Morales’ Victory Is Not a Gem

It was supposed to be a moment of celebration for Erik Morales, his grand entrance into the elite circle of fighters worthy of headlining a pay-per-view card.

But those were boos, not cheers, echoing through a ballroom of the Las Vegas Hilton Saturday night after Morales defended his World Boxing Council super-bantamweight championship.

Morales’ record remained unblemished at 33-0 with 27 knockouts, but not his face or aura of invincibility.

Make no mistake about it. Morales dominated Juan Carlos Ramirez (17-2, seven knockouts), knocking Ramirez down four times before the fight was stopped at the end of the ninth round by referee Jay Nady on the advice of Dr. William Berliner.

But it seemed a strange time to stop the fight considering that Ramirez, who stepped in for injured Wayne McCullough only two weeks before the bout, had already survived the best Morales could offer.

He came back from a second-round knockdown. After going down twice in the third round, he came back to win the fourth round on one scorecard.

And Ramirez was eager to fight after nine rounds. His corner was so angry at the stoppage that one handler had to be restrained from going after Nady and another threw water at the referee.

Nady said the bout was stopped because of “an accumulation of so many punches.”

There were plenty of punches going the other way as well. Morales was uncharacteristically marked at the end, with puffiness under his right eye and a bloody nose.

“It was a very difficult fight,” the Spanish-speaking Morales through an interpreter. “I had a few reminders on my face. He connected with good punches.”

But ultimately, Morales prevailed.

“Ramirez can take a good punch, but he took a very bad beating,” Morales said. “I’m glad they stopped it. The referee is the ultimate authority and I respect him. If the referee allowed the fight to continue, it would have been the same result.

“I had some concerns because he [Ramirez] was trying to head butt me, but I had the fight under complete control. I wanted to end on a knockout, but things happen. In my next fight, I hope you will see a knockout.”

That fight is scheduled for August in Tijuana, against McCullough if he is recovered from the bad back that caused him to bow out of Saturday night’s match.

In a semi-main event, Nestor Garza (36-1, 28 knockouts) defended his World Boxing Assn. super bantamweight title by handing Carlos Barreto (12-1-1, nine knockouts) a defeat. The fight was stopped at 2:00 of the eighth round.

In a junior lightweight bout, 33-year-old Jorge Paez was stopped at 2:26 of the seventh round of a scheduled 10-rounder by Augie Sanchez, whose devastating left hook caused Paez’s head to bounce on the canvas three times.

Paez, who was on the canvas for several minutes before he was able to arise, fell to 62-13-4 with 41 knockouts. Sanchez is 22-1 with 19 knockouts.

In a women’s bout, Mia St. John (11-0, seven knockouts) won by technical knockout over Kris Vado (0-4) at 1:30 of the first round of their scheduled four-rounder.

This was their second meeting. In the first, held at the Olympic Auditorium last year, St. John won on a second-round knockout. Vado fought that time under the name Christi Carter. She had to bring a driver’s license this time to prove she was using her real name. But she still hasn’t proved she can fight.

St. John’s joy was tempered somewhat by her lingering anguish over a Thursday burglary. Someone broke into her room at the Las Vegas Hilton and stole an estimated $15,000 in jewelry, including her wedding ring. No one has been charged with the crime.

Ironically, St. John’s purse for Saturday’s fight was $15,000.

Super bantamweight Danny Romero (34-3, 29 knockouts) won a unanimous, 10-round decision over David Vazquez (13-5-1, eight knockouts).