On November 18th, 2006, prideful Mexican Erik ?El Terrible? looked as though he had reached the end of the line. Engaging in a rubber match with Manny Pacquiao inside of the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Morales was steamrolled by his younger foe and stopped in the 3rd round. Sitting with his rear on the deck, Morales simply winked at his corner as referee Vic Drakulich gave him his count, a sign that he seemed to realize he didn?t have it on that night and maybe as a fighter, period.
Morales was sensational in his first matchup with Pacquiao in March of 2005, winning a gutsy twelve round decision, but he would end up losing to Zahir Raheem in his following fight and being stopped by Pacquiao soon thereafter in their pulsating rematch. By the time his third encounter with Manny rolled around Morales was severely weight drained from straining his body down to 130 pounds and simply seemed to be past his best.
<--- Slideshow: Images of Morales? return, his thrilling fights with Manny Pacquiao and more
Morales would return in the fall of 2007 as he lost a competitive twelve round decision to Chicago?s David Diaz, a fighter better known for his grit than his skills, and after falling to a man who simply wouldn?t have been near his level in his prime, it seemed as though we may have seen the last of Erik Morales. 2009 came and went without a peep from the Tijuana whirlwind and it seemed as though a trip to the Hall of Fame would be the next notable occurrence from Morales as opposed to anything he did inside of the ring.
But it turns out that Morales wasn?t done fighting quite yet, as evidenced by his 2010 campaign. In March he would win an entertaining decision over former lightweight champion Jose Alfaro in Monterrey, Mexico and last month in Mexico City he stopped Scotland?s Willie Limond in the 6th. Those two fights are notable simply because on paper it looked as though Morales was in a position where he easily could have lost.
Limond was younger, bigger and presumably fresher than Morales and had gotten slight attention for being one of the few men to drop WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan earlier in the Lancashire fighter?s career. Seeing Morales stop him shows that there must be something left in his tank after all.
As for Alfaro, the rugged Nicaraguan left a deep impression during his wild, give and take battle with Antonio DeMarco on Halloween night in the Treasure Island in Las Vegas in 2009 and I never imagined Morales would survive the distance with him, let alone come away victorious. While there were various reports as to how the fight truly played out, some say Alfaro was robbed, Morales showed that he is definitely taking his comeback to the sport seriously by pulling out the win.
The latest news on Morales is that he could again be fighting in Tijuana on December 18th and Notifight?s Jose Antonio Soriano reports that the fight could be an added attraction to the Jean Pascal-Bernard Hopkins light heavyweight title affair that takes place the same day in Quebec, Canada. If Morales is victorious in that bout a 2011 meeting with Juan Manuel Marquez could be in the works.
If Morales does end up meeting Marquez next year it would be a fitting way for him to bow out from the sport. While his glory days are in the rearview, it doesn?t mean that there isn?t something substantial to still take away from Morales these days. He?s a fighter at heart and because of all the great memories he has given us, he deserves to be paid notice and respect as his career winds down.
To see images of Erik Morales in action, including his comeback to the sport and battles with Marco Antonio Barrera, Manny Pacquiao and others please click HERE
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at [email protected]
