Morales vs. Maidana: On April 9, will the past or present prevail?
Once again, the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada will be putting on another major boxing show. This time, on April 9th, headlining the event will be Mexican legend Erik “El Terrible” Morales, who will be facing off against the always dangerous Marcos “El Chino” Maidana, in a fight that can easily be a fight of the year candidate, depending on how much the old Mexican great has left.
Morales vs. Maidana Tale of the Tape
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Erik “El Terrible” Morales is 34 years old, with a legendary boxing record, consisting of 51 wins and 6 losses. He stands at 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a 72 inch reach, fighting out of the orthodox stance.
Marcos “El Chino” Maidana is 27 years old, with an excellent run thus far, consisting of 29 wins and only 2 losses. Maidana stands at 5 feet 9 inches tall, and he also fights out of the orthodox stance.
Morales vs. Maidana Preview
The Great Erik “El Terrible” Morales is the current WBC Silver light welterweight champion, and WBC International welterweight champion. Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Morales started boxing at the age of 5 years old, harnessing his skills from his father, who was also a boxer during that time. Morales had an excellent amateur boxing background with a record consisting of 108 and 6 losses, and over the course of his amateur days “El Terrible” won 11 titles in Mexico.
Known best for his epic trilogies with fellow Mexican superstar Marco Antonio Barrera and Philippine great Manny Pacquiao, “El Terrible” was a legitimate three division champion. Morales’ illustrious career started in 1993 at the age of 16, and he dominated the lower weight classes with his aggressive boxing style and remained undefeated for the first eleven years of his professional career. Morales suffered his first defeat unexpectedly in his second bout against Marco Antonio Barrera, in a fight where many critics felt that Morales won, although many thought Morales deserved the L in their first encounter.
Since the first loss to Barrera, Morales’ lost to him a second time, but also beat Manny Pacquiao in their first meeting back in 2005. He then lost his next four fights, two to Pacquiao by knockout, and retired in 2007.
Morales came out of retirement in March of 2010 after a 3 year layoff. Now the hidden dragon will look to face an ever so dangerous crouching tiger in Marcos Maidana. This is a serious test for the Boxing Hall of Fame bound Mexican warrior in his quest for boxing immortality.
Marcos “El Chino” Maidana, one of boxing’s most avoided fighters as of late, has a huge punch and a fierce fighting spirit. The Argentinian’s professional boxing journey began in 2004, in which he won his first twenty-five fights with his all-action, slugging style. Maidana suffered his first professional defeat against Andreas Kotelnik. Kotelnik was awarded the close split decision victory despite Maidana busting up Kotelnik in the process. The best and most notable win of Maidana’s career came when he stopped fast-rising prospect “Vicious” Victor Ortiz in a fantastic back and forth battle.
In Maidana’s last fight, he faced the Amir Khan in a fight where Khan dominated the early rounds with quick combinations and great work to the body, which led to a first round knockdown of Maidana. In the later rounds, as Khan started to slow down, Maidana began to walk Khan down, throwing a barrage of punches which led to Khan getting seriously hurt in round ten from an overhand shot. Khan was able to survive the last two rounds to get the twelve round unanimous decision victory.
Morales vs. Maidana Prediction
If Morales was five years younger, he would have the tools with his superior boxing and speed to beat Maidana at his own game and win a thrilling battle. Of course, Morales fought at 130 lbs five years ago, and Maidana was just beginning his own career. Given that this is the year 2011, and Morales has seen better days, I am not sure what kind of “El Terrible” we are going to see on April 9. Morales has strung together a few wins but none of those fighters can bring the kind of heat that Maidana will bring come April 9.
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These are two fighters with similar styles that will equal fireworks, but again, how much damage can Morales afford to take before he is knocked down in a corner and winking at his Dad that he does not want any more like in his third fight with Manny Pacquiao? I expect both fighters to come out throwing bombs. Morales, being the world class veteran that he is, will pace himself during the fight, but in the end, I just feel that Morales will be too outgunned by a fighter who still feels he has a whole lot to prove to himself and the boxing world in hopes of world class supremacy.
Prediction: Maidana by eighth round knockout.
