Mexican great Erik Morales has revealed the best fighter that he shared the ring with during his accomplished professional career.
Morales is considered to be one of the greatest Mexican fighters of all time, capturing world titles in four weight classes during his 19-year professional career which came to an end in 2012.
He shared the ring with a number of legendary opponents during his tenure, including the likes of countryman Marco Antonio Barrera and Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.
Morales and Barrera faced each other on three occasions during their respective careers, producing one of the most memorable trilogies in recent boxing history.
‘El Terrible’ defeated Barrera in their first encounter back in February of 2000 to capture the WBC featherweight title, but would fall short in their second and third clashes in 2002 and 2004 respectively.
Despite that epic trilogy, whilst speaking in a resurfaced interview, Morales gave a surprising answer when asked to reveal his greatest opponent.
“Junior Jones – This is a tough question. I faced a lot of good boxers in my career, but I think Jones might be the best. He had very good technique. He threw straight, accurate punches. He could punch too. He hurt me in our fight.”
Two-weight world champion Jones faced Morales for the WBC super-bantamweight title back in September of 1998, where he suffered a fourth round stoppage defeat to the Mexican great.
Whilst he did suffer a handful of defeats during his own career, Jones did defeat Barrera on two occasions within a five month period, capturing the WBO super-bantamweight title from the hands of the Mexican in their first encounter back in November of 1996.
