Eric Morel

Eric Arturo Morel (born October 10, 1975 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. He is a former World Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight (112 lb) champion.

Eric Morel
Statistics
Real nameEric Arturo Morel
Nickname(s)Little Hands Of Steel
Weight(s)Bantamweight
Height5 ft 6.5 in (1.689 m)
Reach70 in (177.8 cm)
Nationality Puerto Rican
Born (1975-01-10) January 10, 1975
San Juan, Puerto Rico
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights50
Wins46
Wins by KO23
Losses4
Draws0
No contests0

Amateur career

Morel had an outstanding amateur career, and was the National Golden Gloves Light Flyweight Champion in 1994. He also was a member of the 1996 US Olympic Team as a Flyweight. His result was:

Lost to Maikro Romero (Cuba) 12-24

Professional career

Flyweight

"Little Hands Of Steel" turned professional in 1996 and won his first 33 bouts, including the WBA World Flyweight title with a decision win over Sornpichai Kratingdaenggym in 2000 and the IBA World Super Flyweight title in 1998 against Jose Victor Burgos. He defended the belt five times with wins over Gilberto Keb Baas, Denkaosan Kaovichit, and Isidro García before losing it to Lorenzo Parra by decision in 2003.

Super Flyweight

He then moved up in weight and took on WBA Super Flyweight title holder Martin Castillo in 2005, but lost a decision. Morel was scheduled to fight Z Gorres for the interim WBO bantamweight title on November 14, 2009, but after the latter's last fight, he (Gorres) suffered a major injury that delayed his boxing career, so the fight was called off. He then returned to the ring against Gerry Penalosa February 13, 2010; That ended in a win for Eric Morel, lifting the interim WBO bantamweight world championship. He then defeated Juan Jose Beltran December 11, 2010 as a 2-0 record since his return. His next and latest match was against Luis Maldonado April 1, 2011; That now has his record at 3-0 since his return from injury.

Professional boxing record

45 Wins (23 knockouts), 4 loss(s), 0 Draw, 0 No Contest
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Loss 46-4 Leo Santa Cruz RTD 5 2012-09-15 MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada IBF Bantamweight World title on the line.
Loss 46-3 Abner Mares UD 12 2012-04-21 Don Haskins Convention Center, El Paso, Texas WBC World Super Bantamweight World title on the line.
Win 46-2 Jose Silveira TKO 4 (10) 2011-12-03 Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Win 45-2 Daniel Quevedo TKO 4 (10) 2011-08-13 Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 44-2 Luis Maldonado TKO 4 (10) 2011-04-01 Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California
Win 43-2 Juan Jose Beltran UD 8 2010-12-11 Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, Washington
Win 42-2 Gerry Penalosa SD 12 2010-02-13 Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada Won interim WBO Bantamweight title.
Win 41-2 Roberto Bonilla UD 10 2009-03-28 Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Win 40-2 Ricardo Vargas TKO 1 (10) 2008-12-13 Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
Win 39-2 Heriberto Ruiz UD 12 2008-08-30 Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental Bantamweight title.
Win 38-2 Jose Garcia Bernal TKO 3 (10) 2008-05-23 Coliseo Antonio R. Barcelo, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
Win 37-2 Carlos Valcarcel KO 6 (10) 2008-04-05 Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Win 36-2 Felipe Almanza UD 8 2008-02-08 Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida
Loss 35-2 Martin Castillo UD 12 2005-03-19 MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada WBA World Super Flyweight World title on the line.
Win 35-1 Juan Alfonso Keb Baas UD 12 2005-01-29 Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico Retained WBO NABO Super Flyweight title.
Win 34-1 Jesus Rojas UD 12 2004-03-20 Coliseo Mario 'Quijote' Morales, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Won WBO NABO Super Flyweight title.
Loss 33-1 Lorenzo Parra UD 12 2003-12-06 Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico Lost WBA World Flyweight World title.
Win 33-0 Isidro García UD 12 2003-06-28 Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico Retained WBA World Flyweight World title.
Win 32-0 Denkaosan Kaovichit TKO 11 (12) 2002-10-12 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California Retained WBA World Flyweight World title.
Win 31-0 Alex Baba UD 10 2002-01-11 oliseo Héctor Solá Bezares, Caguas, Puerto Rico
Win 30-0 Jose de Jesus Lopez RTD 8 (12) 2001-06-08 Ho-Chunk Casino, Baraboo, Wisconsin Retained WBA World Flyweight World title.
Win 29-0 Gilberto Keb Baas UD 12 2000-12-15 Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wisconsin Retained WBA World Flyweight World title.
Win 28-0 Alberto Ontiveros UD 12 2000-10-07 MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada Retained WBA World Flyweight World title.
Win 27-0 Sornpichai Kratingdaenggym UD 12 2000-08-05 Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wisconsin Won WBA World Flyweight World title.
Win 26-0 Alberto Ontiveros UD 12 2000-06-03 DeJope Bingo & Entertainment, Madison, Wisconsin Retained IBA Super Flyweight title.
Win 25-0 Tomás Rivera UD 8 2000-02-12 Bank of America Center, Boise, Idaho
Win 24-0 Oscar Arciniega UD 8 1999-12-04 Equestrian Center, El Paso, Texas
Win 23-0 Miguel Ángel Granados UD 12 1999-09-18 Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada Retained IBA Super Flyweight title.
Win 22-0 Francisco Espitia KO 1 (12) 1999-08-06 State Fairgrounds, Columbus, Ohio Retained IBA Super Flyweight title.
Win 21-0 Lorenzo Trejo KO 4 (8) 1999-06-12 Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California
Win 20-0 Jose Rafael Sosa UD 8 1999-04-24 Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Outside the ring

Shortly after the loss to Castillo, Morel was convicted of sexual assault of a drunken 15-year-old girl and was sent to prison.[1] In July 2007, Morel was granted an early release within 30 days of August 1, 2007 to allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence on extended supervision.

See also

References

Preceded by
Sornpichai Kratingdaenggym
WBA Flyweight Champion
August 5, 2000 - December 6, 2003
Succeeded by
Lorenzo Parra
Preceded by
Fernando Montiel
WBO Interim Bantamweight Champion
February 13, 2010 - ?
Vacated
Succeeded by
Fernando Montiel
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.