Erik Morales on Marquez: I didn’t need 4 fights to beat Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines—Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez are two of the greatest Mexican fighters ever and both had an incredible history with Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao during their careers.

Morales and Marquez, though, sadly never faced each other in the ring, but that didn’t stop Morales from throwing a jab at Marquez years after their retirements.

While both are celebrated champions in Mexico, Dinamita’s one-punch knockout win over Pacquiao received more adulation in the country.

“My career was not defined by Pacquiao. I didn’t need to beat him. I don’t want to be too arrogant but nobody gave me a boxing lesson,” said Morales in an interview with Fox Deportes h/t BoxingScene.com. “Winning by knockout is important, but for me it was better to dominate them, make them suffer inside the ring.”

“I didn’t need four opportunities to beat Pacquiao.”

Both fighters had thrilling bouts with the sport’s only eight-division World champion, pulling off one victory each against Pacquiao.

The trilogy between Morales and Pacquiao started with a unanimous decision win for El Terible as he bagged the WBC International and International Boxing Association World super featherweight titles.

Morales eventually lost his next two fights to the Filipino boxer via knockouts.

Marquez went 0-2-1 against Pacquiao in their first three matches but got a stunning win over PacMan in 2012, eight years after they first fought in a controversial split decision draw for the WBA and IBF World featherweight belts.

“When I was fighting [Marco Antonio] Barrera [from 2000 to 2002], when I was gaining weight and moving up, Marquez was not there… he was fighting with people who were just starting out,” said Morales. “It wasn’t until I left boxing for a little while that Marquez catapulted up. While I was there he didn’t do that.”