By James Slater: You’ve got to hand it to Mexican legend Erik Morales. At a time when he should almost certainly be enjoying his well-earned retirement, the 34-year-old great is instead looking to fight the world’s best. For a while, it looked like “El Terrible” would get the big fight he craved, in the form of a lightweight title shot against countryman Juan Manuel Marquez; with the showdown penciled in for April 9th in Las Vegas.
But, at some point, “Dinamita” cooled on the idea of facing his compatriot, sensing he should use his precious few remaining months at the top facing the best opposition he could find. And, according to a breaking news story that has just gone up on Ringtv.com, Marquez has decided to wait for a better option, and will not now be facing Morales in April.
This is the word according to Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy, who informed “The Bible of Boxing’s” web site that while the Winky Wright-Matthew Macklin fight is a go for Vegas on Apr. 9th, Marquez-Morales is not. But all is not lost for those fans who wish to see the once-great Morales in action against a genuine world class opponent. According to Schaefer, Morales – who will definitely be in action on the Vegas card – could face none other than the fearful Marcos Maidana.
Schaefer says Morales, 51-6(35) has “begged” for a chance at the Argentine, so convinced is he that he has the technical ability to beat the former interim WBA 140-pound champ. Also according to Schaefer is the news that the WBA will soon elevate Britain’s Amir Khan (who beat Maidana in a thriller in December of last year) to “super champion,” meaning that the possible Maidana-Morales clash would be for the “regular” WBA light-welterweight belt.
The fight is no done deal yet, but Marquez-Morales is definitely off (for now anyway) and the fight being worked on for Apr.9th is Maidana-Morales. And Schaefer is surely not alone when he says such a fight would be a war!
“The one guy Morales wants – he’s begging us for him – is Marcos Maidana,” Schaefer told Ring. “The WBA is going to elevate Amir Khan to Super Champion. That fight [between Maidana and Morales] would be for the regular WBA title. We’ll see. It would be a war.”
There is no doubt many fans would fear for the wellbeing of the Mexican great if the Maidana fight were actually made. After all the punishing fights he’s had in his Hall of Fame career, the last thing Eric needs is to test his courage – and his chin – against the lethal power held by “El Chino.”
However, as much as the fight would bring out the red flags, a Maidana-Morales clash would almost certainly prove to be a big seller. Neither the Mexican nor the Argentine have ever been in a bad fight, and a showdown between the two (that, if he’s victorious, would see “El Terrible” make history as a four-time “world” champion) would entice the eyes of many a fan – even if they feared for Morales going in.
Most fans, when asked for an opinion on the would-be Marquez-Morales fight, said they expected the older but fresher Marquez to win going away. What will these same fans predict if Maidana Vs. Morales is made?
Again, it’s so hard to find fault with the sheer courage, the sheer fighter’s attitude that Morales has – but can he possibly live with the raw power/relentless aggression of Maidana today?