Everardo Morales: The Resilient Mexican Boxing Warrior
Everardo “Zihua” Morales was a Mexican flyweight and super flyweight contender from Zihuatanejo, Guerrero. He challenged for an interim world title in 2009 but did not win it.
Interim title challenge
On July 18, 2009, Morales faced Tomás Rojas for the vacant interim WBC super flyweight title in Puerto Vallarta. Rojas won when Morales did not come out for round 10 after nine rounds. Contemporary Mexican reporting described Rojas as the winner and new interim champion; BoxRec records the result as a ninth-round technical knockout.
Before the fight, Morales was reported at 32 wins, 13 losses and two draws, with 22 knockouts. He had also faced opponents including Omar Narváez and Pongsaklek Wonjongkam. The 2009 loss was a title challenge, not a title victory.
Morales’s championship opportunities extended beyond the Rojas bout. In October 1997, he went twelve rounds with Carlos Gabriel Salazar in Argentina while challenging for the WBO flyweight title. Salazar retained by unanimous decision, providing an early example of Morales testing himself against an established champion abroad.
He also enjoyed regional success. A split-decision victory over Francisco Marquez in December 2007 earned him the vacant NABF super-flyweight title in Zihuatanejo. That achievement belongs alongside his world-title attempts, showing that his career included championship wins at regional level as well as unsuccessful challenges on the larger stage.
In July 2010, Morales faced Hugo Cazares for the WBA super-flyweight championship in Tlalnepantla. Both men exchanged power punches early before Cazares established control and stopped him in round seven. The contest added another reigning champion to Morales’s list of opponents and formed part of the later phase of a professional career that began in 1995.
Sources
- La Jornada, report on Rojas–Morales, July 19, 2009
- BoxRec, WBC super flyweight title-fight history
- Banderas News, preview and Morales record before the fight
Additional sources: WBA Cazares fight report; NABF title history.
Career records and reporting: boxrec.com.
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
