot of it lately and some of it is coming from his father and former trainer.
Morales and his dad, Jose, split after an embarrassing loss to Zahir Raheem in September.
In a conference call last week, Morales described the move as a natural step in his evolution as a fighter.
“Over the past few years, he talked about not wanting to do this anymore,” Morales said through an interpreter from his training camp in Mexico. “He has other fighters. He has health problems. For various reasons, he was thinking about not coming up to train anymore.
“I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. So it happened. I know he has been talking to the press and saying some things that I don’t really understand.
“But as far as I’m concerned, we’re good. Whatever comes from him is his. Whatever he’s saying is his.”
Jose Morales’ comments in the Mexican press suggest a father who is at least unhappy. Boxing has been the family business. Erik was born in a room above a Tijuana gym his dad ran.
Father and son have been together since Erik began fighting professionally in Mexico as a teenager. Now 29, he has grown up and presumably beyond his father.
He says he is comfortable with his new trainer, Jose Luis Lopez, who brings a different perspective to the corner.
“He’s not really trying to change me,” said Morales, who won a 130-pound decision over Pacquiao last March in one of the most dramatic bouts in 2005. “He has corrected a few mistakes. He gives me some things to think about.”
But Morales, who was vulnerable to quickness and lateral movement against Raheem, has yet to encounter his new trainer after a tough round in what figures to be an equally dramatic sequel.
His loss to Raheem might have been a sign that change is long overdue.
But there’s been no tuneup to test whether the new relationship works, or whether a son just misses an ex-trainer who will never be an ex-dad.
Briefs
HBO will begin the countdown for Morales-Pacquiao by rebroadcasting some of the fighters’ memorable bouts. Morales’ victory in 2004 over Carlos Hernandez and Pacquiao’s draw with Juan Manuel Marquez, also in 2004, will be replayed Friday night and again Saturday on HBO2.
• Cancel that countdown for a welterweight showdown in April between Zab Judah and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Carlos Baldomir of Argentina got in the way with a stunning decision over Judah Saturday in New York. In a dog-ate-the-homework excuse, Judah blamed Don King for making him do a lot of interviews last week.
• Jose Luis Castillo opened as a 2-1 favorite over Diego Corrales for their third fight on Feb. 4 in El Paso. No betting line was posted on whether Castillo, who failed to get down to the contracted 135 pounds before the first rematch, will make weight this time.
