ATTACK, attack . . . and attack again.?
That will be the simple battle plan Manny Pacquiao will have when he faces dethroned world super featherweight champion Erik Morales, according to the Filipino boxer?s American trainer Freddie Roach.
?We blasted and took apart [Marco Antonio] Barrera, we knocked down Marquez three times. Hey, it?s going to be real simple telling Manny how to fight Morales,? Roach said in an interview with the website boxinginlasvegas.com.
?We?re going to go right at Morales real early in this fight,? added Roach of the explosive showdown between his ward and the popular Mexican ring idol on March 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On the other hand, Morales told the website that he would not be cowed by Pacquiao?s power-packed punches, saying: ?I know it?s going to be an explosive fight. I?m looking forward to it and I?ll be prepared. Let?s see who is stronger in those first few exchanges.?
It will mark the first time that Pacquiao, who fights in the 126-pound (featherweight) division, will be clashing at the 130-pound (junior lightweight) ranks.
But Roach said he was not worried about ?PacMan,? who weighs 133 pounds, reaching the weight limit.
?We?ll just see where we will end up, but I predict we?ll probably come about at 127 [pounds] or so. Morales is a little bit bigger, but Manny is the bigger puncher for sure,? Roach told fightnews.com.
He added that he was not concerned about the reputed height advantage of the Mexican, who is listed at 5-foot-9, or three inches taller than the Filipino champ.
?They just stood side by side. They?re exactly the same height. If he?s 5-foot-9, and if he [Morales] is the same height, then I?m six feet. He?s a half-inch taller at most, so it?s not a problem.?
On Monday he said, Pac?quiao began his intensive buildup at the trainer?s famed Wild Card gym, working three rounds with punch mitts then five rounds on Tuesday.
?I?m going to slow him down a little bit, and we ran around the hills in Griffith Park. So his condition?s OK?but we have a long way to go,? he added.
Considering the fact the match will be a no-holds-barred affair, Roach said ?We?ll get Manny in the greatest shape we can and go from there.?
?We?re going to have to fight a hard fight. We?re going to have to fight a fast-paced fight, because Morales likes to fight at a slow pace, so we?re not going to let that happen,? he added.
?We?re going to be in great shape, like we were for the Barrera fight and the Marquez fight.?
Although Las Vegas bookmakers reputedly have favored PacMan over ?El Terible,? another boxing expert, Jim Amato, on hcboxing.com, said he sees Morales prevailing in the bout.
?I see a lot of people jumping on Manny?s wagon. They figure he destroyed Barrera and Marco beat Erik, etc?,? Amato said.
He likened the Pacquiao-Morales fight to an earlier encounter between former Nicaraguan world boxing champion Alexis Arguello and power-punching Andy Ganigan.
?Well to me styles make fights. This fight takes me back to a bout several years ago between a feared puncher named Andy Ganigan (Pac) versus Alexis Arguello (Morales),? Amato said.
?Alexis had all the physical advantages, height, reach, etc… He weathered Ganigan?s early storm. He eventually broke him down and won by a KO, I believe in the sixth round,? he added.
?Morales is great but he is no Arguello, and I know Pac is a cut above Ganigan. I just see the battle between Arguello and Ganigan as a blueprint to a Morales victory. That is why I am picking Erik.?
On the other hand, Ring Magazine, the bible of boxing, released it latest pound-for-pound rankings on Wednesday and ranked Pacquiao No. 5 overall, besting Juan Manuel Marquez (No. 6) and Marco Antonio Barrera (No. 7).
Significantly Ring ranked Morales at No. 8 in the ratings, topped by world middleweight titlist Bernard Hopkins.
