Pac-Morales 2: Whose loss would be more devastating to their career?

Morales cannot afford to lose two in a row, it just depends how he loses tho, some fighters can look good while still losing the fight.

You may have some points, but keep in mind that Nelson had faced bigger opposition than Pacquiao has. Another thing to consider is that today's featherweight division is not seen as a strong one. Only Pacquiao, JMM, and Scott Harrison are important figures. I am not saying that Pacquiao won't be in the HOF, but to have a strong claim, he needs to beat most, if not all of today's big names.In general terms, yes, at Feather, The Prof faced better opposition than Pac has had, what with Gomez, Sanchez et al, in there. But also there are names like Mauro Guttierez, Jim McDonnel, Mario Martinez...who have heard about them after their meetings with Nelson? At Jr. Light, Leija cannot be said to be at par with an Erik Morales. And, Nelson, great as he was, only managed one win against Jesse Jaimes, and the latter is not even in the Hall. On the other hand, Erik has pretty good chances of being an enshrinee, even with that loss to Raheem. So, the way I see it, two losses by Pacquiao to Morales (if that happens), in and by itself, cannot derail Pacquiao's train in chugging toward that famed town in NY state. This is not saying that Pac's train's progress is inexorable. He still has to punch his ticket a few times more. The other point I am making is that whatever the outcome of the bout on the 21st may be, it shall not be the end of either protagonist's career. They'll be seen in some years to come, yet--although, perhaps, due to his being older and having done more in his career, Erik's years may be fewer than Pac's. Manny, IF he loses, can go back to Featherweight, the division that, most experts opine, is where he's at his best. There's no ignominy in that; not in my eyes. Nelson, after trying and having been beaten by Pernell at Lightweight, went back down to Jr. Light without missing a step. No one I know begrudged/begrudges Nelson. Most of the great Light Heavies who dominated their division failed when they tried go up to Heavy. For example, Bob Foster. He cannot be less great because he failed to win any Heavyweight crown ( his try at Ali was for the NABF, not the "World" crown and he lost, KO8; his failed bid vs. Frazier--2nd round KO-- was for both the WBA and WBC crowns) and even failed in at least two non-title Heavyweight fights (vs. Zorah Folley and Ernie Terrell), and, as far as I recall, won only one Heavyweight fight--vs. Sonny Moore. Foster is in majority of the All-Time Greatest LightHeavies lists. Oh, well, just my thoughts...

If Morales wins, I highly doubt a Barrera/Pac rematch ever comes off. You have to understand. These two try to out-do each other and every occasion. And if Morales beats Pac again, in Barrera's mind, it's Morales leftovers even though Pac defeated him years ago. And Barrera looks elsewhere, either to Morales or up a class to do what Morales couldn't. Win a title at 135.

Let's first know 1 thing. A rematch clause was put into the contract for this rematch. So Erik will undoubtly get a 3rd shot at Manny should he lose, and who knows, maybe Erik doesn't wanna go through another fight with Manny as he may get "tired" of him as he did with Barrera. Then again, should Morales lose, I don't think he'll have very many options other than taking the 3rd fight with Manny to redeem himself. Should Manny lose, as everyone has said, he has more options. JMM at 126lbs(I doubt though that he'll want to go back down to that weight), and with Barrera, should Barrera stop running stories and this and that about when he should face Manny, and just face him already. My predictions for the fight are like this, if Manny wins, it will most likely be from a very hard close fought war because he can't outbox Morales, nor can he go into a jabbing contest with him. If Morales wins, it'll most likely be a repeat from the first fight with little disparity on the decision. I really don't think either will get KOed though if I had to choose someone, it would be Morales. After watching that vid on maxboxing, one wonders, who the hell can keep up with the speed or power Manny is displaying now?!

agreed^^^go pac

JMC i have to agree, neither can lose but one is going to and it's going to be Morales…

It's more of HOW bad the loss is? If it was a close competitive fight, I don't think it would harm either fighter that much in terms of reputation. But if it was a pure @ss kickin' then the burden falls on Erika, 'cause he would literally have gotten his @ss kicked 3 straight times as some have already pointed out. I agree. Only a one sided beating would be devastating to their careers.

either 1.pac loses, career is forever slightly less great for his 2 losses to morales 2. morales loses, j/ came of an ass-beating, and ppl will think hes gone and "sucks" now niehter cna afford a loss

morales sucks i hate him. I'd be happy if pac beat him but i don't think he will. And all these names mentioned as the big fights i could care less about. What happened to Raheem did he get ko'd by a fat midget or something?? And Marquez?? Who impressed me quit a bit with his draw, did he bite someones ear off? I just don't want to watch crybaby refight the last one he could win again. Or for that matter fight barrera anymore. I don't think he has the ability to revamp himself into a new fighter that can sustain his career into his thirties like gatti did. Heres hoping he retires.

Morales a win he can get a rematch with mab and Raheem a lose and all he can look for is a rematch with pac man

easily Erik because he's coming off a loss, just look at Jones Jr. and how people started viewing him after he had those back-to-back losses. If Erik was to lose in a close decision and still put up a typical brilliant performance, it wouldn't tarnish his image to boxing fans, if he was dominated or KO'ed or something of that sort, maybe different.

Considering how close the fight was last time, and also taking into account that HBO would lose out either way if one was declared the winner and not the other, i wouldn't mind betting on a draw, 20 /1 odds can't be that bad really!

For Morales its not if he loses but HOW he loses that will affect his career the most. If he loses a SD then no it does not hurt him as bad as a KO, or MD, and sets up a third fight with Pac for redemption. Now if he loses by MD, then that would be the 2nd fight in a row by which he was out pointed without much debate,and some will think he is losing a step or two in the ring. Last way would be by KO and that would be the most fatal for EM's career. One being he has never tasted the canvas (not counting the fluke knockdown in the first Barrera fight). Plus the psychology affect of the KO would hurt EM more then anything in the long run.

None would lose much in a defeat saturday. They are in the big three; Morales, Pacquiao, Barrera. If any of the three lose to one of them, it doesn't matter because they are the top names and three of the best p4p fighters around today. Chances are they all lose close fights to each other too. They can lose 5 fights to each others and still be considered highly. Morales and Barrera's legacy are already written. Pacman came in the portrait with his devastating victory over the legend barrera and in his draw (which should've been a win) over Marquez. Their reputations in the boxing world can hardly fall to the ground.

Its worst for Morales, if he looses it tells everyone he is no longer the man to beat, just a test for everyone coming up and is a sign that he should contemplate retirement. Morales is definitely at the tail end of his career. Manny pacquiao on the other hand is young and can redeem himself down the road.

Pep lost three of the four annual meetings with Sandy Saddler betwen 1948 and '49, each of those losses, by stoppage (KO4, TKO8 and TKO9). Can anyone say the Will o' the Wisp does not deserve his niche in Canastota? Sandy Saddler lost to Flash Elorde in their first meeting in Manila and then won by TKO13 in the second encounter at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. The second fight's outcome was soundly booed-- bottles and trash thrown into the ring. The fight was stopped due to a slight cut on Elorde who was clearly enjoying a points edge over Saddler in the previous rounds. The judges had identical 67-65 cards, in favor of Elorde. Is anyone saying, Saddler should not be in the IBHOF? Has the Raheem loss side-tracked Erik's trip to the Hall? Are two losses to MAB to be counted against him in the reckoning? Alexis Arguello went up to a heavier weight after dominating the Lightweight division and met Aaron Pryor. He was TKOd twice. Arguello is in the Hall of Fame. Azumah Nelson took only one, had a draw once and lost twice against Jesse Jaimes Leija. The professor is in the Hall. Pac is widely considered THE Featherweight, with only JMM, who remains there as a footnote to that claim. If he loses, he can go back there and lay out a Hall of Fame type of career. As for Erik, a loss to Pac can only rachet up the need for a third meeting; and then, he can pursue the dream of doing Julio Cesar Chavez and MAB one better in the number of titles held in various divisions, and thus be recognized as THE best Mexian champ. If he fails (which is a remote possibility), he can rest on laurels already reaped and simply wait for eligibility. You may have some points, but keep in mind that Nelson had faced bigger opposition than Pacquiao has. Another thing to consider is that today's featherweight division is not seen as a strong one. Only Pacquiao, JMM, and Scott Harrison are important figures. I am not saying that Pacquiao won't be in the HOF, but to have a strong claim, he needs to beat most, if not all of today's big names.

morales is an old 29. he started young and has been in some wars. if he looses big to pac then his career is stumbleing. if he looses giving a good showing then he has plenty og good fight still at 135. if pac looses nothing lost. he fights berrara then he moves back down to 126 where he belongs. this is the better opinion im in with

Pep lost three of the four annual meetings with Sandy Saddler betwen 1948 and '49, each of those losses, by stoppage (KO4, TKO8 and TKO9). Can anyone say the Will o' the Wisp does not deserve his niche in Canastota? Sandy Saddler lost to Flash Elorde in their first meeting in Manila and then won by TKO13 in the second encounter at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. The second fight's outcome was soundly booed-- bottles and trash thrown into the ring. The fight was stopped due to a slight cut on Elorde who was clearly enjoying a points edge over Saddler in the previous rounds. The judges had identical 67-65 cards, in favor of Elorde. Is anyone saying, Saddler should not be in the IBHOF? Has the Raheem loss side-tracked Erik's trip to the Hall? Are two losses to MAB to be counted against him in the reckoning? Alexis Arguello went up to a heavier weight after dominating the Lightweight division and met Aaron Pryor. He was TKOd twice. Arguello is in the Hall of Fame. Azumah Nelson took only one, had a draw once and lost twice against Jesse Jaimes Leija. The professor is in the Hall. Pac is widely considered THE Featherweight, with only JMM, who remains there as a footnote to that claim. If he loses, he can go back there and lay out a Hall of Fame type of career. As for Erik, a loss to Pac can only rachet up the need for a third meeting; and then, he can pursue the dream of doing Julio Cesar Chavez and MAB one better in the number of titles held in various divisions, and thus be recognized as THE best Mexian champ. If he fails (which is a remote possibility), he can rest on laurels already reaped and simply wait for eligibility.

long term maybe... but right now no one cares if he gets into the HOF... but i certainly hope so... LOL...:D Yeah, but I guess that Pacquiao wants to be mentioned right along Flash Elorde, Luisito Espinosa, Khaosai Galaxy, and all the famous Asian boxers. Erik is the ticket to get there. Anyway, I think that Morales will get a close UD again, although a Pacquiao victory is a strong possibility.

I also believe would lose a lot if he losses this fight. Lucky for him he already has a rematch clause in their contract in case he suffers a defeat. I don't know if that would attract more attention but I think the way he would lose in this fight would matter.