MANILA, Philippines – Mexican legend Erik Morales, the former opponent of boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, proved he still has a lot more left in his tank by giving the younger Marcos Maidana a highly competitive fight at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday (Sunday in Manila). Despite losing a majority decision of Maidana, the battle-scarred Mexican warrior earned the respect of boxing fans by showing that he still has what it takes to go toe-to-toe against younger boxers.
Two of the judges saw the fight 116-112 for Maidana while the other one scored 114-all.
"I fought with my heart and with Mexico," the 34-year-old Morales said in ESPN.com.
It was Morales’ comeback fight after going into a 3-year retirement following successive losses to Pacquiao and Mexican-American David Diaz.
Morales, nicknamed as "El Terrible," is a former 5-time world champion and considered by many as one of the finest boxers of his generation.
He is famous for his boxing trilogies with Pacquiao and fellow Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera.
Boxing fans were actually expecting him to get a terrible beating from the 27-year-old Maidana, who was coming off a close decision loss to Amir Khan last December.
"A lot of people said this was a mismatch and a wipeout, but Morales said he saw something in Maidana and he was right even though he didn't get the decision," Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer said. "It was a great fight."
