Erik Morales has been in a lot of ring wars. And at 29, he is getting somewhat old for a man fighting in the lower weights.
After being stopped by Manny Pacquiao in the 10th round of a thriller last Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Morales was hospitalized as a precaution.
The word Sunday was that he had a CAT scan that proved to be normal, and except for some bruises and a few stitches over his right eye, he apparently was no worse for the wear.
All things considered, one must wonder whether Morales’ time is up. He already is arguably one of the greatest Mexican fighters in history. He has made way more money than most small fighters will ever see, so why not retire? No one would blame him. He is 1-3 in his past four fights.
“It is really up to him,” Morales’ promoter, Bob Arum, said. “We are going to discuss the situation and we will come to a conclusion. I felt bad the fact that he lost last night, but right now, I’m into football and I’m not even thinking about it.
“There is no hurry. No decisions have to be made in a week or two. Everybody should reflect and then we’ll meet and make a decision.”
There was a rematch clause in Saturday’s contract for a third fight between Morales and Pacquiao, who have a win apiece. But Morales said he could no longer make the super-featherweight limit of 130 pounds. The sides could agree to fight at a weight of, say, 132 pounds.
Morales made a guaranteed $2.75 million Saturday.
