Marcos Maidana Vs Erik Morales: Great Expectations
By Gina L. Caliboso
Back in 2007 and following his 12 round unanimous decision loss against David Diaz, a then 31 year old Erik “El Terrible” Morales, 51-6, 35 KO’s, decided to retire and end his career.
Given that Morales has definitely experienced his fair share of battles, he has in the past year, made a comeback of sorts. In April, Morales will face a tough challenge when he goes up against the impressive light welterweight from Argentina, Marcos Maidana, 29-2, 27 KO’s.
Even as I normally like to talk about a fighter’s losses to show patterns or tendencies, I’d only like to mention Morales’ losses because the fighters he lost against are an impressive list of fighters. And, Morales also has one extremely notable victory.
Morales defeated Manny Pacquiao back in 2005 and earned not one, but two titles – the WBC International Super featherweight and the then vacant IBA Super featherweight titles. In 2005, Morales defeated the much lighter Pacquiao in a 12 round unanimous decision. Later in 2005, Morales went on to lose against Zahir Raheem in a 12 round unanimous decision for the vacant WBC International Lightweight title.
In 2006, Morales fought against Pacquiao two more times.
In January, he faced Pacquiao in defense of his WBC International Super Featherweight title and lost in a 10th round TKO. The bout also served as a WBC Super Featherweight title eliminator. Then, 10 months later in November, Morales faced Pacquiao again.
In convincing fashion, Pacquiao knocked out Morales in the 3rd round. Finally, as Morales faced Diaz in August 2007, he lost the bout and announced his retirement.
It’s sheer speculation to consider that physically and maybe even emotionally, Morales peaked out in his win over Pacquiao. Morales sadly ended his career with 4 straight losses. He also had memorable bouts against his rival, Marco Antonio Barrera. Morales, like current comeback boxer Zab “Super” Judah, needed time away from boxing to really see their place in the sport they had dedicated themselves to for so long. And, to take a note from Rocky III, it’s all so quiet for a boxer in retirement.
But that’s enough reverie into Morales’ past defeats. Let’s look at his current winning record.
Morales is on a streak of 3 straight wins. Morales came back to fight Jose Alfaro, 24-7, 20 KO’s in March 2010. Fighting at welterweight for the WBC International Welterweight title, Morales defeated Alfaro in a 12 round unanimous decision. Six months later, Morales moved down in weight to fight for the vacant for the WBC Silver Light Welterweight title. Against Willie Limond, 33-3, 8 KO’s, Morales scored a 6th round KO with Limond down 3 times as a result of body shots in the 6th round. In defense of his title, Morales ended 2010 with a 12 round unanimous decision over Francisco Lorenzo, 35-8, in December.
The talented and younger Marcos Maidana will face a serious challenge from the elder Morales. At 27 years old, the KO puncher is currently ranked #4 in the light welterweight division, but leads in an important statistic. He has the highest amount of KO’s on his fight record, right along with Lucas Martin Matthysse, 28-1, 26 KO’s, and Zab Judah, 40-6, 27 KO’s, although Judah has more fights. Maidana is an exciting fighter to watch. He is unpredictable, but battles consistently.
In his bout against Amir Khan, 24-1, 17 KO’s, Maidana suffered a 1st round knockdown, but recovered nicely for the remainder of the fight. He was also penalized a point for throwing an elbow in the 5th round. After his knockdown, Maidana shook it off and started to give Khan a run in the championship rounds. Towards the end of the fight, Maidana did not allow Khan to run away with the victory and instead punished him to a degree by not letting up on Khan at all.
However, one of the dangers of being a KO fighter also means that fights have finished early. Before Maidana can even box and show how he can handle an opponent over 12 rounds, he knocks out his opponent and doesn’t really test his boxing skill. But regardless, Maidana wins.
In a bout against contender Victor Ortiz, 28-2, 22 KO’s, Maidana got knocked down in the first round once and twice in the 2nd round. He recovered well enough to knock Ortiz down in the 1st round and later scored the 6th round TKO. Let’s leave no doubt that Maidana is a fierce competitor, always going forward, always on the offensive, and does not leave room for his opponent to ever take a round off.
Maidana vs. Morales will make for an excellent matchup. It’s truly a case of opposing styles, the youngster vs the veteran, the endurance boxer vs the knockout boxer. Even though boxing is a sport for the young, a boxer such as Morales, who has had his share of battles against the very best in the sport, may have a bit more fight in him to teach the younger Maidana a few things. I predict that Morales may pull off the upset over 12 rounds. And, at least now, Morales can definitely put the finishing and winning touches on a career that is now ready to be revitalized.