Score it!... Morales-Barrera I (Part 2)

We're back today with the second half of our look at the scoring of the classic first encounter between Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.

Let's get right to it...

ROUND SEVEN






“Morales took the 7th with a multitude of uppercuts, outworking his shorter opponent on the inside.” - MN

“Another very close round. Anyone who calls this fight a "robbery" should be arrested. Morales was once again the busier man, but Barerra landed a brutal flurry at the beginning and again at the end of the round that did a lot of damage. The work in between by Erik was too much to overcome on my card.” – ML






“As with all these rounds, the separation between who is getting the best of it and who is getting the worst of it is pretty slim. Overall, Barrera's renewed aggression this round carries it, as he lands more of the head snapping shots.” – JP

“They spent most of this round forehead to forehead. I would have given the 7th to Morales, until he was stunned with a wicked combination that put him to sleep for a split second.” - LP


ROUND EIGHT








“Barrera has found something in his straight right hand, a punch he had been neglecting the last few rounds. He landed several clean ones, in addition to nice work to the body.” – MN

“It was a round of Barrera flurries and Morales rallies. The pattern now established is that Barrera's moments come when he has Morales against the ropes. Morales excels when he is hitting and turning Barrera in the center of the ring. Barrera had more of his moments than Morales this round.” – JP

ROUND NINE








“This was a hell of a round. Barrera landed some clean shots upstairs early, including one that buckled Morales’ knees along the ropes. However, Morales came back to dominate the next minute, and it looked like he might take it, only for Barrera to close strongly. I thought that overall, Barrera landed the most damaging shots of the round, so I gave it to him, but a case could have been made for Morales.” – AF

“This was another round where Morales was working so hard, you had to give it to him, but then he gets smacked by something unforgettable. It's such a tough call at this point, but I have to score the damage.” - LP


ROUND TEN








“Barrera landed a big hook at one stage that staggered Morales, but Morales landed several clean right hands during a spirited stretch in the middle of the round that was more than enough to earn it for him.” - AF

“Morales finds his range with the right hand, snapping Barrera's head back with a number of them. Barrera rallies late, and concludes the round with a damaging left hook to the body. Still, I gave the round to Morales.” - MN

“No matter how many times I watch this fight, I always come away amazed. My father is now standing for good and he said Holey Moley three times in this round. Not the commentary you're looking for but it speaks volumes. Erik staggered Barrera early in the round with a cross and the three right hands in a row off the ropes was brutal. MAB came back strong at the end. but it was too little too late.” – ML


ROUND ELEVEN







“Yet another swing round and there are many. Marco was really effective to the body and he managed a few big right hands as well. Morales continued to be busier, but he misses quite a few shots and a little steam is off of them.” – ML

“Morales targets sharp right hands up the middle and around the guard, while Marco concentrates on the body. I think those nasty blows to the ribs and gut were the hardest punches, so I gave the round to Barrera.” - LP





“This was a tight one, but I thought Morales did just a little more. He was more aggressive, and worked a touch harder.” - AF

“Morales edges the first two thirds of the round, but the last 30 seconds several body shots put him in "run out the clock" mode and Barrera senses it enough to come on strong and rally for the round. Who takes it? Flip a coin. I'll nudge it towards Morales, as his work over the first portion carried the round over Barrera's spurts.” - JP


ROUND TWELVE

Without scoring the knockdown...






“I thought Barrera earned the final round, as he forced the issue and carried much of the action, while Morales was content to circle and try and pick his spots. As for the knockdown, it's unfortunately the difference in the fight on my card if I'm forced to score it.” - AF

“Morales landed a couple of eye catching right hands in the early going, but Barrera hurt Morales with a combination. Morales tried to come back after the slip but it's a bit too late. Larry Merchant's 12 second countdown is one of the more obnoxious things he's ever done.” – MN

“Morales was slightly ahead in the first two minutes of the round, but Barrera did hurt him with a hook about 20 seconds before the mistakenly ruled knockdown” – ML







“Morales does more the first couple minutes, controlling the pace of the fight and landing several big blows. Then Barrera lands a series of damaging shots which drive Morales stumbling into the ropes. Next we have the slip, called as a knockdown, after which Morales serves a volley of blows in the waning moments to try and make up for it. I felt Morales edged the round, though the knockdown fiasco and crowd reaction gives the impression Barrera owned it.” – JP

“The knockdown at the end is totally meaningless, so I think it's perfectly legit to ignore it. I understand that the judges have to take the point away from Morales, but we're not judging from ringside, nor are we scoring the fight live, so I'm going to deal with reality. The reality is there is no reason to deduct from Erik Morales in the 12th round, and I felt he did enough to win it, although it's still not enough to give him the fight on my scorecard.” - LP

Scoring the knockdown...










Without counting the knockdown, we've got two scorecards with a slight edge to Barrera, two draws, and one card with Morales in front. Taking the knockdown into consideration - and an official judge MUST do that - we've now got four scorecards in favor of Barrera.

Had that been the difference on the official cards, the controversy over the result would have no doubt been just as great from Morales supporters as it ended up being from those who felt Barrera really won.

However, the mistake by referee Mitch Halpern ended up having only a minor baring on the official result, as two of the three judges, Dalby Shirley and Carol Castellano still had Morales in front by scores of 115-112 and 114-113 respectively. The knockdown was the difference on Duane Ford's card. He had it in favor of Barrera, 114-113.

How did you score it? Let us know.

Check out Part 1 from yesterday.