by David P. Greisman
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was near ringside, visible to the perceptive eyes catching his mug on the periphery of the television screen. A big fight was taking place in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas, and he was in attendance, ready, like most boxing fans were, to watch “The Mexican Assassin.”
Yet unless the Pretty Boy’s vision was hindered and his mind was gone, there was no way the three-division titlist could confuse the man in the ring, Manny Pacquiao, with the original owner of the nickname, Floyd’s uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather.
Nonetheless, Floyd was present, as were 14,617 others at the Thomas & Mack Center, to watch Pacquiao and Morales, the latter a legendary Mexican champion, the former a budding Mexican Assassin.
Roger Mayweather had taken the “Mexican Assassin” moniker in the second half of the 1980s when – in-between stoppage losses to Julio Cesar Chavez – he had gone on a 13-2 streak, losing only to Freddie Pendleton and Pernell Whitaker, and knocking out upper-level contenders Rene Arredondo, Mauricio Aceves and Rodolfo Gonzalez, all three hailing from south of the border.
Nearly two decades later, the designation seems proper for Pacquiao, who, with his straight left as his main weapon, has single-handedly floored the highly-touted trio of Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales, going 2-1-1 against three of the best featherweights in recent history.
Barrera was the first victim, tasting the canvas twice on that November 2003 evening, and losing a one-sided drubbing that ended at the urging of Barrera’s corner.
As badly as Barrera’s night ended, though, so, too, was the manner in which Marquez’ began in May 2004. Marquez hit the mat thrice in the first round alone, forcing him to make adjustments and fight for his dear life against Pacquiao, and when the scorecards were tabulated, they read out as a controversial draw.
Yet Morales had succeeded where his fellow countrymen could not, taking Pacquiao’s best shots and then returning them with such fury that the Filipino Firebomber was forced to retreat. It was an excellent, competitive fight, but Morales’ win was clear, the unanimous decision rewarding the better man.
After that March 2005 event, Pacquiao gave Morales his due respect, but there was also an airing of frustrations from he and his camp, of concerns and distractions and factors that could have had a bearing on the results.
There was the head butt that harmed Pacquiao’s eyesight; the problems with his then-promoter Murad Muhammad; the overwhelming attention of his highly supportive Filipinos, who packed into his gym, into his hotel room, into his thoughts when the focus needed to be on Morales.
And, of course, there was the much-publicized issue with the gloves.
Due to a contractual snafu, Pacquiao had been forced to wear Winning gloves, whose padding purportedly softened the thud of his power-punches. Pacquiao preferred Cleto-Reyes, which are manufactured with a different kind and placement of padding, and on which Pacquiao’s hands were more comfortable, and supposedly more lethal.
The rematch was set for ten months later, and what a difference a year makes. More importantly, what a difference the differences made.
Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s excellent trainer, closed the training camp from the public and went to work on strategy. Of necessity was learning to incorporate a second dimension to Pacquiao’s arsenal, so as to ensure that Morales need not just adjust to the repeated double-jab and straight left.
This time, Pacquiao shot out combinations that used power punches from both hands, making him all-the-more formidable, an amazing feat considering the handful that he had been with offense that was limited in variance but explosive as ordnance.
Yes, Pacquiao wore Cleto-Reyes for the rematch, but the importance came not from what was on his hands, but where on Morales they landed, and how Morales reacted.
Pacquiao used a sustained body attack, sapping the energy from an opponent that had reportedly been having difficulty making weight. Take into account the broken nose that Pacquiao inflicted upon Morales, and it was little surprise that “El Terrible” needed oxygen and felt sheer exhaustion in his legs.
In the first fight, Pacquiao would get off the first rounds of fire, but it was Morales that would respond with shots that did more damage, earned more points and forced Pacquiao to reset.
Morales tried the same tactic, and it worked at times in the first half of the fight, but as his energy waned, and with the second wind nowhere in the vicinity, Pacquiao was able to punch, take what little Morales had in return and then shoot again, winning the majority of their exchanges.
As the tenth round got underway, Morales was on wobbly legs, seemingly ready to go. Realizing this, Roach told Pacquiao before the stanza could begin, “He’s all done. He’s all done.”
And it was Pacquiao who did the doing, coming to Vegas in his usual excellent shape, ready for a prolonged battle. The two times that Morales hit the mat in the tenth looked less like knockout punches and more like a man collapsing onto his recliner after a long day at work. He needed to get away from the punishment that Pacquiao dealt out, and would have kept on dealing until the last bell rang.
Referee Kenny Bayless waived off the fight, and as Floyd Mayweather Jr. watched from near ringside, he saw Pacquiao as the victor, making his case for an ascension in the mythical pound-for-pound rankings, hoping for a jump close to the top, where many fans and pundits have Mayweather residing.
While Mayweather prepares for a pay-per-view with welterweight Zab Judah, Pacquiao can hope for bouts with other top contenders from featherweight to junior lightweight. In his sights, though, there must also be lucrative rematches with Barrera and Marquez, and, if Morales wants it, a rubber match.
Pacquiao will be there, ready and willing to send them back to the canvas and back to their homeland in shame. As the new Mexican Assassin, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
The 10 Count
1. Despite his series with Pacquiao being tied at one a-piece, Morales may not want a third go-around. Nor should he seek a rematch with Zahir Raheem, which would have been the destination had Morales gotten by Pacquiao this past weekend. During the post-fight interview, Morales told Larry Merchant that he needed a rest, and while that is deserved, he will also need to work on properly getting into shape. If 130 is too low to drain down to, Morales will need to look less pudgy at 135 than he did against Raheem, when he looked slow and awkward. The plan at lightweight can still be the same as the one that would have followed the Raheem fight, with titlists like Jesus Chavez and Juan Diaz available, beltholders that Morales would stand more of a chance against than someone the size of Diego Corrales.
2. Speaking of Raheem, who guest hosted the season premiere of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, the Morales loss to Pacquiao makes the decision on his next fight much easier. While promoters aren’t beating his door down with offers, his winning effort against Morales may have earned him a title shot for the WBO lightweight belt, which may or may not be stripped from Diego Corrales due to his facing Jose Luis Castillo for a third straight time. Should the title be vacated, Raheem could face Acelino Freitas in what would be a fantastic match-up, speed versus power, boxer against puncher. While it would be unfortunate that Corrales finishing a trilogy would cause him to lose a title, it is always good news when a guy like Raheem can receive a reward.
3. Martin Castillo retained his 115-pound title with a split decision win over Alexander Munoz, an exciting 12-rounder that was an excellent undercard for the Morales-Pacquiao II PPV, just like the first Jorge Arce-Hussein Hussein bout had been under the first Morales-Pacquiao fight. Castillo deserves more big fights to give him more exposure, and if he is unable to begin unifying the belts in his weight class, I’m all for him taking on Jorge Arce or Rafael Marquez, two of the best fighters in the divisions sandwiching his.
4. For that matter, Munoz made a good accounting of himself, and I would absolutely love to see him face WBO junior bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel. While Montiel has looked less-than stellar as of late, Munoz’s power-punching style would keep Montiel on his toes and make for another entertaining fight.
5. What was a waste of airspace, however, was the show’s opener, Jose Luis Zertuche’s unanimous decision over Marcos Primera. While Zertuche was originally scheduled to face middleweight prospect Kelly Pavlik before Pavlik fell out with an injury, Zertuche’s punches are painfully slow, and it seems as if the results would clearly have been a Pavlik win. Even October’s Brian Minto-Vinnie Maddalone preliminary, featuring two heavyweight never-will-be’s, was a better opener to Antonio Tarver-Roy Jones Jr. III than Zertuche-Primera was for Morales-Pacquiao II.
6. Is it wrong of me to take pleasure in occasionally watching a prospect fail? Tyrone Harris lost via technical knockout to Israel Hernandez in a lightweight fight on Showtime’s ShoBox series, the product of an absolutely gorgeous uppercut that Harris had no defense against. I’d rather see a prospect falter early and then claw back to rebuild his career than see a coddled kid become a contender due to political maneuvering.
7. One prospect that looked exceptionally good for being so early into his career is featherweight Juan Manuel Lopez, who had a showcase fight on the Morales-Pacquiao show. Lopez beat Jose Luis Caro via a beautiful knockout, and I hope to see him again on future Top Rank cards.
8. Teddy Reid was classless on Friday night, intentionally fouling J.C. Candelo twice during the bout, and then taking a shot at Candelo when his opponent came to congratulate him post-fight. Then again, Candelo wasn’t the most honorable man when he kept on grabbing his crotch in the sixth round, taunting Reid. Either way, Reid was totally undeserving of the draw that the judges gave him, with only one scorekeeper giving the fight to Candelo.
9. With so many boxing cards on the television this past weekend, I feel spoiled, but can still get selfish with my thoughts. My wish list? A network broadcast that has the airing frequency of ESPN, the matchmaking of Showtime and the production values of HBO.
10. And with all these fights on television, Vivian Harris toiled in the dark, working ten rounds to outpoint journeyman Marteze Logan. The rebuilding process is underway, and I would personally love to see him eventually rematch Carlos Maussa.
