Was Erik Morales in his prime when he beat Manny Pacquiao?

[Pantera_]

Was Morales at his peak when he beat Manny Pacquiao or was he a little bit past it at that time?

[Pantera_]

I voted past it. I don't think Morales was in his prime when he beat Manny.

[Black Jesus]

Nope, he was already washed up....but it really just came down to Erik being a better fighter, he could still beat Manny...
I wouldn't say Manny was at his peak at that fight, but he was definitely in his athletic prime....
It's just a shame Morales kept coming back.
I could tell just by looking at the two fighters before the bell sounded for their rematch that Morales was going to come out lethargic and Manny would outwork him and dominate him and stop him.
But if you put them both at a lower weight, prime vs prime, Morales will beat him 7 out of 10 times.
MARK MY WORDS

[NORMNEALON]

I feel he was . albeit at the very end of it . I think the move to 130 was the kicker . He got one great performance and then started the decline . He fell off quite rapidly( which happens quite often with fighters who have so many wars ) , but then later had a bit of a resurgence at 140 . He was shot but was good enuff to beat some decent guys and pick up a vacant strap with a decent win over cano , and having very close debatable loses to madaina and garcia in the first fight.

[IronDanHamza]

Of course he wasn't.

[hugh grant]

He was in prime. Pac wasn't though
Hav ing wars don't make you past prime. It makes you battle hardened and proven, and gives you experience, not untested. Too many wars may shorten your career though.
But morales was 28. Come on, gimme break. He was in prime why ask question? That was Morales at his very best. He might have deteriorated after that fight though and may have taken something out of him.

[Thuglife Nelo]

looking back at how Pac traded with Morales in those highlights, how was Pacquiao faster at Welterweight than at Super Feather when you're adding more weight moving up and getting older?

That would be like Canelo today faster than what he was at 154. Which we know isn't the case. Canelo has never been supercharged at 175 like RJJ from 160 to 175... both Floyd and Canelo show declines with offensive assaults as they moved up

[EDDIE SPERM]

He sure was!

[hectari]

Was Morales at his peak when he beat Manny Pacquiao or was he a little bit past it at that time?

He put on a peak performance probably his best boxing skilled performance of his career, so yes, remember this is a guy who was bloated and shot to pieces but still schooled a young Marcos Maidana with one eye shut for the majority of the fight.

Morales is no joke.

[Thraxox]

Morales was slightly past it as this point, and Pacquiao though, in his athletic prime, was not in his absolute prime.

It was probably top 1 or 2 best wins in the last 20-25 years. The fact that past it morales defeated Prime Pacquiao was the stuff of legends.