Great boxing rivalries don’t always have to be personal. The trilogy between Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao concluded this past week and unlike Morales’ trifecta with Marco Antonio Barrera, this one ended in a professional fashion much like Arturo Gatti’s wars with Mickey Ward.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Erik Morales III
Pacquiao has cemented his name as the most dominant super featherweight in the world. That was a title once held by Erik Morales but numerous wars in the ring have left Morales a shell of his former self. No major world titles were on the line in this fight. Sometimes a world title takes a backseat to an exciting brawl as 18,276 fans turned out to watch these men do battle for the third time.
Morales was overpowered by Pacquiao in their last fight but insisted it was due to fatigue from struggling to make weight. This time Morales had no excuses. Pacquiao nailed Morales with hard shots and was yet again the more powerful man in the ring. To his credit, Morales stood in there and traded punches with Pac Man but he just didn’t have enough on his shots. Pacquiao put Morales down in the second round with a left hook and the already frenzied crowd went wild. Morlaes got to his feet but his dejected look meant it was only a matter of time before he tasted the canvas again.
The third round would prove to be the last round of the fight and perhaps Morales’ career. Pacquiao knocked Morales down two more times in the third round. The second knockdown of the round seemed like one that Morales could get up from but he declined. Morales was on a knee and just shook his head ‘no’ allowing the referee to complete the ten count. Morales had no answers for Pacquiao on this night and felt no need to continue taking punishment. That’s actually an admirable move by Morales, a man known for his unrelenting heart in the ring. Pacquiao landed 54% of his punches to just 26% from Morales. Pacquiao also landed an astonishing 63% of his power punches, connecting on 83 of 101 in just three rounds.
This fight is already gaining comparisons to Hagler/Hearns’ three-round slugfest from 1985. Like Hagler, Pacquiao took his opponent’s best shot and walked right through it. At that point it was clear that the stronger man was going to get the knockout even with a game competitor on the other side.
Morales’ future is unclear but retirement certainly needs to be option number one at this point. As for Pacquiao, he now finds himself in a promotional battle that clouds his future. A legal battle will likely ensue between Golden Boy and Top Rank over the rights to Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao had signed a new contract with Golden Boy but later rescinded to remain with Top Rank. This could get ugly. Bob Arum, head of Top Rank, used to represent Oscar De La Hoya, head of Golden Boy Promotions, and they have a bitter feud with each other. Pacquiao may only serve as a pawn in the Arum-De La Hoya battle.
Mike Arnaoutis vs. Ricardo Torres – WBO Light Welterweight Title
The title was on the line in this fight because Miguel Cotto vacated it in order to move up in weight. Torres made a name for himself by giving Cotto all he could handle last year in an eventual knockout loss. Arnaoutis came into the fight with an undefeated record and a lot of hype as a great light welterweight.
Arnaoutis used his superior boxing skill against Torres which included a knockdown in the seventh round. Torres kept coming forward and maintained his role as the aggressor throughout the fight. Arnaoutis was unable to put Torres away after the knockdown and the fight went to the scorecards. Would it come down to Arnaoutis cleaner punches or Torres aggression? A split decision was announced. On judge scored it 114-113 Arnaoutis. Another judge scored it 114-113 Torres. The deciding judge had the fight 116-111 in favor of the new champion, Ricardo Torres.
Omar Nino Romero vs. Brian Viloria – WBC Light Flyweight Title
Romero was making his first defense of the title that he won from Viloria in what amounted to an upset. Viloria took his game opponent for granted the first time around but swore that wouldn’t be the case this time around in the rematch.
Viloria showed he was more focused this time around which resulted in an exciting contest. Viloria was given credit for a knockdown in the fifth round when Romero’s glove touched the mat. He knocked Romero down cleanly in the ninth round but was unable to close the show. Romero didn’t just stand there and take punches, however. The champion showed his game spirit and had Viloria reeling many times throughout the fight. The fight went the distance and it was certainly a close contest. The scorecards revealed the result of the contest as a draw and the crowd was pissed. Very rarely does a draw go over well with the crowd and this was no exception. Romero retained his title but I don’t think anyone will be upset with another fight between these two.
Other Results From Last Week
– Former super middleweight world champion Anthony Mundine was victorious over Ruben Acosta by 4th round knockout.
– Light heavyweight contender Julio Gonzalez scored a 3rd round TKO of Vitali Kopitko.
– 2004 US Olympian Andre Ward won a six-round unanimous decision over Derrick Findley.
– The Contender 2’s Michael Stewart earned a unanimous decision over Roberto Valenzuela.
– Bobby Pacquiao was disqualified against Hector Velazquez for repeated low blows. Bobby is Manny’s younger brother and also came in overweight for this super featherweight bout. Pacquiao was ahead on two of the three cards when the 11th round stoppage came.
– Archak TerMeliksetian lost to Jose Luis Cruz by unanimous decision.
– Kali Meehan is getting back to his winning ways by fighting bums. This one was Anton Nel and his fate was a third round knockout.
– Cruiserweight David Haye inches closer to a title fight with a ninth round TKO of Giacobbe Fragomeni.
– I assure you that both of the following names are spelled correctly. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam successfully defended his WBC Flyweight Title with a unanimous decision over Monelisi Mhikiza Myekeni.
– Sam “King” Soliman defeated Enrique Ornelas in a middleweight contest by majority decision.
– Monty Meza Clay won his super featherweight bout over Fred Neal by knockout in the eighth round.
– John Ruiz thankfully lost a WBA Eliminator to Ruslan Chagaev. The winner earns a shot at Nicolay Valuev and while I know little about Chagaev, he still has to be a better matchup than Valuev/Ruiz II.
