We all know how many great fights Morales has given us & we know that McCullouch was an all action, non-stop, 100 + punches a rd sort of guy with a cast iron chin (maybe the best in boxing at his peak) but whenever I hear about great fights mentioned, this one never comes up. Erik Morales was on an 8 fight KO streak since KOing zaragoza in 1997 to win the WBC 122 lb title & Wayne McCullouch was to be No 9... but it didnt quite end up like that. McCullouch took everything EM threw & kept coming for 12 action packed incredible rds... I had it 9-3 for Morales (2 judges had 8-4 & 1 judge had it 10-2) & maybe because of the one-sidedness of the bout nobody remembers that classic in 1999, it was largely this bout (EMs last in 1999) that enabled Morales to be crowned fighter of the year for `99, tho he was one of the favourites anyway, this war sealed the deal. Only 3 or 4 months later, Morales was back in the ring for his last fight at this weight in a unification bout with Barrera in a fight that topped the Mccullouch bout in every way but people DO remember that one very well, I think Morales/McCullouch is well worth remembering too. If you havent seen it - then see it. It really is a forgotten classic. Cheers. :thumbsup
I remember staying up to watch it. Good fight though I wouldn't call it a classic as it never had the two way drama of the MAB and PAC fights Naz wrestled with cesar soto for 12 rounds after it
good fight. Morales couldve won that fight with ease from the outside but being th badass that he is,he chose to make it harder on himself and give the crowd an entertaining scrap. and thank god he did it cause the main event with Naz and Soto was one of the worst fights ive ever seen.
This was one of the fights that makes a strong case for McCullough's chin being in the very top tier of elite chins (p4p anyway) ever.
for a fight to be a classic you need to have two way drama. like cotto margarito, morales mab. the fight has to have a few swings in momentum
Good point, that Naz/Soto fight was diabolical, they should have had their purses taken & put in with the purses of Morales & McCullouch... seriously. Your right about Morales making it a harder than necessary fight by fighting & boxing rather than just boxing... Mccullouch wasnt used to guys banging with him as he had a reputation for being able to take anything & wear you out but typical Morales has to test the waters instead of playing it safe.
The classic blend of styles - the champion that has KOd all his opponents vs the 1 guy that looks impossible to KO.... 1 guy is the better technical boxer with the KO power with a willingness to trade punches at any given time & the other guy throws a **** load of punches to great accumilative damage with endless stamina with a granite chin - the sort to test any champion to see what they had. Even tho EM won clearly, he had never experienced anyone at that point who could take so much abuse & keep coming & even land his own good punches regularly - it let everyone know that Morales had lots of heart & McCullouch just cant be hurt enough to stop him coming. McCullouch to this day has bags of respect for Morales, he said that Naseem was stronger than Morales but Morales hit harder (I doubt this myself, he must have meant he felt more sore after the EM fight than after the Naz fight as EM landed many many more than Naz did.) McCullouch, when asked how he rated Hamed to other fighters he fought said Naz didnt fight like a man, Morales was the best he fought, at least he traded like a man or words to that affect. Both Morales & McCullouch will have massive respect for each other after that fight, even to this day probably.
If you mean that Naz fought him 1st then yes... if you mean that Naz softened him up for Morales then no. 2 or 3 power pot shots every 1 or 2 rds aint gonna do **** but frustrate the fans watching, it especially aint gonna put wear & tear on you, it only made it difficult for Wayne to get inside often enough so that Naz could win a boring decision, EM could have done likewise but choose not to to the delight of everyone watching. :thumbsup
Meaning both beat him 9-3/8-4, and Morales fought him 6months after Naz won comfortably so its largely a nothing fight for Morales McCullough was a decent contender who would have held a belt in a weaker era. Morales brawls because thats his style he can't stick and move or fight defensively effectively. Saying he fights that way for the fans is naive
well Hamed ran the whole fight midway through the bout there was already people booing that performance can be put alongside Floyd-Baldomir as the best Forrest Gump impersonation.
