Saturday night live on HBO PPV from the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada Manny Pacquiao, (41-3-2 33 KO’s) was a dominant force that could not be denied. Pac Man overcame some rough spots early to wear down and then knock out the great Mexican warrior Erik Morales, (48-4 34 KO’s). The fight appeared to be going exactly like their first bout until about the 6th round. After that, “El Terrible” began to slow down and was visibly tired. The increased number of body shots that Pacquiao was landing appeared to play a role in wearing down Morales. Pacquiao seized the opportunity and came forward with a barrage of connected power punches, lefts and rights, which battered his opponent. Morales gamely stuck around and absorbed a ton of punishment, but by the 10th round, could take no more. Pacquiao was declared the TKO winner at the time 2:33 in the 10th round.
The first moments of the fight were cautious for both combatants. Morales wanted to box and Pacquiao was waiting for openings. At the mid point of the first, Manny landed a straight lead left and the two began to ignite the flames of the war they waged last year. The action was steady and back and forth for the latter stages of the first and carrying over into the second. Pacquiao was eating counter punches as he attacked, but both were landing their share of good punches. Pacquiao was surprisingly able to land his straight left with consistency, a punch that Morales effectively neutralized the first time around. Erik staggered into the ropes late in the second from a Pacquiao combination, but may have been off balanced instead of hurt.
By the 3rd, an even fight so far appeared to be going in favor of “El Terrible”. Morales was boxing effectively and staying out of the range of Pacquiao’s rushing attack. Morales may have had his best round in the third when he was able to land a couple of unanswered power combinations to keep Manny honest. The boxing display continued to work for Morales in the 4th and 5th rounds as well. Both were landing big, crowd pleasing punches, but Morales was controlling the pace and the distance in these rounds. He would selectively counter Pacquiao with showy punches. To his credit, Manny was diligently going to the body in these rounds even though he was losing them on points. The fight was looking like it could end exactly like the first fight at the end of the 5th.
The 6th is when things started to turn. Morales complained to his corner that his legs were starting to tire. His legs indeed looked shaky and he was unable to use the ring generalship that had won him the previous rounds. Pacquiao had a tremendous 6th round, teeing off with a concussive round of straight lefts and right hooks that were landing cleanly. There would be little argument from me if a judge decided to score the 6th a 10-8 round for Pacquiao because of the sheer number of explosive power punches that landed flush onto Morales’ head and body.
By this point, Morales had a broken nose and was extremely tired. He came back in the 7th to try to win back the round that he had lost. He indeed had a nice first half of the round, stunning Manny with a left-right combo. Morales did not have the energy to capitalize, allowing Pacquiao to come back strong in the end of the 7th to take the round with bullying charges. Manny’s punches were still very fast and getting through the guard of his opponent very frequently. If you know Manny Pacquiao you know that he hits with astonishing power. Morales was doing little to defend these shots, he was simply standing and taking them, impressively, on the chin. Erik absorbed many shots and was bravely sticking around despite not having much left.
Morales still had the courage to muster up the strength in between rounds to be competitive in the first half of the next two rounds, the 8th and 9th. He would come out and box, holding his own. Then his body would betray him again and Manny would begin to dominate in the second half. Pacquiao would overpower Morales with flurries of straight punches in trademark fashion. It was clear at this point that Pacquiao had the upper hand, had the huge edge in endurance, and was starting to brutalize the great champion Morales.
Sensing that Morales was tired, Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach told his fighter to continue to go to the body. Manny did exactly that, hurting Morales with at huge body shot, opening up the head and for a left that sent Morales to the canvas. Erik was able to get up, but the end was near as he was still hurt and had no legs to support his body. Pacquiao swarmed in with a barrage of punches against Morales whose body slumped down against the ropes and to the canvas where the referee stepped in and stopped the contest.
Pacquiao was overjoyed at his victory, celebrating in his corner, feeding off of the energy of the large Filipino contingent in the audience. Afterwards, he said that he was open to a third match with Erik, anytime, anywhere. In the post fight interview, Morales claimed that he was tired and said that making 130 pounds was very difficult for him to do and drained his energy. He will take a long vacation before making a decision on what he wants to do next. Pacquiao, on the other hand, now has many opportunities awaiting him, as is now known as the only person to hold wins over both Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.
