By Matthew Hurley
In the 1980’s, a flawed, but great fighter named Thomas Hearns was dubbed the most exciting fighter of the decade. Win or lose, the “Hit Man” gave viewers their money’s worth. Despite his amateur pedigree, which saw him prance across the ring like a gazelle beneath those spindly legs, his warrior’s mentality turned him into a knockout artist when he turned professional.
Hearns became a seek-and-destroy assassin, intent on decimating anything in his path. When that didn’t happen against Sugar Ray Leonard in their first match up, he thrilled fans anyway by reminding them of what an excellent boxer he was by turning the tables on Leonard and gliding around the ring on those skinny pins, shooting out jabs and counter right hands. Erik Morales, the most exciting fighter of the last ten years has much in common with Thomas Hearns. He doesn’t care who he fights and he often makes bouts harder on himself because he loves to brawl. Morales defines Mexican machismo. There is nothing he won’t do to please his fans.
On September 10th, Morales takes on Zahir Raheem on a card that also features Manny Pacquiao. If Morales and Pacquiao both win their bouts, they will engage in a rematch of their terrific March shootout which Morales won by decision. Raheem is no soft touch. He is a skilled boxer who moves quickly which could pose problems for “El Terrible”. Morales prefers for his opponent come to him rather than move away.
However, Erik can be a deft boxer when he wants to be. His long, lithe body allows him to peck away with his jab and counterpunch with his money punch, the straight right hand. But Morales wouldn’t be so beloved by his countrymen and the boxing community if he simply leaned back, jabbed and danced away. Much like Thomas Hearns, he has carved out a niche for himself by thrilling the crowds with a sometimes kamikaze style that negates his natural gifts. Ask him why and he’ll look at you incredulously.
“If you put him against a taxi driver tomorrow, he’ll make a tough fight out of that,” his manager Fernando Beltran said at the press conference announcing the fight. “He don’t know how to make easy fights. He just loves to be in wars.”
In his most recent battle, Morales inexplicably switched to the southpaw stance against Manny Pacquiao in the final round of a bout he was clearly winning. Before the round began his father begged him not to do anything stupid and then, one minute in, this hard-headed great fighter said to himself, “I’ll beat you at your own game.” Pacquiao, a lefty, saw his opportunity and clocked Morales with an overhand right. Instead of switching back to the orthodox stance Erik simply let his fists fly. It was a stupid move, but it made a memorable bout even more dramatic. That’s Erik Morales.
When HBO’s Larry Merchant interviewed the fighter afterwards and asked him why he would do such a thing, Morales smiled and said simply, “Did you enjoy it?” Merchant, his hair disheveled and his excitement at what he had just witnessed obvious replied with a beaming smile, “Yes, I did.” Erik grinned and nodded. That’s who he is. He prides himself on thrilling his fans. He would rather go out on his shield than let his contingent down.
Another nagging flaw that Morales apparently suffers from is fighting up or down to the level of his competition. Much like Thomas Hearns, he has reached a stage in his career where only big fights seem to motivate him. It’s understandable when, after over a decade of professional prize fighting, an arch nemesis like Marco Antonio Barrera will drive Morales to fistic heights most fighters only dream of but non-descript opponents give the Mexican legend scares because he simply can’t get charged up for them. Hearns struggled with fighters like Luigi Minchillo and Doug DeWitt. He almost got knocked senseless by middleweight contender James Kinchen because he was looking past him to his eventual rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard. Morales always sees a Barrera or a Pacquiao in his gun sight – not a Zahir Raheem.
That lack of focus almost cost him against Guty Espadas in their first fight and against Injin Chi. But, that’s Morales. He makes seemingly easy fights so much harder on himself because that’s who he is. He simply loves to fight, and if an unknown opponent begins to give him grief he acknowledges his antagonist with a grin and a fist. Nothing pleases this tiny titan more than a good scrap.
With all that being said Morales’ main goal may very well be Marco Antonio Barrera crumpled before him. Such is the animosity between the two that Barrera punched him at a pre-fight press conference before their rematch and Morales threw a water bottle at Marco after the decision was announced in Barrera’s favor in their third bout. Stated plainly Erik hates Barrera and it drives him to distraction that he is down 2 to 1 in their trilogy. Mexican bragging rights between the two are so heated that after Manny Pacquiao knocked out Barrera, Morales immediately wanted to face the Filipino terror. In his mind if he beat Pacquiao he could sneer in Barrera’s direction. He beat Manny and now he’s the hotter fighter.
But how much can Erik possibly have left?
He has been in one war after another and many observers, this one included, have been anticipating a sudden breakdown. After Hearns was knocked out by Marvin Hagler he rose to the occasion and destroyed number one middleweight contender James Shuler in his next bout. But after that he never looked quite the same. There was a shakiness in every fight that followed. He won more titles and engaged in a few classic brawls with Juan Roldan and Iran Barkley but the wear and tear simply tore him apart. At some point Erik Morales is going to suffer the same fate. It’s inevitable.
Erik Morales is a Hall Of Fame fighter and one, like Thomas Hearns, who has sacrificed his body and at times his skills in order to thrill the crowd. He’s a throwback to fighters of yesteryear who earned their pennies with blood and guts and spirit. He’s a fighter who has often been overlooked and underappreciated in spite of his accomplishments and his style. He’s a fighter we as fans should revere, because he won’t be around much longer.
