The final decision at the National Golden Gloves Tournament did not go the way that Victor Morales Jr. thought it should.
But his climb to the brink of a national Golden Gloves title made the next decision easy for the Morales team.
It is time to turn pro. The plan is to fight a pair of professional fights in 2016, though nothing is yet scheduled,
A recent graduate of Union High School, Morales lost a decision to Duke Ragan from Cincinnati in the Golden Gloves 123-pound championship match on May 21 at Salt Lake City. Morales and his father and coach Victor Morales Sr., both said the result reflected more the politics of amateur boxing than the action in the ring.
“I thought I had (won) it pretty easy,” Victor Jr. said. “When they raised the other kid’s hand I was more upset than shocked.”
“We kind of knew we needed to stop the kid” to win the title, said Victor Sr.
In five dominating wins on his way to the finals, Victor Jr. proved to his father that he is ready to turn pro. Victor Sr. said the Golden Gloves nationals were the perfect testing ground for his oldest son because he was fighting men as opposed to fellow teenagers.
Setting the stage for Morales’ professional debut will be an August meeting with Las Vegas-based manager Kenny Porter.
Porter manages and coaches his own son, Shawn Porter, who on Saturday lost to Keith Thurman in an entertaining fight for the WBA welterweight title that was televised by CBS. Morales has spent time training alongside the Porters in Las Vegas.
Before he gets paid to box, Morales will fight one more time as an amateur. He — along with his 12-year-old twin brothers Dylan and Austin — will fight at the 16th Ringside World Championships in late July at Independence, Mo. Tyler Morales, 16, is a former Junior Golden Gloves national champion who is injured and will not participate.
Because Olympic boxers must be at least 19, Morales is not eligible for this year’s Olympics. Four years is too long to wait for another Olympic chance he said.
The significant differences between professional and amateur boxing include the length of bouts and the absence of headgear in pro fights.
Truth is, Morales has been preparing for more than a year for his professional debut. Training mostly at West Portland Boxing Club, he has been sparring for as long as eight rounds with older boxers — including some current professionals. Often, that training involves bringing in a fresh sparring partner every two rounds.
Morales was introduced to boxing by his father at the age of 7 and fought his first amateur fight at 8. In the decade since he has experienced more than 130 fights. In 2014, Morales won the 119-pound title at the USA Boxing Junior and Youth Open to earn a spot on the USA Boxing Junior National Team. That spring he won all three of his matches while representing the United States in an international tournament in the Dominican Republic.
Morales, who stands 5 foot 7, intends to begin his professional career fighting at 122 pounds.
“I didn’t think I was going to turn pro for another two years,” Victor Jr. said. “Things happen for a reason. There is something pushing us in a different direction.”
