-Hoping that El Terrible’s Comeback Doesn’t End Terribly-
After two and a half years in retirement, Erik Morales returned to the ring in March 2010, and now has the second fight of his comeback waiting for him on September 11th. Starting in 1997, “El Terrible” carved a path of destruction through the 122, 126 and 130 lbs. divisions. Morales was the man who dueled Marco Antonio Barrera in a trilogy that was essentially a campaign to win the hearts of Mexican fans and succeed Julio Cesar Chavez as the reigning king of Mexican boxing. In the last great performance of his career, Morales skillfully out-boxed current pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao, becoming the last man to hand the speedy, hard-hitting Filipino a defeat. Morales clearly stands as one of the greatest Mexican fighters of all-time.
I must admit to being a huge fan of Morales. The man was a skilled boxer who simply loved mixing it up, even if it was not always the wisest course of action. A more fan-friendly fighting style and character is hard to imagine. Time and again, Morales would allow himself to be drawn into a slugging match and immerse himself in the sheer joy of pugilism. If the man had fought smart (ala Ray Leonard) and adopted a judge-friendly strategy such as boxing for the most part and punctuating the end of each round with a well-chosen exchange, he probably would have beaten Barrera in all three engagements and spared his body enormous wear and tear. Yet that was not the style of Erik Morales, and that is why his fans loved him.
His comeback gives me very mixed feelings. By all reports, the 33 year old Morales is not in dire financial straits, and I can easily see him returning to the ring simply because he is bored and he enjoys it. Both of his comeback fights have been against sub-par opposition in Mexico. Fighting for fun is not so peculiar as it might sound, as I have known a few boxers over the years who were semi-retired but kept their toes in, taking the odd fight for no other reason than they simply enjoyed it. If that is all that this is, then I wish Morales well and hope he enjoys himself.
Of course, the Morales comeback probably won’t work out that way. Sometimes fighters ply the “dinosaur circuit,” sticking with limited opposition or other old “name” fighters and therefore avoiding the worst risks, but more often they are lured into a fight with a young lion and become meat on the table. Morales has no business mixing it up with Top 10 fighters in the talent rich 140 lbs. division. If boxing actually worked out like it was supposed to, he never would because no top 10 fighter would be able to use a match with Morales to advance up the ladder to a title shot, and no champion would be able to defend his title against an unranked Morales. Yet it is easy to see ever-corrupt WBC President Jose Sulaiman giving Morales a #10 ranking or something on the basis of beating up a few journeymen, and then seeing the ugly spectacle of Erik Morales being demolished by the likes of Devon Alexander. Watching William Joppy beat up a virtually defenseless Roberto Duran in a 1998 WBA title fight is the kind of thing I’d rather sooner forget.
It is my hope that in his return to boxing, Erik Morales exercises the same wisdom he did in that 2005 bout with Manny Pacquiao. Restraining his love of glorious combat, Morales boxed Pacquiao right up until the final round. Then and only then did he risk everything by slugging it out with the younger, faster man. It was the way Morales would have always fought if he had been smart. It might have cost him a little popularity, but he still would have been a star and enjoyed a longer career to boot. If he shows the same sense now, no one should worry about Morales’s health. If he plunges forward with the same reckless abandon boxing fans around the world loved, but also dreaded, I can only hope the end is merciful.
