Sharkie’s Machine: "Morales’ Moves Up"

Erik Morales Vs. Guty Espadas
(45-1-0-34 KO’s) (37-6-0-23 KO’s)

By Frank Gonzalez Jr.

05.10 - After being a dominating force at Featherweight, Erik “El Terrible” Morales made his move up to 130-pounds. He was struggling to make weight at Feather (126 lbs) and this is a long overdue step in the right direction. 140-pounds should be the overall goal for his height and skill level.

WBC Featherweight champion Erik Morales started his Super-Featherweight campaign by facing Guty Espadas in an Eliminator bout at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. This would be rematch of their February 2001 match at 126-pounds, where Morales got the Judge’s nod in a ‘controversial decision’-- in that fight where Espadas seemed to get the better of him.

There was no controversy in their rematch. Although Espadas gave Morales problems in the past, he was a heavy underdog coming into this fight. I’ve seen Espadas look bad in his controversial win over Clarence “Bones” Adams, after which he fought 21-29 Juan Manual Chavez in what can only be described as a confidence builder. I’ve never seen Morales look bad, not even in his less then stellar performance over Injin Chi in July of 2001.

The Fight

Round 1

The fight started slowly with both fighters taking measurements early on but got busy when Espadas took the initiative and started pressing the action. Guty was harassing Erik with wild punches and rushing into him. Morales was hit a few times with good shots that might have hurt another fighter. Though Espadas never hurt Morales, I thought he was the busier guy who pressed the action and deserved to win the first round.

10-9 Espadas

Round 2

Espadas continues to be the aggressor, taking the fight to Morales. Erik was relaxed as he always seems to be. Espadas showed no respect for Morales and tried imposing his will on him. Erik got a few shots in and was more accurate then Espadas wild punches were but it wasn’t enough to win the round. Espadas was hungrier and setting the tone. I could see how this fight could get ugly.

10-9 Espadas

Round 3

Cool and calmly, Morales settles in and starts to land nice counter shots to the wild swinging Espadas. Morales catches Espadas and the tide turns immediately. Erik lands a nice overhand right that sends Espadas to the canvas. Guty did not beat the count. It was over.

Morales wins by knockout.

* * *

In the past, Morales was a vicious brawler who fired up the crowd and made every fight a bloody battle. You could’ve watched his face transform from normal to a pulp as the rounds progressed. That makes for great, memorable fights but can also lead to a shorter career. It looks like Morales has found a less expensive way to win without compromising on the drama. “El Terrible” didn’t suffer any facial swellings Saturday night. He has evolved as a fighter. Morales was like a surgeon Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles where he took two rounds to size up the operation and then executed his boxing skills to perfection. The result has to send ripples through the elite ranks of the Super Featherweight division.

There are a few interesting propositions for Morales at 130-pounds.

A good warm up fight in a couple of months could be IBF champion, Carlos “El Famoso” Hernandez, who beat Steve Forbes on the same stage Saturday night. That was an ugly fight that featured Forbes fighting Hernandez’ fight--a brawl in a phone booth for ten rounds, until a second head butt opened a big cut on Hernandez’ right eyebrow. Hernandez corner invited the ringside doctor to stop the fight. It went to the scorecards and Hernandez got the nod for a Technical Decision. There was something unfair about that.

I thought Forbes did pretty well fighting a style that didn’t serve him the way boxing from the outside might have. Forbes figured if he boxed Hernandez, the crowd wouldn’t appreciate it much--so he brawled to please the crowd and got burned anyway.

After that fight, Hernandez face was battered. Forbes face looked unscathed and ready to shoot a shaving cream commercial. But with the audience cheering Hernandez, including a large contingent of Salvadorians in attendance as well as Ringside Announcer, Raul Marquez (the Jr. Middleweight fighter) giving almost every round to El Famoso, it appeared a convenient strategy for Hernandez’ corner to encourage the stoppage. It was clear whom ‘the House’ wanted to win that sloppy fight.

Back in February of this year, Hernandez won another fight under similar conditions against David Santos. A head butt caused the fight to be stopped and “El Famoso” got the decision.

Hernandez spent most of the post fight interview calling out Erik Morales. I doubt he would fare well against a fighting machine like Morales, who wouldn’t allow Hernandez to dictate the tempo like Forbes did. That aside from the fact that Erik’s punches would do more damage than Hernandez might be accustomed to taking.

It’s likely that Jesus Chavez (the WBC 130-pound titleholder) is next on Morales list. Chavez is a high-volume, feather-fisted puncher who does not have the greatest stamina. I can see Morales walking through him without much trouble.

Morales will be better challenged by the elite members of the division like Joel Casamayor, Acelino Freitas or even Diego Corrales, any of them would be exciting opponents for Morales.

To this fight fan, Morales is the complete package. He has a great chin, good power, incredible stamina and an evolving style that enables excellent ring generalship. His defense can be suspect at times but with his evolving style that can only improve. Being a huge Morales fan, I admit some bias in saying he is one of the best fighters in all of boxing and could dominate the 130-pound division within a year. Only time will tell.

Agree or disagree?
Send comments to dshark87@hotmail.com