By Francisco Hernandez: In Mexico, on the Day of the Dead, the bells toll to announce the arrival of the elder spirits who are returning to the world of the living, and a celebration of food and drinking ensues. In April of 2011 the spirit of Erik Morales will be invoked from the netherworld of retirement to take on the warrior from Mexico City, Juan Manuel Marquez. The ring bell will sound and Erik Morales will be slaughtered and returned to the world he came from, retirement.

Erik Morales is only 34 years of age, Juan Manuel Marquez is older at 37, yet Morales no longer has the reflexes and speed needed to fight Marquez. Morales was a fighter who forced himself to make weight far too long in divisions which were too small for him. This worked when he was younger, but as he got older it took a heavy toll on Morales, who would come into fights looking like a holocaust camp survivor. Morales should have reached his prime in the light welterweight division, but money, big fights, and bad decisions, held him to the lower weight divisions far too long.

By the time Morales fought Manny Pacquiao, he was a walking skeleton. Morales still had enough left in him to give Manny Pacquiao a lesson. Erik Morales should have retired after that fight, but instead moved up to lightweight where Zahir Raheem was able to outbox a slow, lumbering, Morales. Money would lure Morales to face Manny Pacquiao again twice. Morales had to go back down in weight, until he was all bones covered by dry skin. Morales could barely walk in those fights, his wobbly spaghetti legs appeared to lack all spring in them. Anybody could have beat Morales those two nights, all you had to do was push Erik, for him to fall.

Juan Manuel Marquez on the other hand is the living example of a strong mind in a healthy body. Has anyone ever seen Marquez pale and sickly from draining himself, obviously not. Juan Manuel Marquez prime as a fighter was in the featherweight division, and Marquez would have retired in that division if it weren’t that much of his career was put on hold because no one would fight him. Marquez has had to extend his career longer than he wanted, and with age he is more comfortable in the lightweight division. Marquez can already see the dawn of his career on the horizon, and he is trying to make the best of what time he has left. Juan Manuel Marquez no longer needs to prove anything; he has already done everything that needs to be done, including a draw and a de facto win over Pacquiao. The focus now is to make as much money before retirement closes the door to big purses. In the process Marquez provides some of the most exciting fights in boxing. Marquez at his age is still involved in fights that merit fight of the year.

Marco Antonio Barrera once commented that if the prime Morales and Marquez had fought, Morales would have won because he was just too ferocious. Morales fought with passion and really wanted to kill you in his fights. Today it is a different story: Morales will be massacred in this fight because Juan Manuel Marquez will land at will, repeatedly, and with no response from helpless Morales. This is a fight that will only satisfy a morbid fan avid to see the once great Morales being skinned alive. Only the upcoming brutal flogging of half-paralyzed Mosley by Pacquiao, can compare to this one sided fight. The only difference is that few fans of Morales or Marquez are stupid enough to suppose that Morales has a chance, while the media hype and foolish zealous fans are elevating almost paralyzed Mosley to the status of a dangerous opponent.