How does Morales' performance Affect Pacquiao?

Wasn't the rematch directly after the first one? How do people figure he was shot by that time?

 

Morales looked terrible against Raheem in between, and looked like a corpse at the weigh-ins for the two following rematches. I do think that the second fight was a credible win for Pacquiao, Morales gave it his all in that fight, his legs just gave out in the end.

 

The rematch was 10 months after the 1st fight, but MANY MANY people on here DO (inexplicably) swear that Morales had mysteriously become a shot fighter by the 2nd fight. Seriously.

 

Yeah, and Pac can just as well use the cut in the first fight as an excuse. It is true though that El Terrible wilted at the half way point in the rematch. But Pac had done some adjustments and also didn't suffer any cuts.

 

Morales wilting in the 2nd fight definitely had something to do with Pacquiao hitting him with bodyshots all night, and fighting with greater determination, intensity and tactical discipline.

 

That's how I see it.

In the rubber fight, it was clear Morales no longer was the same, though.

 

True. But in the 2nd, Morales produced the same type of performance as the 1st, the difference was in Pacquiao, who wasn't just coming out and winging it, he had a plan in mind and was grimly determined and focused on it.

 

the first fight was a really competitive gruelling affair anyway, it's not really surprising the younger fighter was able to make slight adjustments and do better than someone who was only getting older and never a versatile fighter in the fist place.

 

I've noticed the same posters also find a way to not acknowledge that Pac was a big reason in Morales' decline.I can't think of any other things that would've made him that shopworn overnight...although maybe it was Raheem that did him in.

 

Erik Morales rises to the occasion, simple as. He was clearly past it against Raheem, and a victory there was not really doing much for his legacy, a win over Pacquiao was.

Pacquiao had just decimated his arch nemesis and everyone expected Pacquiao to do the same to Morales. His alpha Aztec ego would've been fired up by those assumptions and made him dig deep to pull it off.

 

Morales was past prime in the rematch and his legs had gone, it's a good win for Pacquaio, a great comeback win for him, but that wasn't nearly a prime Morales or the past prime Morales who beat him the year before. It wasn't really more dominant than Raheem who pitched a shutout win over Morales a few months earlier and remember Raheem was moving up from FW himself

 

YOu cant really compare.. Morales was already on the downside. after the first fight. His last hurrah his last performance as an elite fighter was the first Pac fight. Make no mistake Morales is still waaaaay past it, its just that a past it Morales is still good enough to arguably beat David Diaz or Marcos Maidana. Those guys are flawed(but gutsy) the kind of guys even an old Morales can still look good against. Styles make fights believe me if Morales fought a speedster like Kahn or a young all action fighter like Bradley he would look old.

 

Don't know what it does for Pac, but one thing is now clear: Zahir Raheem is one of the greatest fighters of all time :good

 

lol: