Mutual enmity between two prominent Mexican fighters Erik Morales And Marco Antonio Barrera has already acquired a touch of legend. The greatest surge of mutual aggression and attacks between them occurred in the middle of their famous trilogy. At a press conference in Houston, which took place a few months before the second fight between them, things came to blows. This showdown was provoked by preliminary statements by both in the media. On one of the Mexican television programs, Barrera called Morales an illiterate, uncouth Indian. And Eric, in turn, in one of his interviews called Marco Antonio “a little gay.”
When the fighters met face to face at a press conference, the conflict could not help but develop. Barrera invited Morales to repeat what he said in the press about his sexual orientation, and Eric did so. After which Barrera delivered a lightning-fast right straight to his cheekbone. Morales immediately exploded with a furious trio of punches from both hands, but none of them landed as Marco Antonio quickly backed away. Then Eric tried to reach the retreating opponent with a kick, but also did not reach him. And then the team members of both boxers and the security separated the fighters, wedging between them.
The organizers of the fight blamed instigating journalists for the incident and promised not to bring the opponents face to face until they entered the ring, canceling some planned public events. True, boxing fans had to wait another six months for the showdown to continue in the ring, since the fight originally scheduled for March 2002 was postponed due to a rib injury Barrera received during training. The fight took place in June, and Barrera won by unanimous decision. In their first fight, which took place in February 2000, Morales won a split decision on points, and the decisive third fight, which took place in November 2004, ended in a majority decision victory for Barrera. At the same time, the first and third meetings were recognized as the best fights of their years according to The Ring magazine. But recently, Barrera and Morales, who have already become honored veterans of the ring, have reconciled and even periodically take part in TV shows together.
It must be said that in Barrera’s biography this was not the first fight in front of photo and television cameras outside the boxing ring. On the eve of the fight with the American Kennedy McKinney, held in February 1996, during the pre-match press conference, Marco Antonio also awarded his opponent with a right hand jab, which was the result a verbal altercation broke out between the boxers.
Similar “bad blood” (as overseas observers say in such cases) boiled between the Mexican-American Fernando Vargas and Nicaraguan Ricardo Mayorgoy before their fight in November 2007. It is unlikely that the confrontation between two such males could have passed without incident. True, if Vargas has always been positioned as a genuine macho, then Mayorga is a kind of grotesque semblance of this image. Ricardo could generally be called a walking joke,
If only he had not been such a dangerous fighter in his time. And so, during a pre-match press conference in Los Angeles, Mayorga began to spew his usual verbal trash. To begin with, he began calling Vargas a “pig” and a “fat cow,” then promised to brutally knock him out in order to do a good deed for the Mexican’s family - to force him to hang up his gloves. And in the end, Mayorga saddled his favorite horse, moving on to insulting his opponent’s family and friends.
But if, for example, such past opponents as Vernon Forrest(whose wife the Nicaraguan promised to force him to sweep the yard of his house after he had killed Forrest himself) and Oscar de la Hoya endured and did not fall for all of Matador’s verbal attacks, then Vargas decided to deal with the boor, as they say, like a man. Assuming his rival was provoking a conflict, Fernando pulled his shirt out of his trousers and unbuttoned his jacket even before the start of the press conference. And so, during the insults that came from Mayorga’s lips, Vargas could not stand it and rose from his chair, after which the impudent Nicaraguan slapped him in the face with a sharp movement of his hand. . Fernando counterattacked with lightning speed with three straight rights to the head, after which the boxers grappled and began to beat each other up.
Members of their teams also got involved. According to the memoirs of a Russian boxer Roman Karmazin, who was also present at that press conference, the fight between the two fighters escalated into a real wall-to-wall fight with the participation of many members of their teams. Tables cracked and broke, chairs flew over the heads of the fighters. In general, what was happening was reminiscent of scenes from old Hollywood Westerns, where drunken regulars of Wild West saloons staged massacres inside the establishments. True, the guards quickly managed to separate the fighters, and the team members quickly cooled down. But this could not be said about the fighters themselves. Fenced off from each other and held back by other participants in the event, they shouted, argued, hurled threats and expressed their readiness to continue the fight again for a long time. Vargas, who went into a rage, even tore his shirt, leaving himself naked to the waist, and Mayorga constantly pointed his finger menacingly in the direction of his opponent, promising to finish him off. This all continued until the guards and seconds dragged Mayorga, whose torn cheek was bleeding heavily, from the hall .
During the dump The promoters of both boxers also suffered. Poor Katie Duva at the beginning of the fight she found herself right between two fires, she was almost crushed, and only by some miracle was she able to slip out of the battlefield at the last moment. And here is Mayorga's promoter Don King fell under the rubble and took several blows and slaps. At subsequent press conferences and weigh-in ceremonies, the organizers have already taken precautions fenced off opponents with plastic glass . In the fight itself, Mayorga managed to knock down the Mexican twice and win by majority decision after 12 rounds. For Vargas, this entry into the ring was his last to date.
There were some incidents on the eve of the mega-fight between the American Bernard Hopkins and Puerto Rican Felix Trinidad, which took place in September 2001. During a press conference in New York, Hopkins tore the Puerto Rican flag from Trinidad's hands and threw it to the floor. Bernard subsequently told reporters that he would not even think of apologizing for this act and would do it again if he had the opportunity again, explaining his actions by saying that on the eve of the battle he was at war with his opponent. And Hopkins was given a second opportunity upon his arrival at a press conference in Puerto Rico. This time Bernard snatched the Puerto Rican flag from the hands of promoter Don King and threw it to the ground again . After this, the American fighter had to flee from the angry crowd of Puerto Rican boxing fans present at the event. Trinidad failed to take revenge on Hopkins for these actions in the ring - Tito lost to the Executioner by technical knockout in the 12th round.
Despite the lack of animal aggression directly in the ring, Hopkins was often not averse to causing trouble during pre-match events. So, at the weigh-in before the fight with Winky Wright in July 2007, Bernard instigated a brief brawl between members of both boxers' teams. During the traditional eye-to-eye staring contest, an irritated B-Hop vigorously rubbed something into Wright, who only responded with an ironic grin. Apparently, the steadfastness and fearlessness of his opponent infuriated the Executioner so much that he could not resist and shoved his hand in his face , for which he was subsequently fined $200,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Similar brawls occurred at the pre-match events of both Hopkins’ fights with the Canadian Jean Pascal. At the press conference before the first fight, Bernard took the WBC championship belt, which Pascal held at the time. Seeing this, the Canadian naturally went to Hopkins to take away the “strap,” but the Executioner hid it behind his back. The opponents argued a little, after which they began to push each other sluggishly. Then, hugging each other, they explained something for a long time, but that time it never came to a fight. And the fight, which took place in December 2012, ended in a very controversial draw, as a result of which Pascal managed to retain the world title.
It was much hotter at the pre-fight press conference in Montreal before their second fight . At one point, Pascal grabbed the microphone and began shouting loudly, demanding that Hopkins undergo a doping test before and after the fight. At first, Bernard tried not to react to the obvious “assault” of his opponent, but when he came close, he pushed him in the chest with all his strength. The departed Canadian did not seem to notice this, continuing to repeat the same verbal tirades about the requirement to undergo enhanced doping control. Getting into an expression, the embittered Pascal at one point gave Hopkins a punch, after which, naturally, a brawl began. The result of the fight that took place in May 2011 was Hopkins’ victory by unanimous decision, thanks to which B-Hop became the oldest world champion in boxing history.
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Erik Isaac Morales Elvira was born on September 1, 1976 in the Mexican city of Tijuana into a boxing family. His father Jose was a boxer and competed in the 70s. Having not achieved anything serious in the professional ring, Jose completely focused on raising successful fighters in his children. Tijuana has almost always been a city with a high crime rate and a large poor population, so perhaps the only chance for Eric to honestly become a rich and wealthy person was boxing. Morales began boxing at the age of five and trained in a gym built by his father. This hall was located in the house where their family lived. Eric's father's house still stands today, and Morales often trained there even late in his career.
Morales made his professional debut on March 29, 1993 at the age of 16. His opponent then also became a debutant named Jose Oreiel. Morales, who even then clearly showed the makings of a knockout artist, won an early victory, after which he won his next three fights by knockout. Eric fought his first title fight in 1994. His opponent then was the experienced Jose Valdez. Morales scored a third-round TKO victory to capture the WBC Mundo Hispano flyweight title. A little later, Eric added the NABF title to himself.
In 1996, Morales faced the most dangerous opponent of his career at that time, Hector Acero Sanchez. An experienced and slippery opponent, who worked mainly on defense, presented a difficult task for the young Eric, but Morales, wisely taking advantage of his height and arm length, found his way to victory by unanimous decision. A year later, Eric entered his first title fight. His opponent was the Mexican star Daniel Zaragoza. Even though Zaragoza had already passed his prime by the time of the meeting, he was still a serious threat and was able to defeat top opponents. This fight cannot be called Morales' most successful fight. Despite the fact that Eric's advantage was observed almost throughout the entire fight, persistent Daniel successfully attacked and put pressure on his young counterpart. At times, Morales looked too passive and relaxed, allowing the veteran to take over with his activity, but towards the end of the meeting he became more active, and in the 11th round he delivered a beautiful right straight blow to the body, which knocked out Zaragoza. So Eric became the WBC world champion.
During these years, the young native of Mexico City, Marco Antonio Barrera, also shone to the delight of the Mexican public. Many boxing fans not only in Mexico, but all over the world began to compare Morales and Barrera, argue about which of them is better and look forward to their face-to-face meeting. But the fans' expectations were brutally trampled when in 1996 Marco Antonio suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the American Junior Jones. “A coincidence,” many thought. A year later, the long-awaited revenge took place, but this time Barrera was unable to cope with the powerful, large and technical American.
After Eric lost his main opponent in the fight for greatness, he had no choice but to go out with Jones himself. After a difficult start, Morales, with ease that amazed everyone, began to smash the American with direct blows from a long distance and brought the matter to an early victory in the fourth round.
In 1999, Morales had a spectacular twelve-round fight with Briton Wayne McCulloch, in which he won by unanimous decision, after which the most significant and memorable period for boxing fans began in Eric’s career.
In 2000, fate finally brought Morales and Barrera together in the ring. Almost all boxing fans agreed that Eric, who was undefeated at that time, was a confident favorite. He was talked about as the future of Mexican boxing for many years, while the prospects of Marco, who had already suffered two defeats by Junior Jones, no longer looked so promising in the eyes of the public. Knowing the styles of both, everyone expected a spectacular fight, but what happened on October 19, 2000 exceeded all expectations. Two of the smartest tacticians, who could have outboxed anyone in their weight on a light wave, did not play a chess game with each other, but started a real war. The fifth round of this meeting was recognized as the round of the year, although, it must be said, the remaining three minutes of the battle were not much different from each other. Both fighters were stunned several times, with the advantage constantly shifting from one to the other. In the twelfth round, Eric was given a knockdown by mistake by the referee, but this did not stop him from winning by decision.
However, despite the judge's verdict, many felt that Barrera should have won. HBO commentator Jim Lampley literally immediately after the gong sounded to announce the end of the fight, shouted with delight: “Great fight! And I think Barrera won it! I think Barrera won it!” Marco Antonio, of course, did not agree with the judges’ decision, and a few years later he said that after the fight Morales came to his locker room and admitted that he had lost. Eric himself never said this and did not comment on this matter.
Having survived the war with Barrera, Morales had three more successful fights in 2000, scoring the scalps of Mike Juarez, Rodney Jones and Kevin Kelly. And in 2001, with his participation, a fight took place again, which had every chance of qualifying for the fight of the year. The stand-up and unyielding Korean In Jin Chi forced Eric to show everything he was capable of in the ring, and although at the end of twelve rounds the Mexican’s victory was beyond doubt, the fight, especially in the first half, was very intense and competitive. Morales' popularity had reached its peak, but everyone was waiting for only one fight with his participation - a rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera. And after almost two and a half years it took place.
The war in the square of the ring was not enough for the Mexicans with boiling blood, and a surge of aggression based on mutual hatred broke out even before the fight. It is known that in Mexico, relations between the wealthy and wealthy population, and the rest of the citizens, many of whom are on the verge of poverty, have always been tense. Barrera, unlike Morales, belonged to that part of the Mexican population that lived richly. He grew up not needing anything and received a higher education as an architect. In one of the programs on Mexican television, Marco Antonio decided to be sarcastic about the origin and behavior of Morales, calling him an uncouth Indian. Of course, Eric could not ignore this statement. When asked if he respected his opponent after such words, Morales responded as follows: “How come I don’t respect Barrera? I really, really respect that little fagot.”
At the first press conference before the fight, Marco approached Eric and asked if he could say the same thing to his face. Morales agreed to repeat what he had said, after which Barrera immediately struck. Eric tried to answer, but the boxers were immediately separated.
The revenge turned out to be a little less spectacular, but no less controversial. This time Barrera won in a close fight. Now many were sure that the servants of Themis had acted unfairly towards Morales. Naturally, a third meeting between the boxers could not be avoided, but it took place two years later.
Having suffered the first defeat in his career, Morales went up against experienced veteran Paulie Ayala. In this fight, Eric demonstrated brilliant “classic” boxing skills, successfully holding his smaller opponent at a long distance. After that, Morales had bright and spectacular fights with Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernandez, and then again crossed the gloves with Barrera.
The third fight, like the first, was recognized as the fight of the year, but this time there was less inconsistency in the result. Yes, the meeting turned out to be equal again, and the score was close, but Marco Antonio’s victory was absolutely deserved. The fight gave the impression that he simply wanted to win more.
Erik Morales - Marco Antonio Barrera
The Morales-Barrera trilogy is rightfully considered one of the greatest and brightest in boxing history. More than ten years have passed since their last fight with each other. Now there is no trace left of the former hatred. Today, if Eric and Marco Antonio speak about each other, it is only with respect, and when they meet, they warmly shake each other’s hands.
In 2005, boxing fans again had the opportunity to compare Barrera and Morales in absentia. Eric took on the newly minted boxing superstar, Filipino Manny Pacquiao, who had humiliatingly defeated Barrera the year before. In those years, Manny did not yet possess the boxing qualities that helped him win victories in the welterweight division, but he was a real typhoon that demolished all his opponents like a whirlwind. Considering how easily this typhoon passed through Barrera, few people gave Morales a chance in a fight with the Filipino. However, Marco Antonio himself, to the surprise of many, predicted Eric's victory.
There was no doubt that the fight between Morales and Pacquiao would be one of the greatest fights in history. Morales could not avoid brutal exchanges with the Filipino monster, and, to be honest, he did not try, but nevertheless he once again showed the ability to adapt to his opponent’s style and found a way to keep the aggressively advancing Pacquiao at a long distance. In an equal and incredibly difficult fight for both, Morales’ advantage was established, and in the final three minutes Eric, logically, should have done everything to maintain this advantage, but simply winning this fight was not enough for him, and he took an absolutely crazy step: took a southpaw stance and again accepted the exchange at a distance convenient for the left-handed Pacquiao. At the end of twelve rounds, the victory rightfully went to Eric. In a post-match interview, HBO commentator Larry Merchant decided to ask Morales what caused the decision to change stances and try to defeat such a dangerous opponent “on his field.” Eric's short but eloquent answer will forever remain in history. “Did you like it?”- Morales asked quickly. "I was delighted!"“,” Merchant answered enthusiastically. " That's why I did it"“,” the Mexican said with a smile.
Erik Morales - Manny Pacquiao
After the main triumph of his career, Morales entered the most unsuccessful and difficult period. During this time, he suffered four defeats in a row. First, in September 2005, he unexpectedly lost on points to American technician Zakir Rahim in the lightweight division. Eric then agreed to a rematch with Pacquiao at super featherweight. A lot has changed since the first meeting. It became even more difficult for Morales to fit into the limit of this weight category, and the Filipino, having suffered his first defeat in many years, became even more motivated and angry, and began to work on the body more often in the rematch. The body bombing noticeably weakened the Mexican, and after winning the first half of the fight, he began to rapidly lose his advantage. It all ended in the tenth round, when Pacquiao finally increased the pace, and a tired Eric could no longer resist.
Mexican pride did not allow Morales to finish the confrontation with Pacquiao with a score of 1-1, and he agreed to a third fight and again at featherweight. This time there was no hint of competition in the battle. Manny, who came to the peak, literally walked through Morales. Eric simply did not have time to see where the lightning strikes were coming from, and in the third round, after another knockdown, he shook his head doomedly, finally convinced that in his current form he was not able to resist Manny.
Erik Morales - Manny Pacquiao
After the third failure in a row, Eric decided to return to lightweight. His next opponent was unbeaten Mexican prospect David Diaz. Straightforward, aggressive and not flashy with speed, David seemed to be an ideal match for the calculating counter-puncher Morales in style, but after an equal and close fight, the victory went to the young Mexican. So, after four defeats in a row, Eric left boxing for three years.
During the second half of Morales' career, as is often the case with Latin American boxers, he was hampered by the problem of losing excess weight. After a three-year absence from the ring, Eric returned to boxing, fighting at welterweight. Having defeated the little-known middleweight Jose Alfaro, Morales gained some form and dropped to the first welterweight division, where he had several fights for second-rate titles. In 2011, Eric agreed to another serious test in the person of the young Argentine puncher Marcos Maidana. Before the fight, almost no one doubted that Morales would look like a typical veteran brought to the slaughter, who was being “fed” to a budding star. And the first round of the fight only strengthened the confidence of everyone who thought so. After one of the crushing blows from the right, a huge hematoma formed above Eric’s eye, the growth of which, despite all the efforts of the cutmen in the corner, could not be stopped. When Morales entered the second round, he faced the biggest and most powerful opponent of his career, and he could only see him with one eye.
When the Mexican fought at flyweight and featherweight, he was stronger, faster and tougher than many of his opponents. Now, not a trace remains of these advantages. But in addition to his character, the war still had something that always set him apart from his physically superior opponents - his intellect in the ring. Many times in battle, the hectic pressure of Maidana was interrupted by unexpected counterattacks, the blows of which flew at different angles. Marcos tried tirelessly to overwhelm the veteran with brutal pressure, while Eric tried again and again. He punished him for every defensive mistake and attacked when the straightforward Maidana was not ready for it. Following the results of a fantastically spectacular fight, Maidana won by decision of the majority of the judges.
Marcos Maidana - Erik Morales
Despite the loss, Morales was given the opportunity to fight Jorge Barrios for the vacant WBC title, but he had visa problems and was forced to withdraw from the fight. Then Eric faced a much more formidable opponent in the person of another Argentine puncher Lucas Matthysse. The fight had already been scheduled, but Lucas contracted a virus infection and was also forced to withdraw from the fight. After this, the organization decided that Eric's opponent would be the undefeated Mexican prospect Pablo Cesar Cano. In an interesting and entertaining fight, in which both had good moments, Morales won by technical knockout due to Cano’s cut. So, Eric became the world champion in the fourth weight category.
Pablo Cesar Cano - Erik Morales
Despite successful performances with Cano and Maidana, it was clear to everyone that Morales’ time had long passed, and welterweight was not his category, and the legendary veteran would not be able to hold the title for long. And so it happened.
The Mexican's first and last defense was with American prospect Danny Garcia. Morales' skill, technique and intelligence allowed him to look competitive here too. At times, young Garcia did not have time to understand where Morales' hard punches were coming from. The fight was close for ten rounds. In the eleventh three-minute period, Morales shocked Garcia and rushed to aggravate, after which he missed an oncoming blow and was knocked down. After that, Danny brought the matter to victory by unanimous decision.
Agreeing with the opinion that the featherweight veteran needed to be beaten more confidently, Garcia gave Morales a rematch, where he left him no chance right away, brutally knocking him out with a left hand.
Danny Garcia - Erik Morales
After that, Eric still thought about getting into the ring again, and tried to organize a fight, first with ex-world champion in three weight categories Humberto Soto, and then with Mexican prospect Jorge Paez Jr., but having received an injury, he made a reasonable decision to announce ending his boxing career.
Morales continues to do what he loves today. He tries himself as a coach. Time will tell whether he will be able to develop a worthy replacement for himself in any of his fighters. But one thing is for sure: even if Eric fails to prove himself in coaching, his contribution to history as a boxer will remain invaluable.
Prepared by Teimuraz Shalelashvili .
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Mexican fighters have always been distinguished by their character and will. Therefore, the number of outstanding boxers from this Latin American country is simply colossal. However, there are always individuals who deserve special attention. And one of these athletes was Erik Morales.
Brief information
Erik Morales was born on September 1, 1976 in Tijuana. His father, Jose Morales, was also a boxer in his youth and competed in the super lightweight division. Eric lived and trained for a long time in his father's house, since there was a training room next to the building. Today, Eric's online news portal is located in the same house.
Amateur fights
At the age of five, Erik Morales began boxing. In total, during his amateur career, he had 114 fights, in 108 of which he won convincing victories. It is noteworthy that even taking into account the simply crazy competition in Mexico, the guy was able to become an eleven-time champion of his country. This indicator already says a lot.
Hobbies and interests
In addition to boxing, Erik Morales devotes a lot of time to computer technology. and therefore takes a laptop with him almost everywhere and always. The Mexican is also a manager and promoter of fights in southern California in the USA, as well as in his home country. In addition to his sporting success, Morales is happily married to his wife America and has three children.
Professional career
Erik Morales, whose biography can in many ways become an excellent example for the younger generation, made his debut in professional boxing on March 29, 1993 in his hometown. The start turned out to be successful - he knocked out his opponent in the second round. Eric won his first professional title (although only of South American significance) in 1994, defeating veteran Jose Valdez.
Real fame came to Morales after defeating the eminent Daniel Zaragoza, whom the Mexican pinned in the eleventh round, thereby winning the WBC world champion title in the super featherweight division.
After a series of successful defenses, Eric met in the ring with WBO world champion Mark Antonio Barrera on February 19, 2000. The fight, unsurpassed in the intensity of passions, ended in a decision of the judges, which confirmed Morales as the winner. The fight itself was recognized as the fight of the year by the respected sports publication The Ring.
This victory gave the Mexican talent the opportunity to move to another weight category and continue his triumphant march there. However, the villainous fate prepared an unpleasant surprise for Eric.
On June 22, 2002, a re-fight took place between Morales and Barrera. This time Marco Antonio celebrated the victory on points. Although, according to spectators and experts, the fight was at least equal.
The defeat did not break the champion, because he showed high-quality boxing. Erik Morales holds many more fights, in which he continues to win victories, until in March 2005 he again saw Barrera in the ring. Much to the regret of Eric's fans, he lost again.
In 2005-2006, Morales had three fights with the world boxing star. The Mexican was able to win only the first fight, and lost the other two by technical knockout.
In August 2007, Morales lost again. Lightweight world champion David Diaz defeated him. After this defeat, Eric announces his retirement from boxing. But already in 2010 he returns again, and quite successfully, having fought three victorious fights in a row. However, in 2011 he loses to Marcos Maidana, and in 2012 he fails to defeat Danny Garcia twice.
In June 2014, Morales again announced his decision to retire without notifying the public about the possibility of holding his farewell fight.
Today marks the 41st anniversary of one of the best boxers of recent decades, former world champion in three weight categories, Marco Antonio Barrera.
The Mexican fighter nicknamed the “Baby Faced Assassin” successfully fought his first professional fight when he was only 15! The case is rare, but not unique for one of the leading boxing powers, which traditionally cannot boast of a high level of well-being of its citizens.
Barrera now has 75 fights under his belt, which include battles with such authoritative champions as Manny Pacquiao, JuanManuel Marquez, Naseem Hamed, Johnny Tapia, Paulie Ayala, Kennedy McKinney…
But what made Marco Antonio a world-famous star and a dollar millionaire was the bloody trilogy with the only person whom he hated fiercely for many years.
CONFESSION – TITLE
It all started on February 19, 2002 in Las Vegas. The unification bout pitted the WBC world champion in the up to 55.3 kilogram weight category, Mexican Erik El Terrible (“Terrible”) Morales, and his compatriot Barrera, who held the WBO belt.
By that time, the fighting nicknames of Marco Antonio and Erika were already well known to boxing fans. But the opponents themselves called each other differently. Their mutual antagonism was partly due to long-term correspondence rivalry within the ropes, partly to local feuds (Barrera was a native of Mexico City, Morales was from Tijuana), but at its core was intense personal hostility. The larger “driver” Eric more than once called his opponent a “little gay,” while certified architect Marco Antonio ridiculed Morales’s colloquialism, lack of education and street habits.
What happened in the ring that winter evening made an indelible impression on the American public, spoiled by name knockouts Mike Tyson And Felix Trinidad, speed Roy Jones and a dazzling smile Oscar de la Hoya.
The audience was completely immersed in the atmosphere of the battle of two hurricanes, which was unleashed by the frantic “kids”. The highest tempo, dynamics and density of the fight were combined with the extraordinary performing skills demonstrated by both competitors.
In the fifth round, Morales was on the verge of a knockout, but managed to resist and regain the initiative. And when it seemed that Marco Antonio was noticeably tired of his own fierce attacks, Barrera suddenly rose up and snatched the championship rounds, managing to knock down his opponent.
When the referee Mitch Halpern raised the hand of the barely alive Eric after the final gong, and the famous ring announcer Michael Buffer proclaimed his victory by a split decision of the judges, there were more dissatisfied with such a verdict than those who agreed with it.
It got to the point that officials of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), after consulting, retained the championship regalia for Barrera, de facto refusing to recognize him as a loser!
SUITS DO NOT HINDER A FIGHT
If the official outcome of the Morales-Barrera fight, which quickly became a cult fight, did not suit many journalists, fans and even officials, then what can we say about Marco Antonio himself! It was quite obvious that organizing a rematch was only a matter of time.
However, the irreconcilable duelists decided to use their fists long before the second fight, which took place on June 22, 2002. During a joint press conference in Houston, Barrera suddenly asked Eric to answer for words about his allegedly unconventional sexual orientation.
This was followed by a lightning-fast right hook, which Morales tried to respond to with a series of punches, capped by a kick. After this, the boxers were separated, but the promoters made a sensible decision to no longer bring them face to face to the point of suicide.
At the end of the second battle, the opponents switched roles. Barrera, having decided to abandon continuous pressure and the desire to close the distance at all costs, turned the battle into a calmer direction, relying on devastating counterattacks.
As a result, leading analyst for HBO Harold Lederman concluded that at the end of 12 rounds Morales was stronger (115-113). It is noteworthy that he assessed the epic first fight clearly in favor of Marco Antonio (116-111).
But this time the official referees unanimously preferred Barrera, as if apologizing for the injustice committed two years earlier.
SIZE MATTERS
The final chapter of the historical confrontation was written on November 27, 2004. For the first time before the start of the classic Morales-Barrera battle, analysts and bookmakers identified an obvious favorite.
“Terrible” Eric, after the second fight with Marco Antonio, won six confident victories in a row, while his enemy was sensationally defeated by the rising star Manny Pacquia in November 2003. But that was not all... The WBC weight category championship belt was at stake in the third fight up to 59 kilograms, belonging to Morales.
It was believed that El Terrible felt very comfortable at this weight, while the limit was too high for Barrera. The reality exceeded all expectations: within a day after the official weigh-in, the reigning champion managed to gain 13 pounds! Thus, entering the ring in Las Vegas, Eric seemed 5 kilograms heavier than Marco Antonio. A colossal difference that even heavyweights could not help but feel...
But 30-year-old Barrera fought perhaps the best fight of his life that day. Already in the debut, he firmly seized the initiative, without even thinking about avoiding the brutal exchange of blows and the battle with an open visor. In the second round, the “Baby-faced Killer” broke his opponent’s nose, and a wide hematoma gradually formed under Morales’ right eye.
Eric did not lay down his arms. He managed to even out the course of the battle, and in the end even seize the initiative. But, as El Terrible later told, in fights with his most important opponent, his emotions often let him down. Morales sought to “cut” Marco Antonio at any cost in every episode, often neglecting the battle plan that was carefully developed by his coach and father, Jose.
Be that as it may, Barrera won a close but deserved victory on points (115-113, 115-114, 114-114), took the championship belt from Morales and showed two fingers to the hated “Hillbilly”, thereby symbolizing that the last word in the long-standing the war was left behind him.
BY THE WAY
The first and third fights between Morales and Barrera were recognized as “fights of the year” (2000 and 2004, respectively) according to The Ring magazine.
Erik Morales is one of two Mexican boxers who managed to win championship titles in four weight categories. His compatriot Juan Manuel Marquez has not yet given up hope of becoming the sole owner of the national record.
Marco Antonio retired in 2011. Eric fought his last fight a year later.
THE BEAUTIFUL OF ANY WORDS
Barrera's reaction to Juan Manuel Marquez's knockout blow in his fourth fight with Manny Pacquiao. (Next to Marco Antonio is Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.).
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