on to three contested rounds, before Morales knocked out Jones with two consecutive overhead right crosses in the fourth round. In October 1999, Morales fought and defeated former WBC Bantamweight Champion Wayne McCullough of Northern Ireland, saying that McCullough gave him one of the three toughest fights of his career. Morales vs. Barrera I In February 2000, Morales defeated Marco Antonio Barrera to win the WBO Super Bantamweight title, in a fight that is now considered one of boxing's classics. Morales won the fight by a controversial split decision. It was an intense battle in which both fighters were cut and battered. Many people thought Barrera had won the fight on a knockdown that he scored in the twelfth and final round. After the fight, Morales said, "He was a brave fighter, and we both gave it all we had. We were both hurt during the fight. He was the biggest puncher I ever faced in the ring." The Ring named it the Fight of the Year. Featherweight After nine successful title defenses, Morales chose to vacate his WBC Super Bantamweight title to move up to featherweight division. In his second fight at this weight, he fought 33-year-old former world champion Kevin Kelley, in September 2000. Kelley was knocked down in the fifth and seventh rounds, he was finally trapped in the latter round by a flurry of five consecutive uppercuts from Morales. Supported only by the ropes, a sixth uppercut landed, and the fight was stopped. Morales became the Interim WBC Featherweight Champion. Morales vs. Espadas Jr. Morales fought again in 2000, knocking out Rodney Jones in the first round. In February 2001, he fought Guty Espadas Jr., the WBC Featherweight title holder with a thirteen fight winning streak, and whose father, Guty Espadas, Sr., was also a world champion boxer. Morales won a close twelve-round decision to claim his third world title in his second weight division. Although Morales was highly rated in the featherweight division, Naseem Hamed was seen as the Lineal Champion of the division. In July 2001, Morales defeated future champion In Jin Chi of South Korea and retained his title. Chi gave a strong effort, but Morales was the sharper, harder puncher and outworked him for much of the fight. Morales was cut and swollen over the left eye in the sixth round by an accidental clash of heads and Chi was penalized one