IT IS going to be Erik Morales by decision again.
Thus said The Ring magazine as it predicted another Morales victory against Manny Pacquiao in their January 21 rematch in Las Vegas.
“It’s the ultimate boxing clich?, but it’s true: Styles make fights. Morales will be more focused than he was for Raheem, and has all the right attributes to give the slightly less versatile Pacquiao fits,” wrote Eric Raskin in the acknowledged Bible of Boxing.
But, unlike in the previous encounter between the two ring gladiators, The Ring said somebody is going to kiss he canvass this time around.
“It will be the Mexican by unanimous decision again, with a knockdown or two along the way this time,” Raskin added.
Morales, 48-3 with 34 KOs, outpointed Pacquiao in an epic clash in March last year, a back-and-forth tussle that was fast and furious right from the opening bell.
Though Morales was clearly the winner that night, Pacquiao came close to knocking him out in the final round when the Mexican played foolish by turning southpaw.
Pacquiao, a native of General Santos City, suffered a bad cut in the fifth round due to an accidental head butt and fought the rest of the way with only one good eye.
Since that defeat, Pacquiao is aching for redemption and his new promoter Gary Shaw even predicted that his ward would knock Morales out next time.
Pacquiao’s confidence was also boosted by his victory over Hector Velazquez, whom he stopped in the sixth round in a bout in Los Angeles.
Morales, meanwhile, is coming off a loss to Zahir Raheem and many observers felt the Mexican is going down, a result of the many wars he had atop the ring.
This is the reason why Pacquiao, 40-3-2 with 31 KOs, is still listed as the favorite by bookmakers in Las Vegas. Morales, was also the underdog when he and Pacquiao fought last year.
An online poll being conducted by HBO showed that 39 percent say Pacquiao will win by a knockout on January 21, a surprising figure considering the result of the first bout.
But The Ring is saying otherwise, citing the heart and resiliency of Morales as a fighter.
