What was Erik "El Terrible" Morales' strategy when he beat Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision in March 2005?

Question

Erik was reported to have been pondering retirement before agreeing to fight Pacquiao at that time. What was Terrible's strategy and how did he go about dominating Pacquiao in a way that we have not seen since? What is the most effective strategy to employ against Pacquiao now - whether the same or not?

Answer 1

A lot of good points made by a lot of smart fight fans here. The biggest thing that hasn't been mentioned though is the  the gloves in the second fight. They were the WINNING brand, which are known in the boxing world as heavy gloves. This really bothered Manny. Now it seemed to have slowed down both fighters a lot, but more so for Manny. It took away a lot of his speed and a good amount of zip when it came to hitting Morales. Thats why if you watch the 1st and 3rd fight, Manny looked so much faster, it wasn't because he trained harder, he always trains hard..it was the gloves he always uses which are called REYES, which anybody who follows boxing closely knows these are known as "bare knuckle or puncher's gloves" . It doesn't seem like a lot but after throwing punches for 8 rounds they start to take their toll on your arms and shoulders and anybody who has ever put gloves on knows after just a few minutes bigger gloves makes a huge difference. So I think that's what made the difference. Imagine if you run with your favorite pair of NIKE's everyday all of the sudden the day of your race your coach says "oh you have to use these ADIDAS which are a little heavier but good luck"

That would make a difference on anybody.

Answer 2

I saw two things in that fight that allowed him to win.

#1 He was so infuriated with the final decision of his trilogy with Marco Antonio Barerra going to Barerra instead of him that he was determined to go beat the man that beat Barerra. No one was about to stop him from outdoing this man.

#2 I thought Pacman was a little intimidated and gave Morrales a little too much respect in the early rounds. He felt him out which allowed Morrales to be the aggressor and gain and early advantage setting the stage for the rest of the fight.

This was a great boost for Morrales and would have been a fight that would have put the final touches on his great hall of fame career. Unfortunately he would fight on 4 more times but not win a single fight .afterward.

Answer 3

pacquiao killed by his over confident...,

Answer 4

He bascially made pacman fight backwards and watched for the straight left.

Pacman is now a two handed fighter and can fight going back...

Answer 5

In an interview after his win with Pacquiao, Morales said that he studied Manny's first fight with Marquez.  He figured Manny's weakness.  Unfortunately, The Pacman in their 2nd and 3rd fight has improved.

http://pacquiaovideo.com

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Answer 6

Morales accidentally headbutted Pacquiao back then that made Pacman see with much difficulty because of his bleeding. The referee saw it and warned El Terrible.

Actually I think Morales did a better strategy in their 2nd fight even though he lost. It just so happened that Manny was on fire the 2nd and 3rd time around when he won. Plus Erik left an opening that Manny saw.

Answer 7

Morales was a better, tougher fighter with a lot in the tank before their first fight. Pacquioa was the underdog and not well known and lacking the confidence he would acquire after the fight with Morales.

At the same time Morals was coming off two blood n gut 12 round fights with two hard hitting aggressive styles and Morals managed after the hard fight with Barrera to muster up enough for one last good performance fight with Pacquioa. He fought a war with Manny and even though he got the decision he came out of it damaged.

In beating Manny the first time drained him so much he had nothing left. Then he fought a nobody named zahir raheem and lost a UD. You could tell even in that fight that Morals never recovered from his first fight with Manny. The second time he fought Manny he had nothing left to offer, and Manny had it all planned out and after Morales’s loss to Raheem only boosted Mannys confidence, then Morals took a horrible beating, even with nothing left he managed to stay on his feet till the tenth round when he got blasted down again, and got back up and then got pounded around the ring until he finally went down again, and was trying to get up when the ref jumped in and saved him.

Erik Morales is a great champion, he has more heart and guts then any fighter ive seen. All the fights with Barrera are questionable close loss’s.  But in order to defeat Manny Paquioa Erik Morals had to give everything he had left and more. He fought so hard in the first fight to win that he shortened his career by 10 years. In their 3rd fight Morals went down, put his arms around his knees, looked at his corner and shook his head No. When asked after the fight about it Morals said I had nothing left, i cant beat him so there is no more point in trying, Im done,     or somthing to that effect

That’s how good Manny Pacquioa is.

So what style can beat him?? None. It will take another Erik Morales type fighter at the start of his career to beat Manny Pacquioa at the end of his. And so the cycle goes on and on.

Answer 8

When you put pressure on a pressure fighter, they don't like it.  This was shown when Nate Campbell was able to defeat Juan Diaz- he backed Diaz up all night and Juan didn't like it one bit.  Morales was able to back Pacman up and when they did trade, Morales usually got the upper hand because he was the one who was initiating the brawl, so he was able to drive Pacman to the ropes.  Before their second fight, Morales was only 29, but he was and OLD 29.  He was not like his other rival, Barrera who was able to have a longer career at a higher level because Barrera learned to box effectively, while Morales stayed as a brawler who had good precision punching.  By the time they fought their second fight, the first fight as well as his wars with Barrera, Ayala, McColough, and many other top fighters had taken its tole on "El Terrible."  This was shown in his fight before the Pacquiao rematch with Zahir Raheem, who was able to beat Morales easily by outboxing him.  Add the fact that Morales has always struggled to make weight, and you have the formula for a shot fighter.  

I don't think that anyone will outbox Pacquiao right now (Joan Guzman has the best chance)- Marquez tried, but what people fail to realize is that Marquez did a bit of slugging in their fights as well and even rocked Pacman a few times.  The next person who beats Pacquiao will be a pressure fighter who can back him up and not be afraid of his power, like Morales in their first fight.  His upcoming opponent won't do this because David Diaz is just not skilled enough- he barely beat Morales after Pacman destroyed him in back to back fights.  It will be someone like Nate Campbell who can defeat Pacman at this stage because Campbell is not afraid to eat some leather and he will put pressure on you ALL NIGHT, which is how he was able to defeat Juan Diaz.

Answer 9

Pacquiao floors Morales

Pacquiao floors Morales in the 3rd round

I knew Manny Pacquiao was gonna win. I just didn’t expect it to be that fast. I expected this match to go the full 12 rounds or atleast the 10th round. I was also thinking it could end via scorecards. Like Pacquiao, I had respect for Erik Morales. He is no ordinary boxer and I expected him to come out with a better fight strategy. Actually, many sports analysts picked Erik Morales to win the fight based on experience and talent. But they underestimated Pacquiao.

Pacquiao scores a punch on Morales

Morales gets a taste of Manila Ice

Right at the start, both fighters came out with guns blazing, trading blows and vicious punches. Pacquiao won the first round by matching Morales’ attacks with explosive speed and cautious counters. In the second round, a more aggressive Pacquiao was relentless in attacking Erik Morales which scored him a knockout late in the round. By the third round, Pacquiao’s speed and power was too much as Morales began to miss his mark and his footwork became sloppy. Pacquiao on the other hand, was just getting started and was hitting Morales more with his right hand. The fight came to an end when Pacquiao floored Morales for the third time and referee Vic Drakulich counting him out with 2:57 remaining.

I admire Morales’ gesture after the fight when he raised Pacquiao’s hand while pointing at him. It shows his sportsmanship and that he’s not a sore loser.

Morales the Gentleman

Pacquiao wins

Mabuhay ka Manny Pacquiao! You’ve made us Filipinos proud again

Answer 10

Everyone has down fights. Morales jus had the upper hand then. Watch the later fights and just see Pacman just own. Pac koed Morales in 3

Answer 11

Morales just didn't back down, he had confidence that he could take Manny's best shot(and he could, Pacquiao has knockdown power not really knockout - its not like Hamed), so he wasn't flustered and used his superior boxing ability to beat him.  People have to remember what Erik Morales we were seeing in that fight, he had been through more big, tough fights than almost any fighter - and still had enough to outbox and outslug Pacquiao.  He used his jab to completely break Manny's rythem, hurt him with straight right hands, and moved enough to keep him off balance.

I know there are a lot of PacMan fans out there, I enjoy watching him fight too, but as at his peak Morales was a far more complete boxer than Pacquiao - he may have been the most complete featherweight ever (I had him 2-0-1 vs. Barrera).  Even when he was stopped by Pac in he was never really KOd he was just old and beaten up.  

Manny Pacquiao has improved, but he only improved to an average boxer who still relies almost exclusively on his power and speed - once he loses a little off his fastball it is not going to be pretty.