PRIDE AND HONOR By Saratogamist

Pride and honor, two nouns that were intertwined with the promotion of the Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Erik Morales fight from the onset. They talked the talk, and they walked the walk last night at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Miguel Cotto vs. Justin Juuko. An encounter between a young man who has only been a pro fighter for one year, nine professional fights, versus a seasoned veteran with eleven years of experience, forty three bouts, thirty-six wins and twenty six KOs. Foregone conclusion: either Juuko was totally shot or Cotto was taking one hell of a leap of faith here. As it turned out, it was a bit of both. Juuko is not totally shot, but he is well on his way. Cotto took the leap alright, and in doing so, proved himself to be a prospect worth keeping a close eye on as he grows and develops in the sport.

Like a classy thoroughbred colt on its way to the Kentucky Derby, Miguel Cotto shows marked improvement with each outing. His left hook is very reminiscent of Felix Trinidad's lethal version; he throws it accurately and with very good power. He is stingy with his punches, doesn't miss much. He is smart in the ring, changes stances with ease, effectively; has a good arsenal, too. However, what impressed me the most was his poise. He handles himself like someone who has been around the ropes for a lot longer than his record indicates, going about the business at hand with great aplomb.

Cotto managed to put Juuko down in the third round with a beautiful combination, straight right and left hook to the head. He did it just as George Foreman was enlightening us on how Cotto "was taking the round off." The youngster put Juuko down again in the fourth with a picture perfect left uppercut, right cross, which left Juuko doing a fair Zab Judah impersonation. Referee Joe Cortez had seen enough when in the fifth round Cotto threw a text book left hook to Juuko's chin that left the veteran planted. It was a warranted stoppage by Cortez, and all things considered, I think Justin Juuko needs to consider a career change.

It has been suggested that Miguel Cotto is Felix Trinidad's heir apparent. After watching him fight last night, that statement may not be too far fetched at all. Congratulations to Miguel Cotto and his corner on a job well done.

As a filler we were also given an opportunity to watch Oxnard's prospect José Aguiniga. This 14-0, 10 KO's prospect displayed great poise, good speed and the ability to throw punches in bunches. Super bantam weight Aguiniga systematically demolished his opponent, gritty Ruben Lopez, (8-5-1, 7 KOs), overwhelming him with awesome four and five punch combinations. Lopez's corner had seen enough, and threw in the towel 1:55 into the fourth round. Versatile and powerful, Aguiniga is one to watch.

The main event was pre-faced by the singing of the Mexican and American anthems, or the "housekeeping" as Lampley so eloquently referred to. The fellow who "sang" the Mexican version ranks a very close second to that horrific "singer" in attendance at the Trinidad vs Joppy card. As for Aramist, I thought his job was to sing the anthem, what was the "give it up for America" cry all about anyway? Hues of Hopkins hanging on the ropes chanting "U.S.A., U.S.A." after his demolition of Trinidad came to mind, and that was not a happy memory.

The ring entrance was a sign of things to come, both fighters loose, displaying great confidence, self-assurance oozing from their every pore. The center of the ring stare down as referee Jay Nady, (ugh!), gave his instructions was a Barrera victory, Morales opting not to look up.

Round 1 - Evenly matched round; Barrera takes the first part of it, Morales the closing end of the round.

Round 2 - First blood is drawn by Marco Antonio as he bloodies the bridge of Morales' nose. Barrera misses a lot here, and Morales goes on the attack making Barrera fight on the retreat.

Rounds 3 and 4 - Morales comes out on the attack, stalking, he wants to make this a war, while Barrera seems a bit lethargic at this point. Marco Antonio continues to fight on the retreat for most of this stanza, and it's not a very effective mode for him.

Round 5 - Instead of "El Terrible" we should be calling him "El Stalker." Morales forces the action throughout the round. However, he confuses the ten seconds warning with the end of the round bell, and gets jumped on by Barrera, an action which seems to pump adrenalin in Barrera's veins.

Round 6 - Barrera seems like a different fighter, coming out the aggressor and stinging Morales with good stiff jabs and left hooks. He does get away with hitting and holding, and throwing a steady serving of elbows, and I don't mean macaroni. A big Morales right sends Barrera to the canvas, but it's ruled a slip by Nady. This round seems to turn the tide for Marco Antonio Barrera, and in my very unofficial score card is his first winning round.

Rounds 7 and 8 - The "Baby Faced Assassin" comes out meaning business, even shoves Morales down to the canvas. Barrera finishes big here, a good round for him; Morales appears to have taken this round off.

Round 9 - Marco Antonio seems to be taking over in this round. Morales is cut over the left eye and his right eye is almost swollen shut. Barrera is doing the chasing here, throwing good combinations throughout.

Round 10 - Although his face looks a mess, Morales comes out very aggressively, making Barrera go on the defensive again. Erik seems to be regaining control of the fight in this round, as he outworks Barrera. Morales' corner is heard complaining about Nady and what they perceive as his inability to control the head butts, elbows, etc. They expressed these concerns openly throughout the fight, (to no avail, I might add).

Round 11 - Barrera's turn to shine, although he can't seem to get the best of Morales when Erik chooses to box from the outside, Barrera still manages to close the round with a huge left that almost drops Erik. Barrera is doing a good job of stealing the rounds by getting real busy in the last 15 or 20 seconds, as I feel he has done in this assault.

Round 12 - Marco Antonio Barrera comes out with a sense of urgency, perhaps believing that he needs at least a knockdown -if not a KO- to win the fight. He presses the action, pushing Erik Morales to the next level. Stamina doesn't seem to be a problem for either fighter, their conditioning is impeccable. To their credit, no knock downs in the match, both exhibiting granite chins. This is a great round for Marco Antonio Barrera, and marks the end of the fight.

Now for the decision, and let's keep in mind that the fight was staged in Las Vegas. A unanimous decision is announced, 116-112, 115-113, 115-113 for the winner, MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA. WHAT?? Can't be! and under no circumstances a 116-112 Barrera scoring. In my eyes Morales was a comfortable winner, but when I tallied my very unofficial scorecard, I had the fight dead even at 115. But, I repeat, no way a 116-112 Barrera scoring, impossible.

Morales exits the ring, looking the worst for wear, and Barrera gets his turn with the cantankerous Larry Merchant, who bickered back and forth with Foreman and Lampley throughout the event. Lampley had serious issues with a comment made by Merchant in the early rounds of the fight. Merchant said the fight "was nothing." That brought on a tongue lashing from Lampley that continued on and off until they -thankfully- went off the air.

Observations:

1.- Please audition the anthem singers before the actual performance. My ears are still aching...oh, and how about instructing the "singers" to stick to "singing," and leave the commentary to the commentators, that's bad enough in itself...

2. - (Strong) Suggestion to the HBO Team: please have a meeting and vent out your issues. The bickering, grandiose, "I-know-more-than-thou" attitude is quite annoying. Who wants to pay $40 bucks to hear three guys act like biddies? Perhaps a re-definition of "TEAM" is in order here.

2a) - Larry Merchant's comment about the fight being "nothing." It evoked a strong response from Lampley, it should also evoke a "talking to" from his superiors, (if he has any... perhaps God?) That comment might have been more appropriate in one of Roy Jones' last fights but certainly didn't apply here; and in a text book example of not so much what is said but how it's said, why the disdain, Larry? And what was that theory about two injustices making one justice? Were you implying that it was right to give this fight's decision to Barrera because allegedly he got cheated the first time around? Larry, Larry, get a grip, ol' boy, that's boxing chat room kind of talk, not the kind of comment we expect to hear from such an omniscient individual as yourself. You even made the much composed James Brown snip at you. Brown went on record to say that "one injustice does not make another injustice right."

3. - Amazing how the punch stats were so evenly matched; the true sign of a real war. However, the edge on the stats went to Morales and -in my humble opinion- so should have the fight.

4. - Fernando Vargas: "El Feroz" looked very heavy, although he seemed calm and was certainly jovial and sensible in his commentaries. One thing jumped out at me, when Fernando said there wasn't a contract between him and his trainer, Eduardo García, just a handshake agreement...thoughts of Bernard Hopkins came to mind (again) and all I can say is, run to the nearest attorney's office and draw a contract. Bouie Fisher was Bernard's "dad," the man who had mentored him for 14 years, the man who made it all possible; post-Trinidad, with some real money in the bank (finally) and some notoriety (finally, right Bernard?), Bouie becomes the father of a guy (the guy being Bouie's son James), who was "ripping him off," and who "ran the worst camps" ever, among other things. Yeah, right, Bernard...Like I said, señor García, don't walk, RUN, to the nearest legal eagle's office and handle it now or you might end up having to handle it later. I guess it goes back to protecting yourself at all times...

Overall I thought this was a good fight, not quite as good as the first one, but one where the participants didn't disappoint and gave the public their money's worth. Once again we see the smaller fighters give their all, making little money; while others demand to get paid millions to coast. Will there be a Morales vs Barrera III? Probably, but is it really necessary? I think not, but what do you think?

BARRERA vs MORALES UNDERCARD RESULTS