Filipino featherweight Manny Pacquiao will fight Erik Morales after a planned rematch with WBA and IBF champion Juan Manuel Marquez fell through. Pacquiao will move up to the super featherweight division to fight Mexican legend Morales on 19 March.
The breakdown of a Pacquiao-Marquez rematch is said to have been caused by the financial demands of the Mexican.
Pacquiao drew with Marquez in Las Vegas last May while Morales lost an epic to Marco Antonio Barrera last November.
In 2003, Barrera was stopped by Pacquiao for the first and only time in his career.
Morales told a packed news conference in Los Angeles: “I had three great fights last year and I didn’t want to take anyone easy coming back. This will be a great, explosive fight.”
Meanwhile, Marquez is hoping to clinch a match with IBF super bantamweight champion and fellow Mexican Israel Vazquez.
Marquez’s management has also confirmed he would be interested in fighting Scotland’s WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison.
