TIJUANA NATIVE FIGHTS IN MARCH
San Francisco, CA– Having watched Erik Morales since his days of fighting preliminary bouts at the Tijuana Auditorium, “El Terrible” or “The Terrible One” in English, Erik was something special from the get-go. When Erik ventured into Las Vegas, the stage that would make him an international superstar, he was 17 & 0 with 14 whacks! Appearing underneath Oscar De La Hoya’s dismantling Genaro Hernandez in August 1995 at Caesars Palace, Erik manhandled veteran Alberto Martinez inside of four fistic frames.
GREEN BUT EYE CATCHING WAS MORALES
It was obvious that Morales was not your normal skinny kid from a border town. Working with a perfect torso for prizefighting, the elongated Morales who stood 5’8 fighter and weighed 121 lbs. for his “Sin City” debut, Erik would mow through 26 foes before taking on and stopping the aging WBC 122 lb. champ Daniel Zaragoza in 11. From that point forward, Erik was headed to pugilistic super stardom. The fight that everybody wanted to see, Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera, was made for February 2000. This pairing did not disappoint as the two Mexican warriors warred for 12-3 minute rounds.
MYOPIC VEGAS JUDGING HAS TO INCLUDE DALBY SHIRLEY!
When it was over, most people were of the opinion that Barrera had won a close-but convincing decision. Two people that were not of that mindset, judges Dalby Shirley and Carol Castellano, they gave the fight to Morales with scores of 115-112 & 114-113. Duane Ford went the other way with a 114-113 card for Barrera. Morales would fight five more times before losing to Marcoin a 2002 rematch. Having already reached his zenith, Erik would again face Barrera and again list, this time in 2004 and win..but lose. This time the judges, Chuck Giampa, Duane Ford, Mike Glienna, they gave Barrera a call that probably was not warranted.
WENT DOWNHILL AFTER SECOND LOSS
The Mexican’s would meet one another once more in 2004, the end result being Barrera nabbed a close majority decision. Now 47-2 and just 28 years old, Erik would fight five more times from 2005 through 2007. He would win just one, a razor close win over Manny Pacquiao on March 19, 2005. Besides losing twice in succession to Pacquiao, there was the “tune up” loss to Zahir Raheem, who should have gotten the shot with Manny, but didn’t. And finally, there was the somewhat disputed loss to David Diaz in 2007.
HERE AND NOW!
After going 47-2, Erik slid to 48-6 and announced his retirement. Fast forward to February 11, 2010, and today Morales, now 34, is back in the gym with a comeback fight set for March 27 vs. Jose Alfaro (23-5, 20 KOs) in Monterey, MX. Looking at the resume of Alfaro, I see that he has a thin beard and has been stopped thrice. I’m thinking Nacho Huizar, the promoter at the helm of the Morales comeback, he sees that as well.
SHOULDN’T NEED THE MONEY….ANY MONEY!
Having made somewhere in the area of $15 million, Morales is married to a wrestling promoters daughter and unless he was “robbed” by his handlers, should be on solid financial ground. Apparently bothered by his two losses to Manny Pacquiao, Morales plays with the fantasy of fighting Manny a fourth time. Fiction aside, Erik Morales should resists the temptation of a comeback and face the reality that his day has passed. Revered for many years as “The Terrible One,” should Erik embarrass himself, people will just call him, “Terrible!”
Pedro Fernandez