By Dan Ambrose: Boxing is a tough sport to grow old in. We see fighters staying too long all the time, taking beatings by younger fighters and having diminishing returns. Today, Erik Morales (51-7, 35 KO’s) turns 35-years-old, a ripe age for a professional fighter.

Hopefully, Morales enjoys his birthday while it lasts, but he may not enjoy his time on September 17th in his next fight against Lucas Matthysse (28-2, 26 KO’s). Morales has been selected by the World Boxing Council to fight Matthysse for the vacant WBC light welterweight strap on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Victor Ortiz at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It’s a golden opportunity for Morales, but not one that he probably deserves given that he’s only fought one quality fighter Marcos Maidana since making his comeback in 2010, and Morales lost that fight last April. Morales is coming off a loss, and yet he’s getting a title shot. Is there something wrong with this picture? Morales may be more popular than arguably more deserving contenders that could and should have been given this title opportunity, but that doesn’t make it right.

It’s hard to imagine that Morales is still ranked at No.2 by the WBC despite getting beaten by Maidana. It’s convenient for Morales but probably not good if you’re one of the top contenders like Ajose Olusegun, ranked No.1 by the WBC.

Matthysse should be able to beat Morales and take the WBC paper title for a little while to set up some interesting fights, possibly one against Amir Khan if he’s willing to risk facing a hard puncher like Matthysse. It’s not going to be easy for Matthysse to get a decision against a popular guy like Morales, but I see him winning in such a dominating fashion that it won’t leave any question. I expect Morales to age rapidly on September 17th to the point where he’ll look all of his age and then some.