SACRAMENTO—Erik Morales sparked boxing mania in Mexico for 20 years.
His trilogy with Manny Pacquiao will go down as one of the best in ring history.
Now, the great fighter they call “El Terrible”—the last man to have defeated Pacquiao—is but a murmur and a concern for fans waiting for him to bid “adios” and not succumb to the temptation of one more payday.
After watching him in a crap-shoot with a younger, stronger fighter last weekend, “no mas” is the “palabra” boxing aficionados want Erik to blurt out “finalmente”—that he’s done with the sport he loves and would be doing it a big injustice if he climbs the ring again.
Although he showed flashes of the old brilliance, Morales was clearly pummeled and outclassed Saturday night. In true warrior tradition, he survived a near knockout, ended the fight standing but knew in his heart that he clearly lost his world super lightweight title to unbeaten 23-year-old Danny Garcia of Philadelphia.
The verdict for the HBO bout at Houston’s Reliant Center was 117-110, 116-112 and 118-109 for Garcia.
Morales left boxing once before for a three-year hiatus following a razor-thin loss to David Diaz in 2007. Incidentally, Diaz, whose biggest fight ended in a terrible defeat to Pacquiao in 2008, retired earlier this month. A former US Olympian and lightweight champ, Diaz said it all for fading fighters. He told ESPN: “I could have taken fights just for the money, but it’s not about that. It’s about giving a good fight and having some dignity doing it.”
The 35-year-old Erik, a modern-day Mexican legend returned to the ring in 2010 for a string of fights, including two in his native Tijuana, Mexico.
His bout last year with unrated Pablo Cesar Cano earned him the WBC light welterweight crown. A close majority decision defeat to his WBA counterpart Marcos Maidana, gave Erik’s fading career a glimmer of life.
The fire of celebrity and the grit of a true champion led Morales on a collision course with the rising star and unbeaten Garcia.
Clearly, after 60 bouts, many described by ring writers as wars, Morales doesn’t have a lot left in the tank.
Suddenly, after the defeat to Garcia, Erik’s unforgettable bouts with Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera, Zahir Raheem and others seem as distant as the Peloponnesian War.
* * *
Pacquiao, who forged a friendship with Morales after their bloody encounters, stirred the sports world recently by telling reporters in Manila that he had a dream in which God had told him to retire.
The fighting congressman from Sarangani province—boxing’s only eight-division titlist—said the word from above was that boxing’s been a boon, but is hazardous to his health.
Morales—the first Mexican-born fighter in ring annals to win world titles in four different weight classes—need not wait for a hint from heaven to hang up his gloves.
* * *
The latest news from my adopted hometown is that a mysterious vessel remains anchored off the coast of Candon City, Ilocos Sur. The vessel, among several ominously sailing the environmentally sensitive sea lane from Santa Cruz and points north, is suspected of involvement in illegal black sand mining at night. Radio newsman Arlon Serdenia reports that the piercing decibel of machines from the craft has scared the fish away—angering fishermen who depend on modest catches for a living. Why the authorities have not conducted a serious probe boggles the mind.