By Jhonny Gonzalez
At the Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, Erik “Terrible” Morales (51-6, 35 KOs) retained his WBC silver junior welterweight title with a twelve round unanimous decision over Francisco Lorenzo (35-9, 16KOs). The fight was better than many had expected. Lorenzo suffered a flash knockdown in the fifth, but he was never afraid to stand and trade with the bigger Morales. There were a few close rounds where both fighters went to war. The scores were 116-111, 114-113 and 115-112.
"It was a tough fight, which I expected. I'm ready for the fight against Juan Manuel Marquez. I'm ready to go for a world title next year," Morales said.
A fight between Morales and Marquez could happen at the end of March or on April 16 in either Las Vegas or Mexico.
Golden Boy Promotions head matchmaker Eric Gomez says Marquez-Morales is possible. If they can't get Marquez a trilogy with Mayweather, then Morales will become the next suitable option.
"Golden Boy is doing its best for Juan Manuel Marquez to get him a fight with Pacquiao," Gomez said. "But the plan is, that if we can't get [the Pacquiao] fight done, then everything directs to Marquez and Morales possibly facing each other in March or April. We believe it would be a great pay-per-view and it would sell even more of what Marquez did with Marco Antonio Barrera."