Well, coming home is a figure of speech, since Erik Morales, 50-6 (35), doesn’t live in Tijuana and his last fight in the city came ten years ago when he blew away Rodney Jones in one round. It’s no secret that ?El Terrible? moved over just north of the border a good 15 minutes or so away in San Ysidro a few years back; still, aside from Antonio Margarito, they are, without question, the best and most famous fighters to have come out of Tijuana.
Morales, nonetheless, spends plenty of time in Tijuana, after having retired from the ring following a heartbreaking disputed loss to David Diaz in August of 2007 for the WBC lightweight belt (which would have netted Morales his fourth division title, making him the first Mexican to accomplish the feat. Morales became involved with the Tijuana commission, overseeing aspects of the sport and well as promoting some events locally. Now at two victories since his return from retirement, a more mature, relaxed and happier Morales is fully focused on officially winning the fourth division title.
No longer with Top Rank, the free agent Morales is currently working with PRO3 Sports Entertainment, Caliente, and Boxlatino.com and his latest fight takes place this Saturday night at the Caliente Race Track in Tijuana. Originally set to face the still-dangerous former world titleholder, the fiery Jorge ?La Hiena? Barrios, 50-4-1 (35), Morales will now face a late replacement in experienced and battle-tested former world champion Francisco Lorenzo, 35-8 (16), according to internet reports of Barrios having legal problems getting out of his native Argentina.
Morales’ WBC ?silver?’ super lightweight title is on the line.
Aside from the marginal title hangs a potential match-up with one Juan Manuel Marquez, a fight which would still be welcomed, despite the fact that it should have taken place years ago.
Morales, who struggled making weight before his retirement, has been campaigning as a super lightweight and welterweight in his last two outings and stated at a press conference in Los Angeles, California a few weeks ago that the only fighter he would drop to the 135-pound mark for would be Marquez.
In Lorenzo, Morales faces a fighter who has never been stopped and who has a DQ win over the current WBC lightweight champion Humberto ?La Zorrita? Soto, as well as having fought quality opposition such as Cristobal Cruz, Nate Campbell and Jorge Linares, among others.
A potential Morales vs. Marquez battle should be a fairly easy fight to make, given Morales defeats Lorenzo this weekend but Marquez is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, with whom Morales has also stated that he will more likely than not work with.
Marquez, who is coming off another impressive win last month, a scorching ?Fight of the Year? candidate against the game Michael Katsidis, was receptive to a match-up against ?El Terrible? despite the fact that Marquez is focused in getting a third crack at Manny Pacquiao.
Marquez vs. Pacquiao III seems somewhat a difficult match to make as Pacquiao has shown little interest in fighting Marquez (who seems to have Pacquiao’s number in closely fought fights) and is currently in higher weight classes. Couple that with the fact that Top Rank, who promotes Pacquiao first and foremost, is nowadays once more on icy terms with Golden Boy Promotions.
But as always, first things first, Morales vs. Lorenzo will also feature nine more fights, with tickets priced from $8 up to $170 (US).
All fans are encouraged to attend the live event, with free ticket packages to patrons of the nearby hotel, offered in conjunction with the promoters of the card. The same hotel (very close to the venue) also plays host to the participants involved.
German can be reached at [email protected].
