MORALES-HERNANDEZ SEEK ONE CHAMP AT MGM

Any way you view it, Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins are the heroes of hype with a global audience already opinionating on who goes home from the MGM Grand Garden Sept.18 with the undisputed middleweight crown.

Print and broadcast media probably got the word before arriving in Las Vegas but avid fight buffs with a tendency to be impatient waiting on superstars are getting a high-profiled bonus July 31. And it’s in the same venue six weeks before Oscar and Bernard put it all on the line in the richest non-heavyweight match-up in history.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum rarely talks about being lucky but you have to know he feels that way when he has two mammoth presentations so close together they look like twins.

First ,unifying the world super featherweight championship long before De La Hoya and Hopkins vie for the mega-millions finds WBC 130-pound champion Erik Morales, Tijuana, Mx., facing Carlos “Famoso” Hernandez, the IBF super feather ruler, fighting out of Bellflower, Ca.

Arum lauded Morales and Hernandez “as second to none at their weight and always give 100 percent. Here are champions who always give their all and this what boxing is all about.

“Top Rank has put together a great summer card for HBO pay-per-view. Besides Marquez-Hernandez, there are two other title fights with IBF bantamweight champ Rafael Marquez defending against Heriberto Ruiz and Ivan Calderon risking his WBO light-flyweight crown against Roberto Leyva. It’s a special treat for boxing fans to see such great champions like Morales and Hernandez and other top stars,” said Mark Taffet, HBO’s pay-per-view senior vice-president.

If the competition between Morales and Hernandez is everything Arum expects, the winner might get a shot at Marco Antonio Barrera, 33, Mexico City Mx., who has split in two fights with Morales, 27, whose resume is now 46-1, 34 KOs as he moves among the sports’ top five premier pound-for-pound fightes.

Morales’ last outing was Feb.28, when he took Jesus Chavez’s WBC super featherweight crown on a 12-round decision. Chaze almost dropped “El Terrible” in the first round but the latter rebounded in the second round with two knockdowns of Chavez. Morales’ winning scores was 118-108,117-108,115-112.

The first of two wars with Barrera was Oct.22,1999 in Detroit where the Tijuana Marauder won the WBC super bantamweight title on a split decision with scores of 114-113,115-112 while one judge voted 114-113 for Bafrera.

“Barrera was a brave fighter and we both gave it all we had, Marco is the biggest puncher I ever faced in the ring,” said Morales. Hernandez,33, was born in El Salvador, and later moved with his family to Los Angeles. He won the IBF junior world title Feb.1, 2003 on a technical decision over David Santos, scoring a knockdown in the fourth round. Santos suffered a vertical cut over his right eye after an accidental head butt.The ringside doctor stopped the fight because of the cut at 2:52.

A 12-year pro, Hernandez said his victory over Santos “is for the people of El Salvador. I had the motivation and strength from my people. This country has suffered a lot, but thank God I am the first champion in El Salvador. I have worked hard and my perseverance paid off.”

Hernandez made his first title defense in his last start Oct,4, 2003, improving his record to 40-3-1, 24 K0s. The win was a technical decision over Steve Forbes, the former IBF junior lightweight frøm Denver.

In an accidental clash of heads in the10th round, Hernandez was cut over the left eye in the sixth round and a slash over the right eye with another banging of heads in the 10th round.

Both Morales and Hernandez are both moving to top condition in their spirited daily workouts in contrasting camps. “El Terrible” has been working at the Otomi gym in the high altitude of the Toluca mountains and getting sharp drills in daily sparring with Antonio Pitalua, a world-ranked lightweight from Colombia.

‘I am used to working in the rain and it has been raining almost daily.I know I’m rounding into shape very well. Besides Pitalua, I am getting very good sparring from Alejandro Medina, Rodrigo Juarez and Alvaro Aguila, “ said the triple world champion.

Hernandez, training in the 6,000 foot altitude in Big Bear , Ca., is confident Morales will be as sharp as he can be, And both champions will have intense support from both sides of the border.

“There is a very big rivarly in Los Angeles between the Salvadorians and the Mexicans. Some times the fans fight each other during the soccer games. The last time I fought in Las Vegas, and won the title. I had four busloads of fans show up, plus the president of El Salvador was there and I think there will be even more people this time,” said the eager champion.

“I feel good and happy about this fight. I even thanked Morales for wanting to fight me. If I can beat Morales, the fans will act different, because if i just beat someone else, it won’t mean as much as when they say ‘Hernandez beat Morales’, who now lives with his family in the L.A. suburb of West Covina.

Hernandez was a national hero in El Salvador before he won a world crown. Francisco Flores, the nation’s president, ,was at ringside in support of Carlos as well as former world champions and Central Americans Roberto Duran and Alexis Arguello.

Volunteering was in his blood, the intense champion being involved in disaster relief efforts and fought in the stricken country in September, 2001. Fighters on that card donated a portion of their purses to the victims of the floods and earthquakes.

“Famous “ would later add. “i thank God I was able to contribute. That’s one of the nice things about being a
fighter because sometimes you are able to give back.

Once he turned pro, Hernandez was trained at the
Westminister Boxing Club with the legendary Jackie McCoy serving as conditioner and manager until his death in the last decade.

When McCoy expired, Hernandez has been trained the last three years by the storied Amicar Brusa, an
81-year -old wizard from Argentina.

“Brusa is now based in Los Angeles and I have
learned so much from Brusa. He is totally dedicated, having trained the great Carlos Monzon. So when Brusa talks, I am going to listen,” Hernandez reflects.

Hernandz has had only two major losses to world champions ----Gernaro “Chicanito” Hernandez for the WBC super featherweight title Nov,20, 1997 in Los Angeles and Floyd Mayweather,Jr., for the WBC super featherweight crown May 26, 2001 in the defending king’s Grand Rapids,Mi., home town. Both losses were highly competitive.

Neither titleholder will dwell thinking a loss.

Morales:...”Hernandez will be ready to go the limit because this will be the biggest fight of his career and I’m sure he will be trying to work me inside. I’ll find out about his chin before the night is over.”

Hernandez:..”Whether Morales is better than Mayweather, we’ll see but Erik has been in more pressure fights and rebound. There’s no question about the power of his right. It could be a war.”

(Jack Welsh is a syndicated columnist headquartered in Las Vegas and a regular contributor to Ringsports.Com as well as other national sports magazines and websites.)