Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales are two men born to fight. The ferocity and heart with which they compete has inspired their respective nations to proportions rarely seen in the sport of boxing. Pacquiao is a national icon in the Philipines, a celebrity of incredible popularity and a millionaire many times over. Morales is every working mans idol, a Tijuana native made good, with all the characteristics of the traditional Mexican warrior.
When these two men fight, they bring their countries with them into the ring. Both born into grinding poverty, they battle with the soul of the everyday man, the people they give hope to, who take pride in their countries warriors.
Their 3rd and final bout this weekend in Las Vegas is a matter of honour, both personal and national.
The Mexican and Filipino have fought twice before, each man taking a victory in violent fashion. The first fight saw Morales take a close but decisive decision in a blood and guts fight where the action swung both ways. Pacquiao suffered a nasty cut to the eye early on, and struggled to find his rhythm for much of the bout. The wily Mexican took advantage of Pacquaio’s lack of lateral movement, and kept the smaller man on the end of his jab, landing some superb uppercuts and right hands when the ‘Pac Man’ tried to get in close. Pacquiao rallied late, bombing his way back into the fight and out punching the Mexican in some ferocious spots of action, but Morales controlled enough of the action, and won the fight convincingly. However, there was an immediate clamour for a rematch given the intensity and competitiveness of the bout.
The second fight was no less intense, and in some ways very similar to the first. That is until Pacquiao’s energy and rhythm began to befuddle the slowing Morales. During round 6, Pacquiao began to unload his full arsenal of punches, hooking, jabbing and blasting his opponent backwards and taking control of the action that Morales had dominated early on. Morales was hurt badly at the end of the round, and was not showing his normal resilience. The ‘Pac Man’ seemed more confident, more skilled and more determined than ever to stamp his authority over Morales, and gave ‘El Terrible’ the most terrible beating of his life. Battering him all over the ring, Pacquaio dominated the next few rounds, storming his opponent in the 10th round, knocking Morales down twice before the bout was mercifully stopped.
Excuses were made by both camps for both losses. Pacquiao had distractions with his promoter, and could not use the gloves he wanted to. Morales was weight drained and lacked focus when going into the second bout.
This time, neither man should have reason to complain. By all accounts, their camps have gone well. Pacquiao has no managerial issues and gets to wear the gloves he wants, and Morales has hired a team of conditioners and nutritionists to get his weight down safely.
We should then expect another awesome battle given all the variables. It will no doubt be another testosterone-fuelled battle of attrition, with both men aiming to take control of the action from the get go.
And that is what it will come down to. Which man can take control of the action for the majority of the fight?
There are many unanswered questions about how much Morales has left in the tank. He has lost 3 of his last 4 fights, and has looked distinctly drawn and weight drained of recent. He looked so gaunt in his last fight with Pacquiao at the weigh in that he looked on the verge of collapsing. He was up on his toes for the first 5 rounds of the bout, but looked uncharacteristically slow and weak thereafter. Standing 5ft 8, and weighing 130lbs is obviously doing damage to the veteran’s body, and having been in so many wars, it is difficult to see how he can out gun the most energetic power puncher the division has seen in a long while.
Pacquiao has his limits as a boxer, deficiencies that a prime Morales could certainly exploit. However, Morales is not in his prime, and Pacquiao has worked hard on varying his punches and movement to add new depth to his game. These improvements were too much for the faded Morales to cope with last time around, and it is difficult to see how he will tame the improved ‘Pac Man’.
The fight should be action packed early on, with Pacquiao looking to get his combinations going quickly. Morales is determined enough to make Pacquiao work for it, but there is only so much resistance the 52 fight veteran can give him. Morales will always give Pacquiao problems, it just depends on how long for. Being in better shape both physically and mentally, it is likely Morales will see the final bell, but look for Pacquiao to take over the fight at the mid point. Morales has enough guile to hold on, but the ‘Pac Man’ should win a well earned decision over the proud Mexican who should consider retirement after the bout.
