MORALES: RUNNING ON EMPTY?

Bob Papa says, "Every time I would watch a Morales fight, I always felt I should put a towel in front of the TV to catch the splatter." In Morales last two fights against Manny Pacquiao, Morales was the one doing the bleeding -- and the losing. Is the great warrior shot, as so many are saying. Papa tells you why he isn't ready just yet to throw in the towel on Erik Morales.

by Nat Gottlieb

When an elite fighter loses just once in the first 11 years of his career, and then drops four of his last five bouts, it is not out of bounds to believe he is shot. Papa, the lead announcer for Boxing After Dark, says those earlier, electrifying years is precisely why he's going to wait before passing judgment until after Morales fights lightweight champion David Diaz on Aug. 4.

"I think there is room for discussion on that," Papa said. "He has been such a great fighter, and I always give a true champion one more fight and the benefit of the doubt. The first 10 rounds against Pacquiao in their second fight, Morales boxed very well. That showed me he has enough ammo in his holster to give him one more chance here."

Although Morales ran out of steam in that 10th round against Pacquiao, and suffered a TKO with 27 seconds left in the round, the scorecards after nine indicate he did indeed put up a very competitive fight, 84-87 twice, and 85-86.

In his last fight, Morales ran out of juice quickly, getting knocked out by Pacquiao in only the third round. Now Morales, who had struggled miserably to make the 130-pound junior lightweight limit the last two years, is taking his body to a new place -- the lightweight division. Can the move make a difference at this point?

"This is an opportunity for him to write a new chapter in his career, by continuing on in this division," Papa said. "He's got the height (5'8), but I'm not sure he has the frame."

Once before, Morales attempted to go up in weight, with dire consequences. In September of 2005, as a tune-up for his second fight with Pacquiao, Morales took on slick lightweight Zahir Raheem, who at that point had a 26-1 record and was rated in the division's Top 10.

Over a lackluster twelve rounds in which Morales seemed sluggish and disengaged, he lost a unanimous decision. Was the higher weight class too much for him? Papa thinks Morales lost for a different reason.

"Raheem just had one of those nights where it all came together for him. Styles make fights, and this was an ugly match-up for Morales, who has the mindset that for every fight he is in he going to go out with his boots on. All of his fights have to be the same for him - trade shots, bang and blast, pure machismo. I think against Zahir, he looked at the guy in there, Zahir was running around and not engaging him, and Morales just lost interest," Papa said.

Certainly Morales' interest level will be several notches higher for this fight. Not only would a loss here undoubtedly end his career, but should he win, he would become the only Mexican-born boxer to ever win titles in four divisions. Papa agrees that this would probably be Morales' last hurrah if he loses, but doesn't put much stock in the fourth belt.

"I don't give a tremendous amount of credence to winning four belts today, with all the new divisions," Papa said. "It's like in other sports, watered down. Now, if he would beat Diaz and go on to unify the division, that would be a different thing."

Although Diaz appears to be the weakest of the lightweight champions, he is far from a push over, especially for the aging Morales.

"Diaz may not be the best fighter out there, but he is sturdy. It won't be easy for Morales because Diaz is the naturally bigger fighter." In order to win, Papa said Morales must outbox Diaz, not try to brawl with him.

"He's got to use his boxing ability. He has never gotten credit for his skills as a boxer. When ever people think of Morales, they remember the wars with people like Barrera (3) and Pacquiao. The first fight with Pacquiao, he beat him because he boxed. In this fight, physically it doesn't make sense to go toe-to-toe with Diaz. Morales has to pick and choose his spots, use boxing to set up what he does best - punch. He'll need a two-dimensional plan," Papa said.

Diaz, meanwhile, has always been something of an enigma. In order to make the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, he had to beat Zab Judah twice in the Trials. He won his first Olympic bout, then lost to future welterweight contender, Oktay Urkal.

Coming out of those Olympics as a junior welterweight, Diaz was quickly forgotten, which was understandable because of the star-studded team he was on. Five members of the squad would go on to become professional world champions, including Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fernando Vargas, Antonio Tarver, David Reid and Eric Morel.

It was not that Diaz lost a lot of fights as a ori, but the un-inspiring way he won that kept him from generating any buzz. Diaz didn't score his first knockout until his seventh fight, and even when he began piling up victories, most of the opposition was marginal at best.

What also didn't help matters was that despite having won his first 13 pro bouts, Diaz took two years off from boxing after his last fight in 2000. Having been boxing since he was eight, Diaz said he was just burned out on the sport and needed time off.

When he returned, he continued his winning ways, scoring another 13 straight victories before he ran into a buzz saw named Kendall Holt. Holt, who currently is 22-1, and scheduled to fight junior welterweight belt holder, Ricardo Torres in September, knocked Diaz out in the ninth round of a televised bout.

Diaz rebounded to win his next two fights, then made a decision which Papa feels may have changed his career around - he dropped down to lightweight.

"The move to 135 was very smart, and now he is a champion. Eleven years after the Olympics, he's moving down in weight. How many guys can say that? It's a testimony to how hard he works, and how disciplined he is outside the ring about his weight," Papa said.

The move was suggested by Diaz's trainer, Jim Strickland, who had noticed that his boxer often weighed in well below the 140-pound limit. Three times Diaz had come in at 138, and had even weighed as low as 136 and 137.

Since turning lightweight, Diaz has won five straight fights, including his all-important last, a stunning upset of belt holder, Jose Armando Santa Cruz. Diaz stopped Cruz on a TKO in the 10th round, while well behind on all three scorecards, 83-88 twice, and 84-87. After the fight, Diaz said it had been his game plan to work Santa Cruz's body hard and then come on late. Papa doesn't quite buy that.

"I don't think it was David Diaz's game plan to fall behind by five points on the scorecards," Papa said. "Can he beat Morales by working his body the same way? It all comes down to how much gas Morales has left in the tank. If he doesn't have much gas, that kind of plan can work for Diaz."

Come Aug. 4, if Erik Morales is indeed running on empty, even a great admirer like Papa will be ready to toss in the towel.