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02/29/2004 Archived Entry: "Morales Completes Trifecta, Beats Chavez"
Morales Completes Trifecta, Beats Chavez
By Tom Donelson
Erick Morales came in as the favorite against Jesus Chavez. Chavez was one of those windmill fighters, who loves to fight off your chest and in his first major fight; he gave a good account of himself before Floyd Mayweather, Jr. ended the fight with a TKO in the ninth. Now Chavez had yet another of those big fights that could propel him into the upper elites of the 130 pounds.
As for Morales, this one of those historical moments, when a fighter moved up yet another notch in the pound for pound ranking. Morales was one of those big punchers at 122 and 126 pound divisions and in his first campaign at 130 pounds, he showed Guty Espadas the mat as he wiped out Espadas with a third round KO. In a previous fight with Espadas, Morales escaped with a controversial.
So there are questions that would be answered in last night's meeting between Morales and Chavez. Could Morales use his reach and jab to keep Chavez at the end of his punches or will Chavez force a street fight? Could Morales continue to bring his power to a higher weight against a natural 130 pounder? For Morales, a victory meant a bigger money fight against the winner of Corrales- Casamayor. For Chavez, it meant respect and consideration as one of the best 130-pound fighter, if not the best. The fight started as Chavez jumped on Morales and let Morales know that this would be a war within the confines of the ring. Chavez nailed Morales with a right hand that sent Morales reeling into the ropes and it appeared momentarily that the rope kept Morales up. Morales came back in the last 30 seconds but there was no doubt who won the first round.- Chavez. There was no doubt who won the second round. Within the first minute Chavez walked into a Morales right uppercut and he hit the canvas. One minute after that knockdown, Morales victimized Chavez with a four punch combination ending with a right hand that sent Chavez down a second time. From this point, it was only a matter of time before Chavez would be stopped. Or so it seemed. Despite fighting with a bum shoulder and only one hand, Chavez decided to fight in Morales chest and force Morales to fight in close quarters. Morales, who is a skilled practitioner of the sweet science, often leaves his skills behind and starts brawling when a little boxing should suffice. This fight was no different as Morales abandoned his advantages and fought Chavez’ fight. From the third round on, it was a brawl. Morales threw the sharper punches but Chavez effective left hooks to the body that sapped Morales power in the later rounds. Morales and Chavez fought an intense pace throughout the fight, as they averaged 140 punches thrown per round. From the third round, each round was a pitched battle with each round being close. The deciding factor was Morales’ sharper combinations that were visible to the judges’ eyes and Chavez inability to threw his right hand. Chavez most effective strategy was to smother Morales and force the ranging Mexican to fight an inside fight. In the fifth and later in the eighth, Chavez strategy was enough to win those rounds. The seventh round was reminisced of the most of the last ten rounds, as Morales was able to establish some distance throughout most of the round and deliver sharp punches to take that round. When Morales was effective, it was because he used his jab and right uppercut. There was no doubt that going into the twelfth that Chavez needed a knock out. Morales fought his best round since the second round as he teed off on the courageous Chavez and took the last round while cementing the unanimous decision. While two of the judges had the margin more than your writer had it (116-110 for Morales), there was no doubt that Morales sharper punches gained the judges’ attention and Morales was the winner. It was also no doubt that Chavez fought a competitive fight and despite the lopsided scores, Morales left the ring with a busted up face. Morales knew that he was in a fight. After the fight, I could not help but think that at the age of 27, Morales looked more like 37. His hand speed was non-existent and his power after the third round was diluted by Chavez’ body shots. Without his hand speed, he would have difficulty defeating Casamayor and if he engages in a war with Diego Corrales, he could easily lose that fight as well. Morales beat the third best 130 pounder in a close fight so there are serious questions about his future in the junior lightweight and lightweight divisions.
Morales has been in many pitched battles in the ring and those battles have taken their toll. Morales propensity to engage in wars when boxing skills will suffice is similar to Arturo Gatti’s, and as Morales continues to jump in weight, I can’t see how these past rough fights not affect Morales ability to constantly beat the top fighters in the junior lightweight and lightweight. As for Chavez, he showed himself a warrior and this means more money fights on HBO. Chavez could not make that one final step to stardom but at least he fought well enough to have at least one more big payday. Despite losing to Mayweather and to Morales, he will be given one more chance for that belt. He is a quality opponent. His rise to the next level will have to wait one more day.
