Morales escapes with split decision

Tim Dahlberg

Sunday, Feb. 20, 2000 | 8:47 a.m.

The way Marco Barrera fought Saturday night, Erik Morales may be getting out of the super bantamweight division just in time.

Morales escaped a bruising fight and a 12th-round knockdown to beat Barrera by a split decision and add the WBO version of the 122-pound title to the WBC crown he brought into the ring.

The battle of Mexican champions went 12 furious rounds and was still in doubt until it went to the scorecards of the three ringside judges, two of whom favored the undefeated Morales.

"The people needed and wanted a great fight like this and we gave it to them," Morales said.

Both fighters were bruised, cut and swollen. Blood flowed from a cut beneath Barrera's left eye and late in the fight a cut opened up and bloodied Morales' right eye.

Between them, they threw nearly 1,500 punches, then stood waiting in the ring to hear the judges return the split decision.

"It was my type of fight all the way, and I did what I wanted to do," Barrera said. "I don't know what I have to do to win in Las Vegas."

Judge Duane Ford scored the fight 114-113 in favor of Barrera, but judge Dalby Shirley favored Morales 115-112 and Carol Castellano had Morales winning 114-113. The Associated Press had the fight even, 114-114.

"He was the biggest puncher I've ever faced," Morales said. "We were both hurt in the fight."

Amazingly, neither went down until Morales dropped one knee to the canvas with 45 seconds left in the fight in what appeared to be more of a slip.

Referee Mitch Halpern ruled it a knockdown, and all three judges gave Barrera the final round by a 10-8 margin, allowing the fight to be a split decision.

"I thought I could knock him out. I just couldn't finish him," said Barrera, who fell to 49-3.

Morales remained undefeated at 36-0 in what he said was his last fight before moving up to 126 pounds. He was 10-0 in title fights as a super bantamweight, but none was tougher than Barrera.

Punch stats showed Morales landed 319 punches to 299 for Barrera.

"We would love a rematch," said Lou DiBella, boxing executive for HBO.

If there is a rematch, though, it would likely be at 126 pounds.

"There's no need for a rematch because I beat him this time," Barrera said.

The fight was fought at a furious pace from the first round, with Barrera controlling the early action.

The turning point of the fight may have been in the fifth round, when Morales landed a succession of big right hands to the head, pummeling Barrera around the ring.

Barrera survived the onslaught, and even came back to land several flurries of his own late in the round as the capacity crowd at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino stood and cheered.

Both fighters earned $200,000.