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 Erik Morales: On the Cusp of Greatness?Feb 23, 2004 By Ben Franco
When the dust finally settles and all the cows have come home it becomes time to judge a fighter’s career and subsequent greatness amongst his peers and where he sits on an all-time list. If you are trying to rank current fighters still contesting it is almost impossible, but when we examine the resume of Erik "El Terrible" Morales there is great cause for excitement. What does it really take to be considered a great fighter? Power, a great chin, stamina, a massive heart and an indominable will to win are all excellent places to start. Morales is in possession of all these tangible facts plus a host of others that seem to manifest with time. Another aspect of how great a fighter has been can be determined by his opposition roster. When we check Erik’s opponents list it is very credible. With potential Hall of Fame candidate Marco Antonio Barrera on one side and a list of former world champions headed by Paulie Ayala, Guty Espadas, Wayne McCullough, Junior Jones, Hector Acero Sanchez, Jose Luis Bueno and Daniel Zaragoza. On the other, it seems “El Terrible” is well on the way to being slotted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame Just fighting those caliber of opponents is career threatening and Erik faces up to these kinds of fights on an almost frightening consistency. He has lost only one fight out of 46 professional contests, with the loss being a closely disputed decision to Barrera which could have gone either way. It was a war for the ages with both guys looking like they had been in a car accident, glass cuts and whiplash included. Erik was born in Tijuana, B.C., Mexico on September 1st 1976 and stands at 5’8” with a 72” wingspan and is trained by his father, Jose Morales. He fought in 114 amateur fights compiling a record of 108-6, and turned pro on the March 29th 1993, stopping Jose Orejel in two rounds. Erik also compiled an amazing start to his professional career going 26-0 with 20 knockouts before bludgeoning an over matched Daniel Zaragoza for his first world title in eleven pulsating rounds that saw both fighters hurt and Zaragoza dropped in the11th round and unable to beat the count. With this win he captured the WBC Super Bantamweight Title and went on to defend it 9 times with only the tough-as-teak Wayne McCullough and ever willing warrior Marco Antonio Barrera able to hear the bell for the twelfth and final round. After outgrowing the 122lb division, he moved up in weight and wrenched the WBC Featherweight Title off of a game, but ultimately outclassed Guty Espadas. Morales would go on to face a tough competitor in Korean challenger Injin Chi, who he pulled out a unanimous decision over. Morales was now ready for the rematch with his career nemesis, Marco Antonio Barrera. This fight was nowhere near the war their first fight was with the first 5-6 rounds seemingly on cruise control. The last six rounds resembled more of the first contest with Barrera this time eeking out a close, hard fought decision resembling the score of their first encounter, only reversed, and annexing the WBC Featherweight Title in the process. Remember after witnessing the first fight you realize that you have been spoiled with a modern classic reminiscent of a throw back to bygone eras. He also regained the vacant WBC featherweight crown he lost to Barrera with another dominant display, outclassing and out slugging former WBA Bantamweight Champion Paulie Ayala. After a couple more defenses against Eddie Croft (KO3) and Bobby Boy Velardez (KO5) it was time to face Guty Espadas for a rematch. A few people thought Guty should have got the nod the first time, so Erik came out and decided to erase any doubt about who the boss was, and starched Guty with a beautiful right hand bomb which he never recovered from and was counted out at 2:58 of the third round. Morales is currently scheduled to face WBC Super Featherweight Champion, Jesus ‘El Matador’ Chavez (40-2, 28 KO’s) on February 28th for his crown, which should be a mini-barnburner. While racking up his 45-1 (34KO’s) record Erik has fought a total of 275 rounds with an astonishing 136 world championship rounds as well as compiling his 16-1 record in world championship title fights. During his championship fights, which lasted, on average, 5.9 rounds per fight with a 73% knockout ratio and he is still only 27 years of age. Erik Morales is a special breed of fighter with his poise under fire and his combination punching, great chin and debilitating power combining to create one of the purest warriors in boxing today. He is constantly striving for perfection to attain the mantle of “A Great Fighter” that gets closer with each fight. While he might not be a great at the moment he seems well on the way to completing what must seem like his destiny and taking his place amongst the greats of prize fighting, his place in Valhalla ashored. Maybe you could call it being on the cusp of greatness. Email questions or comments to Ben at: claverdon@ozemail.com.au
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