By James Slater: It’s been confirmed by a number of sources how Mexican legend Erik Morales will face Argentine tough guy Jorge Barrios in Tijuana on December 18th, the fight to be shown on Showtime as part of a T.V doubleheader which will also feature Jean Pascal defending his light-heavyweight title against Bernard Hopkins.
Morales and Barrios will fight at a contracted weight of 138-pounds (according to ESPN.com), and the two veterans will contest the WBC silver light-welterweight title. As fans know, “El Terrible” is in the hunt for history. Wanting to become the first man in Mexico’s fighting history to capture world titles at four different weights, Morales is reportedly close to getting a fight with lightweight king Juan Manual Marquez (whose fight with Australia’s Michael Katsidis, originally set for November, is almost certainly off due to the tragic death of Katsidis’ brother).
So, slowly but surely, Morales, now aged 34 and 50-6(35) is getting down to the 135-pound limit. Barrios, also aged 34, and 50-4-1(35) and a former WBO super-featherweight champ, has only boxed above 135-pounds a couple of times before, and not recently. But now, with that well-documented car smash case still hanging over him (reportedly, Barrios, who fled the scene of the accident that saw a pregnant woman die, faces many possible years in prison), “La Hiena” is willing to go up to 138 and tackle the former three-weight ruler.
Morales is 2-0(1) in the comeback he launched after losing a very close decision to then WBC lightweight boss David Diaz in August of 2007, and he has looked so-so in the two wins. Still, Morales did show flashes of his old self in the September stoppage of Willie Limond; enough to get the fans excited again. Can Morales keep the momentum going against the fearless warrior from Buenos Aires?
The styles of the two men will probably gel well, and the action could be explosive for at least a few rounds. Barrios, who has been stopped just twice in over 50 fights, last fought as recently as this month, when he came back from a near-year layoff to win a ten-round UD over Colombian southpaw Wilson Alcorro. That fight may have all but slipped under the radar, but at least Barrios should be pretty sharp for the December fight.
Scheduled for 12-rounds (because of the largely meaningless title attached to the bout), Morales-Barrios has a good shot at going the limit. It’s tough enough picking a winner from a Morales fight these days, and it’s even harder predicting what the 34-year-old Barrios has left, and what he might do in the ring. The logical pick, in my opinion, is Morales to win on points. But if Barrios has retained any of the fire he had a few years ago, then maybe he can give “El Terrible” hell; maybe even upset him. Then again, after all the tough fights he’s been involved in in his now 14-year pro career (Morales, who is also far from fresh as a daisy, turned pro three years earlier), such thinking is probably foolish.
Look for Morales to collect a points win that will keep his lightweight title-winning dream alive, look for Barrios to collect a nice payday.