AFTER WEEKS of preparing mentally and physically for Juan Manuel Marquez, Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao has suddenly found himself scheduled to face a different ? but familiar ? opponent.
Pacquiao officially got confirmation yesterday that his return bout with Marquez has been scrapped and that he now will fight Erik Morales, another in a long-line of Mexican nose-busters who once was the world?s best pound-for-pound boxer.
Pacquiao is hardly trembling at the prospect of meeting Morales, a former three-division world champion whose epic clashes with Marco Antonio Barrera have become part of boxing lore.
The bout is set March 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and Pacquiao is eagerly looking forward to it.
“Magandang laban ito,” Pacquiao said when contacted by phone yesterday as he rested at his modest Vagabond Inn motel room in Hollywood.
Pacquiao is excited not only about the fight but also with the prospect of earning the biggest ever purse by a Filipino athlete.
According to his own estimate, he could get as much as $1.75 million (about P98 million) from the Morales fight if the pay-per-view income will hit the roof.
“I was told that I would be given a percentage in the pay-per-view sales,” said Pacquiao, who claimed that HBO, which is putting up the fight, told him of his projected earnings.
It would be nearly double the money he was contracted to fight Marquez, which was only $900,000. Ironically, the reason the fight with Marquez bogged down was the insistence of the Mexican to be guaranteed $1.5 million saying he deserved to get more than Pacquiao. Both were promised the same prize.
The Pacquiao-Morales encounter will be at the super-featherweight class of 130 lbs, a weight class that hasn?t been tested by Pacquiao. The Filipino ringster, who fought Barrera and Marquez at 126 lbs., hasn?t fought in this weight category ever.
A news conference formally announcing the bout will be made in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Pacquiao, who arrived in the States Saturday night, said he did the punch mitt routine on Monday afternoon under the supervision of trainer Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
Morales, 28, will be fighting Pacquiao after losing to Barrera on a 12-round majority decision verdict late last year in Las Vegas. He has declared that his fight with Pacquiao will be the stepping stone for a big comeback.
A former world champion in the super-bantamweight, featherweight and super-featherweight divisions, and a veteran of over 110 amateur bouts and 49 professional fights, Morales, 28, holds a two-inch height advantage over Pacquiao at 5-8.
Pacquiao said he does not intend to return to Manila although the fight is still two months away.
“Talagang mag e-ensayo lang ako dito sa LA,” said Pacquiao, whose training is being supervised by long-time assistant Buboy Fernandez.
“Alam kong magiging crucial ang resulta ng labang ito kay Morales kaya?t pagbubutihin ko.”
The fighter?s wife, Jinkee, speaking from General Santos, told the Bulletin that he has been asked by Manny to get ready to fly to Los Angeles.
“Manny told me to ask permission from Mr. Rod Nazario (Pacquiao?s business manager) to leave for the US before the end of the month,” said Jinkee.
Morales, who totes a 47-2 win-loss card with 34 knockouts, has logged a total of 311 rounds, including 172 world championship rounds.
He averages 6.3 rounds per fight and holds a knockout percentage of 69 percent.
Pacquiao, 26, sports a 39-2-2 card with 31 knockouts, and is at least two inches shorter than Morales and has a four-inch disadvantage in wingspan at 68 inches.
One thing that should work in favor of Pacquiao is the fact that Morales hasn?t won via the short route since stopping Guty Espadas Jr. in three rounds in October 2003.
After halting Espadas, who once dominated Luisito Espinosa, Morales went 12 rounds with El Salvadoran Carlos Hernandez, Mexicans Jesus Chavez and Barrera.
Before battling Marquez to a 12-round split draw last year, Pacquiao racked up a string of knockout wins over fancied foes, including an 11th-round destruction of Marco Antonio Barrera at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in November 2003.
In his last outing, Pacquiao needed four rounds to dispose of Fahsan 3K Battery of Thailand on Dec.11 at The Fort in Taguig.
