By Tom Donelson
 
In every fighter’s career, there are moments that a fighter must reflect upon his journey in boxing.  Erik Morales fought a game, but losing bout against Manny Pacquiao. A close fight in the first six rounds, the Pacman’s determination and speed finally overcame the tough Mexican warrior. 

After spending years fighting wars in the trenches, Morales has now dropped three of his last four fights. His previous battle against Zahir Raheem may have been the signal that Morales’ time as an elite fighter is near the end. 

Against Raheem, Morales found himself outboxed and outgunned against a good fighter, but not a fighter that was any better than of the men Morales beat at the pinnacle of his career.  Pacquiao’s dogged style and hand speed only reinforced what the Raheem’s fight was telling us, Morales has lost a step or two as a fighter.  Unable to dominate the Pacman or beat him decisively in the early rounds, Morales ran out of gas and time. 

For Morales, the options are narrowing.  As a result of his recent loss, Pacquiao is the main money draw in the junior lightweight division. Pacquaio has other targets to fight, which include Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez. 

The decisive nature of the beating he gave to Morales erases any possibility of a rematch in the near future and besides, Pacquiao wants a title. The only way to become the recognized champion among junior lightweights is to beat Barrera. 

Morales doesn’t have the hand speed or the power to beat the best lightweights and his day of being the top dog of the featherweights and junior lightweights is near the end. While he is still a top five fighter in one of boxing’s premier divisions, the gap between him and others on top may be widening. So does Morales want to be just another top ten fighter or does he leave while still being one of boxing’s best? 

Arturo Gatti is one of boxing’s most entertaining fighters.  Gatti approached one of crossroads in boxing when he stepped in the ring with undefeated Danish welterweight Thomas Damgaard. The facts were simple for Gatti - he needed to beat Damgaard in order to maintain any hope for another championship fight. 

He had been a exceptional warrior for his entire career, and a former champion.  He fought some of this generation’s best fights and always entertained the crowd.  The problem was that when Gatti fought the elite fighters such as Oscar De La Hoya or Floyd Mayweather, he got beat decisively.  While he always had the skills of a top ten fighter, no one ever considered Gatti an elite fighter in the same way they viewed fighters like Mayweather. There was always that dividing wall that separated Gatti from the truly great fighters. 

Against Damgaard, Gatti showed the reason for his appeal. With a possible broken right hand, Gatti moved when he had to and brawled when he needed. He even threw that injured right hand without hesitation.  Pain proved no barrier for Gatti as there were times he stood toe-to-toe with the Danish fighter. Damgaard lacked the power to discourage Gatti and eventually fell victim to Gatti’s own power in the eleventh round.  Fighting through pain and opposing a fighting windmill, Gatti reminded his fans while they loved him. It was a typical blood and gut performance.

The official welterweight champion is Carlos Baldomir, and Baldomir’s talents are similar to those of Gatti.  Gatti can’t beat Mayweather or Antonio Margarito, but he can get a title by jumping over these guys and defeating Baldomir. If those who handle Baldomir are smart, they would set a fight with Gatti for this is a big money fight with an opponent similar in talent. Neither Baldomir nor Gatti can match Mayweather but they certainly match well with each other.  This is a competitive match that has excitement written all over the contract.

What Gatti can still hope for are a few more big money fights against some of the best welterweights.  Mayweather faces Zab Judah in April for the IBF version of the title and that leaves Gatti’s path open to the real title match.  Gatti is like a cat with nine lives because he could lose a big fight to a guy like Mayweather, but with his style and popularity, Gatti is always one fight away from yet another title.

As the New Year began, we have Morales looking at the end of his career and Gatti given yet another opportunity to add new chapters to his legacy.