LOS ANGELES — Mark the date Jan. 21, 2006, on your calendar. Start booking flights and reserving hotel rooms in Las Vegas for Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales are going to lock horns again.
Promoter Bob Arum revealed during the post-fight press conference at the Chick Hearn Room of the Staples Center that Pacquiao and Morales would still engage in a rematch even though Pacquiao looked fine against Hector Velazquez and Morales struggled and lost to Zahir Raheem.
“It’s not going to derail plans. We are going on with this fight,” said Arum as he contradicted himself from an earlier statement that a victory is needed by each fighter to guarantee a rematch. Arum promotes Morales.
“This time the Filipinos will probably be even bullish with Pacquiao’s chances. The Filipinos will be betting more money on Manny,” said Arum, who said fighters like Morales and Pacquiao do not need titles to fight each other in megabuck promotions.
Arum added that the fight will definitely be at 130 lbs (super-featherweight) and not at the lightweight limit of 135 even though Morales had experienced difficulties making the agreed limit of 133 lbs in his lost to the elusive Raheem.
Pacquiao and his team led by Freddie Roach and promoter Gary Shaw welcomed news of the impending battle and both expressed confidence that in the second meeting the result would be different.
“I will give him (Morales) a rematch,” Pacquiao said in a response to a question.
“I am sure Manny will knock Erik Morales out,” said Shaw even though Morales was seated near him on the dais.
Roach said the entire team may have looked past Morales in the first meeting last March that ended on a points win by the Mexican.
“Manny relied too much on connecting with that left hand of his (Pacquiao). He wanted a homerun,” said Roach, who went on to reveal plans for training camp.
“We are going to start training camp in the Philippines for two weeks then we will go back to the States for another six weeks,” said Roach.
Plans are afoot for Roach and key members of his management and training team to travel to the Philippines sometime in November in preparation for camp proper here.
The likely site of Pacquiao’s training camp would be Phoenix or Big Bear, California, said Roach.
If indeed Pacquiao’s American handlers push through with their plans, Pacquiao might be forced to spend his 26th birthday on Dec. 17 and the Christmas holidays here.
