24.02.04 – By Janne Romppainen: When we look at the top of the game, things haven’t turned out exactly the best way during the first month and a half in the boxing year 2004. The supposed big events between Jameel McCline – James Toney and Kostya Tszyu – Shramba Mitchell were both cancelled and behind them the year has started out quietly. Some huge year-savers such as Oscar De La Hoya – Bernard Hopkins and Felix Trinidad – Sugar Shane Mosley have been talked about, but there are many things to be solved before either of them will be seen.
However, on 28th of the ongoing month we will see a bout that has the potential to both make up for the tame early year and also to be one of the more memorable wars of the recent years. On that night, the super featherweight WBC titlist, Mexican Jesus “El Matador” Chavez will defend his belt against his countryman, the feared Erik “El Terrible” Morales in Las Vegas, USA. The bout is scheduled to go 12 rounds and besides the title also Mexican pride, the number one notch of the super featherweight division and a place among the best pound-for-pound candidates will be on the line. And when the gladiators who are going to fight for the prize both are among the most entertaining aggressors of the business, a memorable night should be guaranteed.
The challenger of the evening, Erik Morales will fight in the 130 lbs division for the second time. In his first bout after stepping up to the new division he stopped Guty Espadas in three rounds in an eliminator contest that opened the doors for him for this bout. Morales is one of the game’s most proven and hard-nosed warriors with a near-perfect ring record of 45-1 (34). In his career that started over a decade ago the 27-year-old Mexican has already won WBC titles in super bantamweight division and twice in the featherweight. His breakthrough to the major league was the brutal give-and-take battle in 1997 that saw him overcoming another Mexican great, Daniel Zaragoza in eleven rounds. After that Morales has fought and beaten guys like Junior Jones, Wayne McCullough, Guty Espadas (twice) and Paulie Ayala and solidified his place in the company of the boxing elite. His two most famous contests however have been the bouts that he had against another one of his countrymen, Marco Antonio Barrera. In a glorious war that was seen in 2000, Morales captured a close, controversial decision after a bout that is viewed by most as one of the greatest battles perhaps ever seen in the ring. In the more tactical rematch in 2002 Barrera got his revenge via close, disputable decision. Even if Morales would never lace them up again, he would be remembered as a real warrior because of these bouts.
Morales’ most obvious strengths are his great physical attributes. At 5’8, he has always had a height advantage over his opponents, although it will naturally be evened some when he moves up in weight. Despite his lanky physique he has the skill to punch real hard with either fist. Especially his right cross over the top, right uppercut and the familiar Mexican weapon, left hook to the body can be murderous. He also is able to take punches both to head and body and his stamina usually seems to be excellent. His technique is also good although he sometimes has a tendency to get hit a bit too much.
Jesus Chavez on the other hand is clearly the less proven fighter of the two. Despite the fact that he is the defending champion, he is the one who has more to win in the ring. He will now defend the belt that he captured from Sirimongkol Sigmanasak last August for the first time. The 31-year-old Chavez has fought 42 times in his career, winning all but two and 28 of them inside the time distance. His most famous fight so far has been his brave, gutsy showing against the incomparable then-super featherweight champion Floyd Mayweather who stopped him after nine rounds of good action. A loss against Mayweather is no shame for anybody and Chavez’ other loss happened very early in his career against a world-class Carlos Gerena and he revenged it recently. Chavez also holds Ws over ex-champions such as Tom Johnson and Troy Dorsey, but the ex-champion that he faces this time is clearly the second-best opponent that he has met.
Despite his nickname Chavez is more of a bull than a matador. He is a forward-coming tough brawler who likes to put pressure on his opponents. He punches hard with both hands and usually keeps up a good pace in his fights. He also takes shots well and possesses good infighting skills. He isn’t at his best when he has to fight from outside and in this fight that might be a major problem for him. Also his toughness will be tested now harder than probably ever as Morales will turn up the heat on him. Chavez has shown in the past that he can be rocked, but also that he has good recuperative skill.
The tactical battle of the fight, even though it seems to be clear, is an interesting one. Chavez is naturally the bigger man as he has fought in super featherweight for years. Add this to the facts that he is the shorter man in the ring and his best game is to go straight at his opponents and you don’t need to be a scientist to guess what kind of strategy he most likely will use. Morales loves to slug as well but he also has learned to use his reach to his advantage effectively, and that is what he should do here.
Morales has all the tools to break Chavez down from the outside. He has a good, long jab, the booming right cross and the uppercut to stop Chavez from coming. Chavez often leaves himself open when he attacks and Morales is an accurate shooter. Also Morales’ punches travel shorter distance than Chavez’ who has a habit of swinging too much with his right hand from the outside. Barrera is the only fighter who has been able to outslug Morales, and he had more reach and he threw better straight punches than Chavez. Considering these facts, I can see this bout being another version of Tommy Hearns – Roberto Duran where, because of styles, a match-up between two greats became a complete mismatch. I am not expecting an early blowout here, but an easier-than-expected victory inside the time limit for Morales could well happen.
If Chavez can force his way inside, the story becomes very different. In the past Morales has sometimes had a habit of getting lazy in the ring whereas Chavez is always busy. If he is able to put up as energetic performance as he did against Mayweather, the fight could turn out well for him. Morales’ punching power might not be as good as it was in the lower division’s and Chavez seems to be as tough as they get. Also Chavez’ natural strength would become an important factor, and Morales isn’t used to get pushed back which is what Chavez could do. As already mentioned, Morales does get hit, and Chavez knows how to punch. If this turns out to be the recipe of the bout, Chavez could capture the decision by simply landing more. Also in an expected war such as this the cuts might turn it one way or another, and Morales has had trouble with swellings in the past.
Personally I would pick Morales by a late stoppage, perhaps on cuts. Chavez is a good fighter, but I think in this fight his style is all wrong, much like Marco Antonio Barrera’s style was wrong for Manny Pacquiao. However, few predicted Pacquiao’s victory over Morales’ old rival either. Morales has been in many wars, maybe this time out will be one too many. Both men are tough but honest warriors and whatever happens, this should be a great battle and it should bring boxing some good publicity. After 28th of February, the year will kick off for good.
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