Erik Morales to make unnecessary ring return versus Jorge Paez in March

One of the saddest stories in boxing is when great fighters shove themselves back in the ring to be beaten up needlessly for some cash.

On March 22 at Arena Monterrey in Monterrey in Mexico this is what the legendary Erik Morales will do against Jorge Paez Jr. at the ripe age of 37, Morales (52-9, 36 KOs) will take on Paez (37-4-1, 22 KOs) who is 11 years his junior.

Prior his last fight, Morales tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol but was allowed to fight Danny Garcia. Morales lost that fight via fourth round knockout and was later on suspended by the USADA, leading to his 17-month layoff.

“El Terrible” has lost three of his last four fights. His last victory was against Pablo Cesar Cano back in 2011 where he won the vacant WBC light welterweight champion to become Mexico’s first four division world champion.

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He had the best moments of his career against Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao. Morales competed in trilogies against both fighters and even though he only won a fight each, those victories will forever be etched in boxing folklore.

In 1997, Morales won his first world title as he defeated Daniel Zaragoza for the WBC super bantamweight title. Four years later, he was crowned as the WBC featherweight champion after defeating Guty Espadas Jr. Morales became a three division world champion in 2004 as he upended the WBC lightweight title versus Jesus Chavez.

At 37, Morales is younger than Juan Manuel Marquez (40 years old) and Bernard Hopkins (48 years old). However, Marquez and Hopkins are considered young for their age because they didn’t go through the wear and tear that Morales did.

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While Marquez and Hopkins are smart tactical boxers, Morales is an all out action-fighter who fights with his heart on his sleeve. Because of his style, Morales as two Fight of the Year awards in his résumé but this came at a cost as his ring age is far older than other fighters his age. Morales is also known for gaining a lot of weight when he isn’t training for fights while Marquez and Hopkins both walk around at weight relatively close to their fighting weight.

Morales has often said that he wants to fight one last time in his hometown of Tijuana, Mexico before he officially ends his career.