In an unprecedented change of opponents, a much anticipated test of fire has been made for Tijuana super flyweight Ivan “Niño Maravilla” Morales (14-0, 9KOs) set for Saturday, December 10th, in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. Ivan, the younger brother of four-time world champion in as many divisions Erik “Terrible” Morales and former super flyweight champ Diego “Pelucho” Morales, will go face to face with the experimented Roberto “Pollito” Lopez (30-21-1, 12KOs) as part of the supporting under card of “Noche de Luces en Calafia” fight card presented by Box Latino. In the main event, Pedro “Pedrin” Guevara (14-0-1, 11KOs) will defend his newly captured NABF light flyweight title versus the talented Manuel “Menny” Jimenez (11-1-1, 5KOs) in a twelve round contest. The main event will be televised live in Mexico by Televisa.
The clash between Morales and Lopez is scheduled for eight heats. Morales are conscious that the bout will not be anything easy, “It is a great challenge. He is an opponent with a lot more experience than me which will let me show a more mature Ivan Morales who is hungry.”
In an almost twenty year career, Lopez has faced tough opponents like Willie Jorrin, Paulie Ayala, Danny Romero, Enrique Jupiter, Mauricio Pastrana, Fernando Montiel and Olivier Lontchi among others.
Ivan Morales is trained by his older brother Diego in the gym founded by their father Jose “Olivaritos” Morales in the tough neighborhood of the Zona Norte near the San Diego-Tijuana border.
“We are going to destroy him, we are going to finish him,” Diego said with a win and smile. “Pelucho” held the WBO super flyweight title in the early part of the last decade. “A person that knows about boxing would say that Ivan is not ready for this type of opponent at this point in his career. We are convinced that this is an excellent test for him and a great way for him to finish off the year. We want to see what he is made of and what we are ready for next year.”
Ivan began his career late in 2009 with a TKO victory over Cristian Zavala. In 2010 the undefeated Morales fought seven times, ending four of them before the distance. With his match up against Lopez, Morales would equal last year’s number of fights but he has already stopped four of his opponents.
“I think my career has developed well,” Morales said after an intense work out. “I think every one of my opponents has taught me something and I have shown what I have learned in my fights. I have shown how much I have advanced from my first fight and I think I have the skill and hunger to be somebody. I don’t hang on to the fact that I am the brother of Erik and Diego’s, I want to achieve my goals on my own.”
“Noche de Luces en Calafia” is scheduled for the newly renovated Plaza Calafia bull ring. Tickets are still available at the bullring’s ticket office.
I saw Ivan fight before and yes, he fights a similar style as his brother…good luck to him.
It’s fun to watch this kid fight, he looks and fights very similar to his brother Erik Morales, hope he can put on a good performance and move on to better things next year!
I’ll be watching this one for sure!
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