El Terrible’s Adios

By Bart Barry

The old and tired adage says that every great fighter has one last great fight in him. Last Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center, Erik “El Terrible” Morales proved this troublesome adage true. It was just that El Terrible’s “last great fight” was twenty months ago.

After his last great fight in March of 2005 against Manny Pacquiao, which came after El Terrible looked spent in his third fight with Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales got staggered by Zahir Raheem, worn down by Manny Pacquiao, and – at 2:57 of Round 3, Saturday night – retired, unequivocally, by Manny Pacquiao.

El Terrible knew it. He knew it when he sat on the canvas while Referee Vic Drakulich’s count reached ten. And he knew it in his postfight interview with Larry Merchant – though HBO’s interpreter Ray Torres didn’t. Twice, in two consecutive answers, Erik Morales used the word “adios.” One didn’t need to be a native Spanish speaker to know that “adios” did not mean “we’ll see” or “it’s getting to be that time,” as Torres interpreted it.

Here’s what Erik Morales actually said: “They were telling me to get up. But there are times when one has to get up, and there are times when one has to say goodbye . . . I will have to think about it, but [tonight] was a beautiful night, and it was a good night to say goodbye.”

Five months ago in Tucson, “Cool” Vince Phillips was beaten to a wheezing, limping, bleeding mess by Jesus Soto-Karass, on a Friday night edition of Telefutura’s “Solo Boxeo.” Doubled over on a stool in a neutral corner, Vince Phillips, a former welterweight champion and veteran of sixty prizefights, asked to announce his retirement on national television. Because of schedule constraints and language differences, Phillips’s announcement did not happen.

Ray Torres’s handling of Saturday night’s postfight interview with Erik Morales was only a bit better. While it is true that performing live interpretation in the craziness of a boxing ring is tough work, and while Spanish-to-English interpretation can be filled with nuance and metaphor, there’s no explaining an interpretive perspective giving such weight to the beginning of Morales’s answers and then stumbling over the word “adios” twice. Most unfortunately, this misinterpreting of Morales’s words denied fans the dramatic spectacle of Larry Merchant eloquently bidding a definitive farewell to a great pugilist.

Morales’s postfight references to “una noche bonita (a beautiful night),” though, were handled fairly in translation, and were evident in El Terrible’s prefight countenance. As he made his way to the ring, under a flood of affection from his countrymen, Erik Morales gratefully did something unexpected. He smiled. Meanwhile, Many Pacquiao, a prizefighter whose joy often bursts on his face with prefight grins, was serious as a matador.

The opening bell rang, and Erik Morales tried to impose himself on Manny Pacquiao in the first minute. But a pair of Pacquiao right hooks, thrown with unlikely effect from his southpaw stance, changed those plans. The first round was every bit as good as hoped, and every bit as favorable to Pacquiao as expected.

How fine was Round 2? In his ringside account of it, our Mike Swann wrote, “[It] has to be the round of the year”! Certain he would grow no stronger as the fight progressed, Erik Morales threw himself at the sport’s most-potent puncher and backed Pacquiao to the ropes. Then “Pacman” clubbed El Terrible to the canvas. Erik Morales rose, impatiently nodded at the referee, then ran at the onrushing Pacquiao.

What came next was a scene of professional violence duplicated but once or twice every decade. Both men went directly forward, winging punches – through the end of the second round and into the third. Neither man showed any respect for his opponent’s power. Some exchanges ended with both Pacquiao and Morales knocked four feet apart by the concussion of their blows.

It was El Terrible’s “adios” to his crazed and devout fans. Against an opponent who was younger, stronger, and more accurate, Erik Morales used all the force he could summon. And employed no defense. Then Pacquiao dropped him a second time.

Resigned to the inevitability of his ruin, Erik Morales rose from the blue mat once more and began to trade savagely and fearlessly. Manny Pacquiao’s next combination sent Morales across the ring and into the lowest rope. There El Terrible sat. He was conscious of what was next. He glanced at his father and shook his head, and Referee Drakulich counted ten.

So ended one of the great athletic careers of the last ten years. And so continued Manny Pacquiao’s reign as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter. There, I wrote it again.

Three Saturdays ago, Floyd Mayweather decisioned Carlos Baldomir and began to promote his fight against a semi-retired Oscar de la Hoya. Two Saturdays from now, Winky Wright will probably decision an un-retired Ike Quartey. Last Saturday, Manny Pacquiao retired Erik Morales. Really, is there any comparison?

According to postfight reports, Manny Pacquiao has now signed a four-year contract with Bob Arum’s Top Rank. This required Mr. Pacquiao to return a $500,000 signing bonus to Golden Boy Promotions – a check they don’t want back at all. Compare this scenario to what passed when Floyd Mayweather sent a $750,000 check to Bob Arum last spring.

Whatever aficionados may opine of Floyd Mayweather’s skill or Winky Wright’s defense, actual records and attendance figures and crowd reactions and pay-per-view purchases and Bob Arum agree: Manny Pacquiao is a contemporary boxing phenomenon without equal.

But let’s end on a personal note. Erik Morales, as you said adios to us Saturday night, we say adios to you. Your courage brings honor to your country. You have pleased us as intensely as any pugilist could. You remind us that great persons live in our time. Sir, it has been a privilege to watch you.