Erik Morales wants more toughness, aggressiveness from Jessie Vargas

Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, who produced one of boxing's greatest trilogies in the last decade, stood shoulder to shoulder at a news conference in Los Angeles in March grinning from ear to ear.

The two were bitter enemies for years, and when they were active fighters, there was always a palpable sense of tension. Everyone who knew them knew to be on guard when they were near each other, because something could break out.

But at a news conference to formally announce the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao bout, they were no longer rivals but co-workers, analyzing the mega-bout for Mexico's TV Azteca.

It was jarring to see them so cordial, so buddy-buddy, as if the wars of the past had been forgotten.

Morales is now training Jessie Vargas, who meets Timothy Bradley Jr. on Saturday at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., for the WBO welterweight title that Mayweather surrendered. As Morales spoke about Vargas, he was asked about the seeming friendship he's struck up with Barrera.

"We have to work together," Morales said. "We're not 100 percent friends. There are still [feelings] there. But we're on TV Azteca together and we have to do our jobs. That's it."

He is, and always has been, a tough guy who never gives in. Even when he was outgunned and physically overmatched, he kept on trying.

And it's that toughness and sense of perseverance that he has brought to Vargas. Vargas is a skilled boxer who is among the nicest, most genuine people in the sport. He's not a hard puncher, but that's not too much of an issue because there are a lot of fighters who have done very well for themselves who haven't hit all that hard.

However, Vargas has yet to show the killer instinct that not only would help him against the best opposition, but would also make him more popular.

Morales lost two of three fights to Pacquiao, but he said the success he had in their series came when he blunted Pacquiao's forward advances. And it's much the way he's teaching Vargas against Bradley:

Don't hope for respect. Demand it. Grab it.

"I showed Pacquiao who was in charge," said Morales, who defeated Pacquiao in 2005 in the first of their three battles. "I made him back up. He didn't just keep charging at me, coming forward. He went backward. That's what I'm teaching Jessie right now. I don't want Bradley pushing forward and going after him. I want Jessie to back him up."

Bradley is one of the sport's most accomplished fighters but one seemingly without a big fight on the horizon. It's why, not long after he arrived at his Southern California hotel on Tuesday he went on the attack, not so much against Vargas but against Morales.

Vargas is still trying to make his mark in the sport, and a win over Bradley would go a long way toward doing that. Bradley is interested in a mega-fight, but unless he moves up to middleweight to fight Gennady Golovkin which, surprisingly, may be possible, there isn't that much out there for him.

And so Bradley, also one of the sport's true good guys, went after Morales a bit.

"Jessie Vargas, I'm going to whip his ass on Saturday, and Morales, if he's got a problem, if he wants some, he can get it at the end of the year, too, because I've got two fights this year," Bradley told a Top Rank cameraman. "This is my first fight. I'm going to beat his body, and then I'll come back and beat his behind if he comes out of retirement.

"Whatever weight. We could fight at a catch weight, [154], it don't matter. Whatever. You want to fight at 200? We could fight there and I'm going to whip your ass next. If you want to talk, you can say whatever you want to say."

Morales, who was 52-9 with 36 knockouts in a career that merits Hall of Fame consideration, hasn't fought since losing to Danny Garcia in 2012.

He failed a drug test before the Garcia fight and hadn't been himself as a fighter for years, but he's the type of guy who never backs down from a challenge and agreed to do it.

It's highly unlikely, though, that the fight would ever be made, but the fact that Bradley even bothered to trash talk his opponent's trainer shows Morales' significance in the sport.

He's still a big name, years after his prime and three years since his final bout.

He took over as Vargas' chief trainer when the legendary Roy Jones Jr. withdrew. Jones is still an active fighter and couldn't find the time necessary for a developing young boxer like Vargas.

So Morales took over and pronounced himself pleased with Vargas. He said he hasn't tried to change much, but fans should expect to see Vargas exhibit some of that famous Morales fire in the ring on Saturday.

"Jessie is coming to fight," Morales said. "He's not afraid and he's going to back down. He's going to get in there and fight this guy hard."

If he does, he'll be a reflection of the man in his corner, who only knew one way to go about it.