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Philippines, 07 Oct 2024 |
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In this corner: Pacquiao vs. Morales again PhilBoxing.com Thu, 16 Nov 2006 Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales each own a victory against the other heading into their third fight, billed as "The Grand Finale" Saturday night (9 ET, HBO PPV, $49.95) at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Pacquiao (42-3-2, 32 KOs), from The Philippines, and Morales (48-4, 34 KOs), from Mexico, each has won world titles in three weight divisions and each represents national pride to his country. "I must win," said Pacquiao, 27. "Our fight is bigger than the two of us because we carry more into the ring than most other fighters. We carry the heart and soul of our people and the pride and honor of our nations. The pressure on us is enormous, which is why I'll be on the attack the second I hear the bell for Round 1." For the 30-year-old Morales, the urgency of winning the super featherweight title fight is perhaps even greater because of the perception that his career is on the downslide. His loss to Pacquiao by a 10th-round TKO in January was the third defeat in Morales' last four fights. His most recent victory was a unanimous decision against Pacquiao in their first fight in March 2005 but he followed that six months later by an upset loss to Zahir Raheem. The situation Morales faces is not much different than when he beat Pacquiao, coming off a loss in his rematch against Marco Antonio Barrera. "At the first fight, I needed to win," he said. "I needed credibility back in my career coming off a tough loss and I was ready. I prepared myself for that first fight and it showed. "The second fight I just made too many changes in my camp, and I should have just stayed with what I had. But for this fight, I feel real good. I'm going to be ready as I've ever been for a fight." Moving up Middleweight champion Jermain Taylor will fight Dec. 9 against Kassim Ouma, but says the fight in his hometown of Little Rock will be his last defending that crown. Taylor plans to move up to super middleweight next year and has his sights set on a bout against unified 168-pound champ Joe Calzaghe. Taylor, 28, is moving up because he's tired of starving himself to make the 160-pound middleweight limit. "It's all but impossible for me to do it now," said Taylor (25-0-1). "As I age and fill out, it's not going to happen." A fight against Calazaghe would be a marquee matchup and also give Taylor the chance to get some payback for his friend Jeff Lacy, who suffered the first loss of his career to the champion from Wales in a one-sided bout. "Jeff made a lot of mistakes, but I know he's a lot better than he showed," Taylor said. "Calzaghe is a fight I'd love. He's supposed to be the man there. Those are the guys I want." Click here for a complete listing of columns by this author. Click here for a complete listing of this author's articles from different news sources. |
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