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Pacquiao and Morales: War Games
Mark Snow - 3/19/2005
“A nice war is a war where everybody who is heroic is a hero, and everybody more or less is a hero in a nice war. Now this war is not at all a nice war.” Gertrude Stein
The IBA Super Featherweight belt might be the only tangible spoils of Saturday night’s mega-clash between Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao, but for these two warriors it has never been about belts anyway. True men fight for country. True men fight for pride. True men fight for family.
Morales, the Mexican, has always commanded respect for his heritage and the people of his native country adore him for it. In a sport where a foreign fighter can increase his purses by six figures or more simply by becoming fluent in English Morales has seldom bowed, seeming to gather strength from having never given in to the capitalist game.
Pacquiao has a similar story, fighting all but a handful of his fights in his own backyard. His first trip onto American soil was as a late replacement and supposed opponent for Lehlo Ledwaba where Pacquiao took the IBF Super Bantamweight crown and took the American public by storm. But Pacquiao too has shunned bigger purses in places like Las Vegas and New York to bring his world title back home for three of his past 8 fights.
Now with Morales and Pacquiao meeting up we have two heroes within the ropes. Two countries hopes pinned to an outcome that will almost certainly be highly charged and leave both men damaged. Countrymen thousands of miles apart will be calling for each others’ blood with frayed nerves from fear of their best man failing. This war will not be a nice war.
“The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.” John Stuart Mill
We have often heard the phrase “It is the irresistible force versus the immovable object” in boxing, but rarely do we have to sort thoughts out when the fight is between two irresistible forces. Manny Pacquiao knows one speed, fast forward, and his straight left hand is his battering ram that knocks through the walls between himself and victory. Erik Morales doesn’t give ground, I can’t recall a fight where Morales didn’t motion several times for his opponent to engage rather than retreat. His cobra-like straight right hand has sapped the power out of punchers from 120 to 130 pounds. Though both men can be hurt it is a matter of heart and strategy to take punches in order to deliver.
The amount of heart in the ring at the MGM Grand on Saturday will rival any match in history. Graziano vs Zale, Ali vs Frazier, Ward vs Gatti. Both men would rather die than be psychologically handled and it will be most interesting to watch who’s armor dents first.
“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Napoleon Bonaparte
Neither fighter is perfect, and we can start with the most obvious deficiency, defense. There will be opening after opening available to both men. Pacquiao is susceptible to nearly ever punch in the book and seemed to be neutralized with a commitment to move away from his left hand. Juan Manuel Marquez certainly took his lumps but solved the puzzle by the mid-way mark and found plenty of opportunity to land power punches of his own, stunning Pacquiao several times over the late-mid rounds with a sweeping right hand both to the head and the body.
Morales, who might be best served avoiding an all out slugfest, can’t seem to help himself. He is more than willing to let both hands go freely during exchanges and it has cost him at least twice with quicker handed Marco Antonio Barrera. Pacquiao’s hand speed is among his most outstanding features and Morales should be more careful to keep his hands home. But we know he won’t.
“In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” Winston Churchill
Pacquiao’s near-desperate offensive fury hides a truth. He doesn’t trust his chin. His kill or be killed attitude becomes a necessity in his anxiety to be the fighter who leaves on his feet. Pacquiao has two knockout losses. Not stoppages by a referee who sees a wobbly fighter or because of a cut. He’s been counted out twice. I have heard the stories about a weight drained Pacquiao - a shell of himself – getting caught with a lucky punch. This may or may not be true, but it certainly doesn’t erase the fact that it happened.
Morales may have a secret as well. He has alternately been phenomenal and tepid, and there is an inkling of feeling that Morales’ gas tank might finally be dry. His resume since the first Barrera fight is chock full of legitimate world class fighters, and more than a fair share of those fights were battles that leave scars. Morales has rarely looked as flat as he did early against Marco last November, and Pacquiao might be exactly the kind of fighter that shows Morales the exit sign.
“You can't say civilizations don't advance -- for in every war, they kill you in a new way.” Will Rogers
The most obvious outcomes in this fight hinge on one right hand, and one left. The victor may ultimately be the man who brings something unexpected into the ring. Morales has the ability to outbox Pacquiao and may spend some time trying to do just that. A firmly disciplined Morales seems capable of winning this fight, however he’d be fighting both Pacquiao and his human nature to accomplish the goal.
Pacquiao hasn’t really needed a Plan B, at least not until the Marquez fight. However a group of judges told him in plain language that beating a guy up with a left hand alone was not going to cut it. Paquiao and cornerman Freddy Roach are likely drawing up a few new wrinkles – but in the heat of war the soldiers always revert to what comes naturally.
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