UNO MAS (one more).
When Erik Morales was saved from further harm seven months ago, you’d think he’d just embark on a vacation, have a good time with family and friends and never ever again wear a pair of gloves after cashing his paycheck.
Having been the recipient of a knockout loss so brutal ringsiders thought he’d never consider making a comeback, Morales formalized his intentions of getting back at his famed Filipino tormentor Manny Pacquiao yesterday when they appeared in a press conference at the Mouton Hall of the Wynn Las Vegas.
“I am asking you to believe in me one more time,” said Morales, who battles Pacquiao in a rubber match set on Nov. 18 in Las Vegas.
Morales has let many of his countrymen down the past few months beginning with a stunning lightweight loss to Zahir Raheem almost a year ago in Los Angeles and the savage beating he absorbed from Pacquiao early this year only convinced even his closest friends that retirement could be a better option.
But the warrior spirit in Morales didn’t die down and he has promised to return with a vengeance versus Pacquiao, a man many believe will personally hand the Mexican his retirement papers after they slug it out at the Thomas and Mack Center.
Wearing a white, long-sleeved designer shirt, Pacquiao offered no fighting words when it was his turn to speak on the dais.
“I just hope that nobody gets hurt,” said Pacquiao, who expects to kick off the first phase of his training in Cebu late this month. Pacquiao should be at the doorsteps of trainer Freddie Roach in the second week of September for training proper.
In racking up a sterling 48-4-0 win-loss-draw card, Morales has never lost three straight and he is upbeat that, with the help of a team of nutritionists and a conditioning coach based in Los Angeles, he would make the super-featherweight limit of 130 lbs without a hitch.
Morales revealed that he will likely reunite with his long-time trainer and father, Jose “Olivaritos” Morales once he heads off to the mountains in September. The senior Morales was not in his son’s corner during the Pacquiao debacle.
Meanwhile, tickets for Pacquiao-Morales III dubbed “The Grand Finale,” will go on sale starting next week. Prices are pegged at 0, $ 300, $ 200, $ 100 and $ 50.
Morales’ promoter Top Rank is putting up the slugfest that will also be shown on pay-per-view.
