Saturday, November 16, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Fighters don't cover up their intentions

Morales, Ayala to match brawling styles in title fight

By KEVIN IOLE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Erik Morales will fight Paulie Ayala for the vacant WBC featherweight title tonight at Mandalay Bay. Photo by John Gurzinski. Paulie Ayala (34-1) is a 7-2 underdog in his fight tonight against Erik Morales (41-1). Photo by John Gurzinski.

Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield likes to say styles make fights.

If so, tonight's bout between Erik Morales and Paulie Ayala could be a wild one. They'll meet for the vacant WBC featherweight championship at Mandalay Bay.

Morales, a 7-2 favorite, is considered the bigger, stronger fighter -- a point he seems determined to impress upon Ayala.

"He's a great fighter and I have a lot of respect for Paulie Ayala," said Morales, 41-1. "But he hasn't been in with someone like me, who hits like I do. I want to see what he does after I hit him a few times. I know I can take his punches. But I don't know if he can take mine. After I hit him, let's see how he likes it and how much he wants to fight."

Ayala's trademark is exceptionally high punch outputs, and trainer Henry Mendez said there will be no change of plans tonight.

Ayala will try to keep Morales close and trade punches. That shouldn't be hard to do since Morales has repeatedly shown he loves to brawl.

"Anybody who thinks Erik Morales is fighting a little guy is making a big mistake, trust me," said Ayala, 34-1.

Morales looked strong in an easy workout Tuesday, but he has been battling a cold. He left training camp last week to see a doctor, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. Morales was given a shot and told to drink plenty of fluids.

But the fluids caused his weight to increase, forcing him to work harder than normal Friday to make weight, Arum said. Both boxers weighed the division limit of 126 on the first attempt.

But neither Morales' cold nor his battle to shed the final few pounds should make a difference tonight, Arum said.

"He was right on schedule and was having a great camp when he got sick," Arum said. "But he's better now, and he'll have had about 30 hours from the weigh-in until the fight starts to replenish himself."

Morales is 13-1 in world title fights, but Mendez isn't impressed. He laughed off Morales' punching power and said his fighting style won't matter.

Mendez said Morales struggled in recent fights against In-Jin Chi and Guty Espadas, who meets Bones Adams in an intriguing undercard bout.

"Who has he knocked out at this weight?" Mendez said. "Espadas, I thought he lost that fight. (Chi), it was very close, a fight that could have gone either way. And even back when he fought Wayne McCullough (at 122 pounds), he looked awful.

"All of his knockouts came when he first started and was fighting these kids from Mexico who were dirt poor and needed the money and were picked up off the street and thrown into the ring. He's not facing anyone like that tonight. As far as I'm concerned, if the judges do their jobs, there isn't a chance of us losing."

• NOTE -- Arum said about 1,200 tickets remain for tonight's card and the pay-per-view blackout has been lifted in Clark County. The fight is available on HBO Pay Per View for $39.95.