MANNY Pacquiao has another shot at Erik Morales.
Bob Arum of Top Rank said the rematch would go on as planned despite Morales’ stunning defeat to Zahir Raheem during their lightweight bout Saturday in Los Angeles.
“Not only do I think that it did not lose some of its luster, now the Filipino fans are going to be betting a lot more money on Pacquiao because they are going to be more confident,” Arum told a post-fight press conference.
The second fight will be January 21 at a Las Vegas site to be determined.
Morales will move back down to super featherweight for Pacquiao.
The Saturday fights were supposed to be tune-up bouts for Pacquiao and Morales, but only the Filipino lived up to expectations.
Pacquiao, 26, scored a sensational 6th-round technical knockout win over Hector Velazquez of Mexico to claim the World Boxing Council (WBC) international super featherweight crown.
Pacquiao fought superbly this time than when he took Morales months ago, showing accuracy and landing with a variety of shots that took the sting out of Velazquez.
After starting slowly, Pacquiao began to connect in the third round on the way to the one-sided victory before cheering Filipino fans at the Staples Center.
Morales got ambushed and his defeat seemed to have thrown the scheduled rematch out of the window.
But Arum made this guarantee while trying to hide his disappointment over the defeat of one of his prized fighters.
