Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao seem to be playing a game of “Can you top this?”
After Pacquiao’s sensational performance against Juan Manuel Marquez last May, Morales went out in November and battled Marco Antonio Barrera in what some hail as one of the greatest fights of all time.
But when Pacquiao and Morales meet tonight in a 12-round super featherweight bout at the MGM Grand Garden, they’ll share one common trait: Each needs a win.
Neither fighter won his last major fight. Morales lost a hotly disputed decision to Barrera on Nov. 27 in a near-unanimous pick as 2004 Fight of the Year. Though Pacquiao won a tuneup in December, he managed only a draw against Marquez in their May 8 classic and lost nearly every round from the midpoint on.
“I’m coming to win,” said Morales, 47-2 in a spectacular career that has included world titles at 122, 126 and 130 pounds. “But I always come to win. Whatever it takes.”
While Pacquiao might be the hardest hitter Morales has faced, he could also be the fastest and quickest, and that is the biggest factor Morales must account for.
Pacquiao’s speed and quickness befuddled the great Barrera and led to Pacquiao’s 11th-round technical knockout victory Nov. 15, 2003.
Trainer Freddie Roach said he believes Pacquiao’s speed might be the difference.
“You can’t game-plan for the kind of speed Manny has,” Roach said. “There’s nothing bad to say about Erik Morales, but he’s going to have two fast hands in front of him.”
Pacquiao was barely able to walk after his draw with Marquez. His face and hands were badly swollen, the bottoms of his feet were blistered and he pulled a muscle in his leg.
Yet, as Roach points out, Pacquiao would have had a victory over one of the best fighters in the world if not for a scoring mistake. Judge Burt Clements admitted he erred by scoring the first round 10-7 in favor of Pacquiao instead of 10-6 because he was under the mistaken impression that the Nevada Athletic Commission didn’t want 10-6 rounds.
As a result Clements scored the fight a draw instead of having Pacquiao ahead by a point, which would have resulted in a split-decision victory for the Filipino.
“You saw how many problems Manny had, but look at what he was able to do,” Roach said.
Morales traditionally is a slow starter, while Pacquiao bursts out of the blocks like a sprinter. But Morales concedes he must be prepared for the onslaught and plans to use the jab to blunt Pacquiao’s charge.
Morales is developing a legendary reputation as one of the game’s best brawlers, but said he will be best served against Pacquiao with a jab and patience. He’ll fight a style similar to the one he employed when he last faced a left-hander, Paulie Ayala. In that bout Morales won nine of 12 rounds and revealed the diversity of his skills.
“When (Pacquiao) comes in, he’s going to feel that jab in his face,” Morales said. “I’m not just going to stand there and let him hit me without doing anything back. He will have to pay the price if he wants to come rushing in.”
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said early returns on pay-per-view sales are encouraging. He said the bout is tracking ahead of the 325,000 sales racked up by Barrera-Morales III in November.
Arum said about 900 tickets remain for the nearly 14,500-seat MGM Grand Garden. Arum opted not to bring in temporary bleachers that would have swelled capacity by 2,000, saying the extra seating would have added little profit.
