Renowned promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank and international promoter Murad Muhammad of M&M Sports, who are staging the explosive pay-per-view battle between Ring Magazine featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao and former three-time world champion Erik ?El Terrible? Morales said yesterday ?the fight is on fire.?
Already, more than 10,000 tickets have been sold for the potential Fight of the Year at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 19 while the mad rush for media accreditation from all over the world is giving the promoters exhilaration over the interest in the fight and a headache on how to accommodate all the requests.
Arum paid tribute to Morales, who he handles, as well as Pacquiao, whose career has been successfully chartered by Muhammad, saying ?these two fighters bring the fire and the public recognizes it. We are looking not only for big numbers at the MGM gate but also on PPV and closed circuit, which will exceed results of Morales vs (Marco Antonio) Barrera? last November, which did over 300,000 hits.
Pacquiao?s trainer Freddie Roach fueled the rivalry as well as the anticipation of fight fans by stating ?we have one game plan ? attack Morales at the opening bell.?
Morales, training in near seclusion at the Otomi Ceremonial Center in the refreshing, cool mountain region, complimented Pacquiao, saying ?he is a great warrior and he comes to fight.?
Acknowledging the abilities of the Filipino southpaw, Morales said: ?Speed is his biggest asset and I?m going to be a lot faster. I have to fight speed with speed? and added ?this fight will be just as enjoyable as any fight you are going to see.?
