When Manny Pacquiao (42-3-2, 33 KO’s) steps into the ring with Erik Morales (48-4-0, 34 KO’s) on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack, both fighters will be in for the rubber match of their lives.
The stage is set for the grand finale of a long heated rivalry, with previous matches turning into unprecedented super featherweight brawls with Morales winning a unanimous decision and Pacquiao taking a 10th round TKO victory, the first ever knockout loss Morales suffered.
The controversy, surprisingly enough, hasn’t been what has been happening inside the ring, but what has been happening outside, in Los Angeles specifically.
In September of this year, trainer Freddie Roach confirmed that Manny Pacquiao inked a deal with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, a deal that would guarantee Pacquiao prize money for another seven fights, a far cry from his retirement announcement in August.
Though Pacquiao, as part of his fight contract, is not allowed to switch promoters until after Nov. 18, the deal is still signed and sealed, but Top Rank promoter Bob Arum doesn’t think that Pacquiao is beyond reason. It is without doubt that this will end up in court.
The slugfests we’ve seen between these two fighters is no doubt going to be repeated and in a year of boxing that has been very favorable with considerable action in the heavyweight ranks, this fight will be in contention for fight of the year.
Erik Morales’ tendency to never back down has both helped and hurt his contests against Pacquiao. In the first meeting of the two fighters, with Morales ahead on the score cards, he chose to face Pacquiao in a southpaw slugfest for the 12th round, a decision that had his corner in an uproar, and the fans on their feet.
His same plan turned sour in their second match-up when Morales’ had the same plan, but in the 10th round instead where a more matured Pacquiao was able to land body shots knocking Morales to the mat twice on his way to a TKO victory and Morales’ first loss by knockout.
Fights like these are what can bring fans and the pay-per-view buys back to boxing -exciting matches with decorated history and enough controversy to keep the contents hot. In an industry struggling to the end of putting up a high profile fight of Wladimir Klitschko against Calvin Brock on regular HBO instead of PPV is a sign of an industry trying to assert its dominance as the leader in combat sports.
Despite being a non-title fight, there is still an air of anticipation of who will assert their dominance in the super featherweight division.
The fight will take place Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack and will be available on HBO Pay Per View.
In other news, Floyd Mayweather Jr. inked a deal with Oscar De La Hoya
Weeks after fighting a chess match against Carlos Baldomir, Floyd Mayweather Jr. will go agaisnt WBC Super Welterweight Champion Oscar De La Hoya for a fight in May to be held in Las Vegas or Los Angeles.
The fight, which has been highly anticipated since De La Hoya’s return a year ago, was decided only earlier this week with intensity on both sides of the ring.
Mayweather, seconds after affixing his name to the piece of paper, made it clear that he intended to knock out the Golden Boy and send him into retirement with a loss and titleless.
Mayweather Sr., the Mayweather Jr.’s long-estranged father, and trainer to De La Hoya, after hearing of the decision said that his son’s greed had gotten the best of him and that “little Floyd” is going to receive exactly what he intends to give.
The push in marketing has already begun between one of the sport’s most exciting boxers and one of the biggest names in boxing.
