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Erik “El Terrible” Morales is finished and this was apparent even before he entered the ring to face Manny Pacquiao on November 18, 2006. His skills had been slipping slightly before his first battle with Manny nearly two years ago. Since then his abilities have eroded at an exponential rate.
The rapid decline of Morales should not diminish in any way from the fact that every time we watched this amazing fighter we were witnessing one of the greatest boxers of this and any other generation; and we should also recognize that he achieved greatness without any of the controversies over steroids that have plagued several of his contemporaries whose abilities instantly fizzled once the BALCO scandal broke a few years ago. There was never a hint of scandal in any of his fights.
When Morales defeated Pacquiao nearly two years ago, it was really his last stand as a great pugilist. He was having problems making the 130 pound limit back then, and so afterwards, he moved up a division to lightweight. He lost a lop-sided decision to Zahir Raheem, and this showed that weight making was not as big of a problem as thought; eroding reflexes and skills, and perhaps desire were the real culprits in the decline of the Great Morales. [details]
The rapid decline of Morales should not diminish in any way from the fact that every time we watched this amazing fighter we were witnessing one of the greatest boxers of this and any other generation; and we should also recognize that he achieved greatness without any of the controversies over steroids that have plagued several of his contemporaries whose abilities instantly fizzled once the BALCO scandal broke a few years ago. There was never a hint of scandal in any of his fights.
When Morales defeated Pacquiao nearly two years ago, it was really his last stand as a great pugilist. He was having problems making the 130 pound limit back then, and so afterwards, he moved up a division to lightweight. He lost a lop-sided decision to Zahir Raheem, and this showed that weight making was not as big of a problem as thought; eroding reflexes and skills, and perhaps desire were the real culprits in the decline of the Great Morales. [details]