THERE IS simply too much weight on the shoulders of Manny Pacquiao, who reports from his training camp in Los Angeles that “I am in shape” and that “there’s nothing to worry about.”
Pacquiao duels with Erik Morales on Jan. 21 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas in what could determine the Filipino’s future. Morales had beaten Pacquiao by way of a unanimous decision the first time they met last March 19 at the MGM Grand.
This time, Pacquiao believes the outcome will be different and the pressure to exact payback emanates from 80-million plus Filipinos who will be in the ring in spirit when he faces a tough foe from Tijuana.
“I have something to prove to my countrymen,” said Pacquiao, 27, who has been working out at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood since Dec. 3.
Pacquiao said he was extremely bothered by the cut that he suffered during a headbutt with Morales and that was the reason why he could not come up with the right combinations that should have sent the Mexican down.
Pacquiao remains the favorite going into the scheduled 12-rounder but the GenSan banger refuses to acknowledge the odds, knowing that Morales will be climbing the ring much more determined to get back on the winning track following that forgettable loss to Zahir Raheem a few months ago at the Staples Center.
Morales has come up with outstanding performances especially when he is coming off a loss.
When he fought Pacquiao the first time, he was coming off a defeat at the hands of Marco Antonio Barrera and oddsmakers were so convinced that Pacquiao would hand Morales another beating.
But Morales performed so well that fans of the heavily-favored Pacquiao all went home as brokenhearted as someone who got stood up at the graduation ball.
