By Jim Cawkwell (Photo © HBO)

 

It was the mirror image of the moment almost a decade ago when Erik Morales first became a champion by sinking the killing body blow into Daniel Zaragoza, who could manage only a begrudging acknowledgement in response. November 18, 2006: Erik Morales sat on the canvas amid the screams, ignoring the pleas of his corner to rise and fight back as he had done twice already. The question over his right to continue fighting at the highest level had been answered by Manny Pacquiao’s punishing fists, and in Morales’ solitude, though he was displeased with the nature of the answer, he accepted his fate.

 

For Morales, the circle was complete. The day when Pacquiao himself has given his all and can offer only a dejected stare to his successor may seem far away, but it is certainly coming. As soon as we’re born, we’re dying.

 

At ringside, former lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo and super flyweight star Jorge Arce regarded each other with amazement. One of their own had fallen in dramatic fashion; it was a reminder of their own pugilistic mortality. Those that live fast, die young.

 

After the shock of seeing Morales’ resolve crumble so soon, the truth of the situation became apparent. Morales’ pride wouldn’t allow him to box Pacquiao; he had to fight him. He was a man walking headlong into a furious tornado, and no matter how many times it overwhelmed him and forced him to the ground, he refused to try and find a way around it.

 

The people had come to see a war, and as Top Rank’s Bob Arum asserted in a pre-fight press conference, Morales would not do “what another Mexican fighter out there did recently,” referring of course to Marco Antonio Barrera’s defensive performance against Rocky Juarez.

 

To some, Barrera displayed a boxing exhibition against Juarez; to others, he refused to stand and fight a younger, stronger opponent. To some, Morales did the honorable thing by fighting to the last against Pacquiao; to others, Morales’ utter destruction was the final and undeniable proof that his time had passed.

 

From these last offerings of Barrera and Morales, we understand them as very different fighters determined to go out on their own terms. It is obvious now that the era they illuminated with such passion will soon be consigned to memory. The sad truth is that within the next year they will no longer be part of the landscape of the sport to which they sacrificed themselves for so long. Within this sometimes beautiful and glorious, but more often cruel and ruthless territory, they became irreplaceable icons.

 

How close their greatness will come to the greatest of Mexican fighters we cannot know. But unlike Julio Cesar Chavez, Barrera and Morales - as businessmen well prepared for life after boxing - will never have to make so many farewells because they need the money.

 

But what of the final farewell they each intend to make in 2007?

 

Morales did not brood long over the beating he took from Pacquiao before declaring his intention to challenge for a lightweight championship, after which, successful or not, he will face his retirement. Winning a lightweight title would be Morales’ fourth championship in as many weights; an achievement beyond that of Chavez or any Mexican fighter.

 

The problem is that the champion Morales intends to challenge is Cuba’s Joel Casamayor, who may have slipped in the last few years, yet still retains the southpaw style, experience, and natural size to cause Morales major problems.

 

Furthermore, Casamayor is not above the utilization of a whole range of foul tactics to keep him from defeat. The result would be an aesthetically displeasing spectacle of clashing stances and numerous interruptions very much inappropriate for Morales’ farewell.

 

Of course, five years ago, this fight would be an altogether different prospect. However, today, though Casamayor is no Pacquiao, Morales is no longer Morales.

 

Despite the current wealth of orthodox lightweight champions that would make pleasing matches, Morales perceives Casamayor’s threat as the most potent, hence the decision to challenge him. Perhaps either Julio or Juan Diaz would make easier conquests; though when have we ever known Morales to do something the right way when he can do it his own way?

 

Meanwhile, Barrera’s last stand figures to be a revenge mission for the brutal beating given to him by Pacquiao in 2003. Of course, this depends greatly on the resolution of the promotional battle between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, of which Pacquiao is the central figure.

 

When they fought last, Barrera had no answer for Pacquiao’s blazing hand-speed. Eleven rounds of the Filipino’s pulverizing combinations culminated in Barrera being saved from himself. Before that moment, Barrera’s frustration had lowered him to the point of using foul tactics to break Pacquiao’s relentless rhythm.

 

Phenomenal though he was, Pacquiao was only a one-dimensional version of the fighter he is today, six months removed from being completely out-boxed by Juan Manuel Marquez. If the truth be known, the ease with which Pacquiao disposed of Barrera and the difficulty he found in Marquez - and the controversy of their eventual draw - sets Pacquiao-Marquez II apart as the one fight in which Pacquiao has unfinished business.

 

Barrera has proven his command over his craft, and that he has no internal dilemma that would force him to neglect it for the sake of pride. But whatever Barrera’s approach, Pacquiao is the most explosive force in boxing. Not an element to wager against.

 

Regardless of what lies ahead for Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, they are without question two of the greatest fighters of our time. They have fought the best opposition, and they’ve fought each other with the technical skills of a seasoned boxer, and the unparalleled heart and fire of a great warrior.

 

Though their stories tell that Morales, more often than not, refused to make the most of his gifts and took too much punishment, while Barrera evolved into a stylish boxer/puncher capable of dismantling any challenger, and though they cannot shed their mutual ill-feeling, in their fights together, they wrote new pages of excellence for future generations.

 

As great champions and greater rivals, without one another, they could not be all that they are. A happy ending is not assured to either, but there is a strange yet pleasing symmetry about the way they will reach their respective ends together.

 

Contact Jim Cawkwell at jimcawkwell@yahoo.co.uk