Erik Morales' Win Got Lost in the Floyd Mayweather Hype
The boxing world was buzzing after the ending to Mayweather-Ortiz, but lost in the hype was the latest chapter in the remarkable comeback of Erik Morales.
Morales finally accomplished his dream of winning titles in four different weight classes, and despite what some may say, this is indeed an accomplishment.
As hard as it may be, don’t get caught up in the madness of the sanctioning organizations. Boxing fans know that they are not accurate reflections of who the top fighters are, and Morales is nowhere near the top of the 140-pound division.
His win should still be properly recognized though, and even if we don’t want celebrate the belt/title, we can certainly celebrate a fighter that was left for dead by the boxing community just a few years ago.
We can celebrate his path to this “title” too. When Lucas Matthysse lost to Devon Alexander, it looked like he may head to boxing purgatory. He was clearly one of the toughest fights in the division, yet he didn’t have the name recognition to warrant the risk of giving him a shot.
It didn’t matter to Morales. He wanted the best fight he could possibly get.
When Matthysse pulled out, that was a perfect opportunity for Morales to take a gift-wrapped title, but even then he pushed to get a Marcos Maidana rematch—a fight he surely wouldn’t have been favored to win.
In the end, Morales fought a young, hungry fighter, and he did what he does best—deliver an action packed fight.
Newer boxing fans who missed Morales in his prime missed a fighter who combined top-tier skill with a penchant for all action fights and unmatched heart. A fighter who outboxed Manny Pacquiao and was in multiple Ring Magazine fights of the year.
Morales didn’t embarrass himself last night, and instead put on another great fight—as almost everyone expected.
In a time where the best don’t always fight the best (and we don’t know how good the action will be if they do), Morales’ performance should be commended. Hopefully after the Mayweather-Ortiz fallout dies down, it will be a performance that gets proper kudos from the boxing community.
