CLAWING BACK FROM OBLIVION
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 14 Apr 2011
The ring rust showed. His sparring partner had no trouble finding him. Ciso Morales got tagged with hard shots and took a back step. Then his gaze turned fierce. He snarled and fired six hooks in succession. Just like any boxer, he revels in the heat of one on one combat.
?I missed boxing.? Morales told this writer before his sparring session Thursday noon at the Omega Boxing Gym. ?For more than a year I was just sitting around at home doing nothing. I want to fight.?
It?s been fourteen months since ?Kid Terrible? Morales lost terribly to Fernando Montiel in Las Vegas.
?Going down to 118 lbs made me weak,? he said, ?I also had trouble with the cold climate over there. Many people who saw me said I was getting too thin and that I shouldn?t fight Montiel.?
?Was going down in weight the only thing that bothered you?? I wanted to hear more from him.
?But what really bothered me was those crank text messages I got before my fight,? he replied, ?I got messages on my cell phone saying I would wind up like Gorres?that I should forget about the fight. I don?t know who were those people, I guess they thought it was funny.?
Morales? title challenge in Vegas was fought three months after the ill-fated Z Gorres versus Luis Melendez bout. On the day Gorres underwent emergency brain surgery, every Filipino boxer was reminded of the risks of his chosen sport. Morales also knew that it should have been Gorres stepping inside the ring against Montiel that night.
Morales was breathing heavily after his sparring session. To his credit he did not balloon despite the long layoff and currently hovers at 130 lbs.
His smile also spoke volumes. He is back in the profession that he loves. He is scheduled to fight in San Francisco, Southern Leyte next month; going back to superbantamweight. He also needs to fight his demons. But Morales wouldn?t want it any other way.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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