Manolo Rivera Morales gained nationwide fame in Puerto Rico during the decade of the 1980s, when he covered BSN basketball games live on television, for WAPA-TV, along other famous Puerto Rican sportscasters such as Rafael Bracero and Fufi Santori. Rivera Morales became sort of a cultural icon in Puerto Rico: His phrases, many of which he invented, were commongly repeated by many Puerto Ricans and they became part of the regular Puerto Rican dialogue. He was also famous for the nicknames he gave some of Puerto Rico's basketball players. Jose Ortiz, for example, was given the nickname of El Concorde by Rivera Morales. Martín Ansa got the nickname El Senor from Morales.
During the 1970s and 1980s, local laws established that boxing fights held in Puerto Rico could not be transmitted live on television; this to encourage fans to pay tickets to see the fights live. They were, however, transmitted live by radio, and Rivera Morales also became a well-known boxing commentator on the Puerto Rican radio stations.
Some phrases popularized by Manolo Rivera Morales: