Wednesday, 29 July 2026 · Philippines
News

Pacquiao, Morales may find themselves on opposite corners again

MANNY PACQUIAO and Erik Morales will be on opposite corners again when Brian Viloria and Jose Antonio Aguirre slug it out for the World Boxing Council (WBC) light flyweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Filipino ring icon, who gave Morales a terrible beating in their rematch, also in Las Vegas last month, will give the blow-by-blow account of Viloria's first title defense to Filipino viewers along with veteran boxing commentator Quinito Henson.

Morales is also expected on fight night at the Aladdin Resort and Casino being the manager of Aguirre.

Viloria (18-0, 12 KOs) won the title from another Mexican, Eric Ortiz, whom he dispatched in the first round.

Aguirre (33-4-1, 20 KOs), a proud Mexican himself, is eyeing his second world title. He was WBC minimumweight champ for nearly four years.

Their fight will be aired simulcast on Solar Sports and RPN-9 starting at 10 a.m. There will also be live viewing on selected

SM cinemas nationwide.

The Viloria-Aguirre clash is an undercard to the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title fight between reigning champ Antonio Margarito and Manuel Gomez.

Viloria, who admits to being a fan of Pacquiao, said he is drawing inspiration from his idol's recent success.

"His (Pacquiao's) victory over Morales inspired me to fight well and show the world the stuff of Filipinos," Viloria said.

The fighter called "Hawaiian Punch" was on deck with Henson to annotate Pacquiao's recent victory over Morales.

But for Pacquiao, it's not merely a case of returning the favor. "I have long wanted to analyze a fight on TV," he said.

Comments

Share your thoughts on the above article by Marlon Bernardino.

Read our community comment guidelines here