Erik Morales (51-7, 35 KO), the last pugilist to win against ring icon Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, will fight UK lightweight Anthony Crolla (21-2, 9 KO). The fight is expected to be at the 140-pound weight class.
In his last fight against Marcos Rene Maidana, Erik Morales showed the world that he still has the power and speed even at the age of 34. He gave Maidana a hard-fought fight after suffering a hard-punch, which led to the large lump on top of his eye, in the first few rounds of that fight. He was tagged as brave and fearless after that battle and many Mexicans were proud of his performance even though he lost.
Anthony Crolla, 24 years old , won the vacant British lightweight in February.
Many deemed this Morales vs Crolla fight as peculiar. Golden Boy Promotions, owned by Oscar dela Hoya, should have chosen a better fighter for Morales. But even though this will be a sure win for Erik, this fight in theory will help draw the faithful and big-spending Mexican audience for the pay-per-view fight featuring the Mayweather vs Ortiz WBC Welterweight Championship.
Young Mexican boxing star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez who last won against Ryan Rhodes last month is also likely to be part of the undercard of the fight titled as "Star Power: Floyd Mayweather vs Victor Ortiz". His fight won't happen inside the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, it will be in Mexico where a huge number of Mexican boxing fans expects a big fight on a weekend after their independence day. Alvarez appears headed for a fight with either Alfonso Gomez or Ricardo Mayorga, who last lost to Miguel Cotto.
The undercard of the Ortiz vs Mayweather fight will surely give more boost to the ticket and pay-per-view sales. Golden Boy has finally settled with HBO PPV to promote and televise the mega-fight so it's more likely that they will surpass the numbers of the Pacquiao vs Mosley showdown.
