A resurfaced video of Mexican boxing legend Erik “El Terrible” Morales has shed new light on his brutal trilogy with Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao.
Morales, who famously fought Pacquiao three times, shocked fans in November 2006 when he quit in the 10th round of their rubber match. After winning their first clash in 2005 by unanimous decision, Morales was stopped by Pacquiao twice the following year.
In a candid interview with fellow Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera, Morales revealed the heartbreaking reasons behind his decision to stop fighting.
“In the first round, I attacked. I exchanged with him and I was getting hit. I said WTF, this is going to be hard,” Morales recalled.
“I got knocked down the third time and I kept thinking, I looked at my family and my father was very stressed. So stressed out. And suddenly you see the past and everything. I thought about my kids, everything, my wife, my whole family, everything.”
Seeing his father in distress at ringside sealed his decision. “I turned to them, they’re stressed, I said, ‘It’s not worth it.’ This guy is gonna finish me and hurt me. I was beaten up. I turned to my dad and he closed his eyes, saying everything’s ok.”
The fight marked a turning point in Pacquiao’s legendary career, serving as the launchpad for his historic run to become the only boxer to win world titles in eight different weight divisions.
The post Erik Morales recalls why he quit in third fight with Manny Pacquiao first appeared on Fastbreak.
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