Mexican boxing legend Érik “Terrible” Morales had some itchy Twitter fingers this past week. The first Mexican boxer to win four titles in different weight classes, Morales first condemned the purse bet made by Canelo Álvarez and Julio César Chávez Jr. as “absurd,” implying that it made a farce of a serious sport. Following that, he also went after Álvaro Morales, an ESPN reporter whose coverage of the bet was not to Érik’s liking.
The fun started on February 25th, when “El Terrible” tweeted at Chávez Jr., thanking him for stopping the bet with Canelo, which would have seen the winner of their May 6th bout take home the entire purse of $45 million.
The Canelo/Chávez Jr. purse bet had received mixed reviews, with some believing it to be an exciting, high-stakes stipulation, while others found it to just be a publicity stunt. Clearly, “El Terrible” was in the latter camp.
That was just the undercard, however; the main event came on Wednesday, when Morales went after ESPN boxing journalist Álvaro Morales (no relation) for his reporting on the purse bet. Specifically, the boxer Morales called out the writer Morales for turning boxing into a “circus,” a complaint that some long-time boxing fans also hold to be true in today’s modern era.
To his credit, Alvaro did not back down from the four-time world champion, tweeting back and forth with him over the course of a charged half hour #online. The boxing legend called Alvaro many non-PG names, while the reporter questioned whether Érik wanted a strong press or one beholden to those in power.
https://twitter.com/terrible100/status/837043702526701568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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Not one to quash things without some last-minute drama, “El Terrible” logged off with one more shot at the writer, saying he would no longer read the words of or watch programs starring “pendejos.”
https://twitter.com/terrible100/status/837052248651776000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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