By Jason Kim: Erik Morales (51-6, 35 KO’s) has had a very impressive career with titles wins in three different weight divisions and victories over notable fighters like Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera.

However, those days are long past and at 34, Morales’ skills are almost entirely eroded to the point where he’s unable to fight at the level he once enjoyed many moons ago.

On April 16th, Morales will be fighting WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KO’s) in a PPV battle at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Morales, who used to fight at super featherweight, is now fighting at light welterweight and looking fat around the middle.

It’s the type of fat that’s nearly impossible to get rid of short of very strict dieting to the point where you end up weakened. Morales is reportedly willing to fight Marquez at lightweight rather than at light welterweight.

It’s unclear why Morales would want to do this because he’s not going to be able to strip off the blubber around his midsection without weakening himself in the process. In the large scheme of things, it might really matter.

Morales is fighting so poorly now that he’s going to get beaten by Marquez no matter what weight Morales comes in. He’s not the same fighter he was before retiring in 2007.

Morales was out of boxing from 2007 to 2010, and came back after losing massive amounts of weight. Morales is only 5’8” with thin bones, yet he was reportedly over 200 pounds when he started losing weight to fight in March 2010 for his bout against Jose Alfaro.

Morales was a sight to see in that fight with flab hanging down over the sides of his trunks. To his credit, Morales has pared off some of the jellyroll around his waist but he’s still fat there. That’s not why he’s going to lose to Marquez, though. The reason he’s going to lose is because his reflexes are shot and he can’t fight as hard as he used. Marquez is going to do a number on him on April 16th.