Filipino sports hero Manny Pacquiao and Mexican star Erik Morales met in Las Vegas yesterday, formally kicking off their multiple city tour to drum up their hotly-anticipated return bout on January 21, 2006 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Morales-Pacquiao II is an official World Boxing Council elimination bout, with the winner earning a mandatory shot at the WBC super featherweight title currently held by Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico.
Pacquiao and Morales met in Las Vegas at a press conference hosted by Wynn Las Vegas. The two decorated fighters will again meet on Tuesday (Wednesday RP time) in Los Angeles.
The 27-year-old Pacquiao Pacquiao (40-3-2, 35KO’s) is aching to avenge his defeat to Morales last March in what turned out to be one of the best fights of the year.
To show he is dead serious in his training for the Morales fight, Pacquiao will not be in the country to celebrate his 27th birthday on Dec. 17 and the Christmas and New Year holidays with his family.
After their promotional tour in US and Mexico, Pacquiao will return to the Philippines to train in Cebu at the famed ALA Boxing Gym and at the RWS Gym owned by his business partner and Cebu bigtime promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud.
Pacquiao plans to enplane back to December 3 to report for work at the Wild Card Gym.
On the other hand, Morales (48-3, 34KO’s) is approaching his 13th year as a professional with more than fifty fights to his resume.
Morales unequivocally admits Pacquiao is a very tough fighter and that he should give all what he’s got to prove his victory over the Filipino ring icon in their first encounter was no fluke.
“I feel I’m in my prime,” said Morales. “I underestimated Raheem, but I know what to expect from Pacquiao … he’s a great fighter, and I know I have to bring my best.”
Prior to his first bout with Pacquiao, an issue arose about what gloves would be worn for the fight. Pacquiao, along with his trainer Freddie Roach, preferred “Reyes” gloves over Morales’ “Winning” gloves, which are larger and offer a lot more padding for defensive purposes.
Reyes, a punchers glove, could have favored Pacquiao, who is known for his dynamite left-hand.
“Reyes gloves will make a big difference,” said Roach. “Manny is much more comfortable with Reyes gloves, and he is much more confident with them, and that is the key.”
