Pa’s return a mistake for Erik?

When Erik Morales faced Manny Pacquiao in their Las Vegas rematch last January, the Mexican showed up without father Jose in his corner.

For the first time in his career, Morales entered the ring without his father who was sidelined on the advice of promoter Fernando Beltran and matchmaker Bruce Trampler after "El Terrible" lost a decision to Zahir Raheem last September.

And for the first time in his career, Morales was knocked out.

Morales blamed a lot of factors for the crushing defeat. His father’s absence was cited. A switch in training camp from the Otomi Mountains to Queretaro and a drastic weight reduction program that sapped his energy were other excuses. Morales also divorced his first wife America, with whom he has three children, and got married to Sandra Mora three months before the fight.

Morales never gave Pacquiao credit for the victory and fired trainer Jose Luis Lopez who had taken over from his father.

Now, the estranged father is back with the repentant son for the rubber match with Pacquiao at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas tomorrow night (Sunday morning, Manila).

Morales said reuniting with his father Jose as trainer will bring back the glory days. 

"He knows me well," said Morales, referring to his father, in a conference call arranged by Top Rank Promotions. "He knows what I need to do, he knows my weaknesses, he knows my strengths and he points them out to me. I think we’re able to do better some things and I think that was what we wanted to do. I’m very happy with what we’ve done in camp and I think he is as well. We didn’t really even talk about him not being there the last fight. All we talked about is getting ready for this fight."

Morales, 30, was born on the first floor of a two-storey building, owned by his father, at the corner of Coahuila and Cinco de Mayo in the tough Tijuana district of Zona Norte. On the second floor of the ramshackle building was a boxing gym. His father was a flyweight contender in the 1970s and earned his nickname Olivaritos because he resembled the Mexican bantamweight legend in looks and style.  

Top Rank boss Bob Arum said Morales is "very close with his father but his father is not a great trainer." 

Dan Birmingham, who trains Winky Wright and Jeff Lacy, said the father-son combination could work depending on their home life and relationship. "If it’s strong and they carry it to the gym, then it might work — that’s if the father has the knowledge and the experience to take him level by level," he said.

Trainer and TV analyst Teddy Atlas wouldn’t advise it. "It’s not a natural thing for a father to be a trainer of a kid in boxing because it involves sending a kid into a situation that’s dangerous which is against a father’s instincts," he said.

Writer Graham Houston said a father may lose objectivity in evaluating the progress of a fight and it could result in misguided advice.

Bill Johnson trained his son Leavander and their team-up ended in tragedy last year. With his father in the corner, Leavander was knocked out by Jesus Chavez and died a few days later because of ring-related injuries.

In boxing history, there have been several father-son combinations Felix Sr. and Tito Trinidad, Gregorio and Wilfred Benitez, Jack and Sugar Shane Mosley, Ham and Mark (Too Sharp) Johnson, Floyd and Tracy Harris Patterson, Floyd Sr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr., Roy Sr. and Roy Jones Jr. and Carl and Gerry Peñalosa. Some pairings were successful and others weren’t. 

"When you work with your son, you’re walking on a tightrope all the time," said Ham Johnson whose son Mark once reigned as world flyweight champion. 

Whether it was a mistake to reunite Morales and his father will be known in the "Grand Finale."