This Saturday, November 18th, Manny Pacquiao will fight Erik Morales for the third time. These two future hall of fame boxers have already participated is two classic wars. Morales won the first match with superior boxing skills, but Manny succeeded in gaining his revenge over ?El Terrible? last January with a dramatic 10th round TKO. Odds makers have set Erik as an underdog at more than 2 to 1 odds. Morales has been in dozens of ring wars over the years and his losing trend suggests that his ring age is starting to catch up to him. However, since so many people are counting him out, look for Erik to be supremely motivated and in vintage form for one last time.
Pacquiao has also had an excellent training camp preparing for the foe that he has been forced to respect. The score is one to one and both will be coming with their best efforts to try to take the series. There has been some trash talk coming out of the camps of both fighters suggesting that there is bad blood. Most of the venom from the Pacquiao camp has come from trainer Freddie Roach instead of the polite and well-mannered, Pacquiao. Manny might be the nicest guy to ever be nicknamed ?The Destroyer.? HBO PPV is set to televise the event from Las Vegas. The team of writers at RSR offer their official picks for this match up between Mexico?s favorite son and the superstar of the Philippines.
Otis ?3XOG? Griffin
I’ve got Pacman by 9th round KO!!!
Jason Tremble
The rubber match. As long as both fighters make weight, I think Morales knows he must be 110 percent to win this. With Pacquiao’s free-living lifestyle, I believe this is the fight that it all catches up with him. Morales wins by UD.
Jose Antonio Rivera
I think we are going to have a repeat from the second fight that these combatants had. I see Morales starting strong and Pacquiao not backing down. In the middle to the later rounds I see Pacquiao settling down with his punches and start to take Morales apart. Pacquiao wins by 9th round TKO.
Lee Purchase
As I am attending the fight, first and foremost, I want to see a great show like everyone else. Secondly, I would like the fight to go at least ten rounds, to properly get my money’s worth. Third, I would like to see a Morales victory, being a fan of his. I’m quite confident that my first two wishes will be granted, but as for the third? Hmmmmn…..it is hard to bet against someone you’re rooting for, so I’ll stick my neck out and say Morales by unanimous decision. An extremely hard-fought one, at that.
?Bad? Brad Berkwitt
Pacman by UD.
Antonio Santiago
I am looking forward to a more tactical fight this time by the two. They know each other too well and even as Pacquiao knocked Morales out in ten last time, he knows Morales has been defeated by knockout only once, so both guys will be cautious and fight a tactical fight this time. Morales has been reportedly having weight trouble; at the HBO documentary concerning this fight, he was the fattest that I have ever seen him. I wish him the best, but can easily envision Pacquiao breaking through and knocking Morales out in eight. I will be looking for a ride to my uncle’s to see this fight, but I still think it won’t be as exciting as one and two. They both realize the other’s guys chin is too tough to go for a knockout, so they will slow down a little this time. Morales’ weight, however, will prove to be the difference. Manny by KO in 8.
Mike Plunkett aka ?Rubber Warrior?
This is an emotional fight. Morales wants to erase the humiliation of the last fight where Pacquiao knocked him out. Pacquiao carries the hopes and dreams of Filipinos everywhere and wants to climb to even greater heights, knowing full well the historical impact this match holds. The question is, who wants it all more and is willing to prudently carry a game plan fueled with, but not over taken by emotion. Morales has shown less than ideal focus in the last year. It may be too late to pull it all together at this point, for one last war. I lean towards Pacquiao via 9th round stoppage – provided he doesn’t get wild and reckless.
Geno McGahee
Although I favor Manny Pacquiao to win, I do believe that Erik Morales has never been more dangerous to anyone. I see Morales controlling the first five or six rounds by controlling the distance and frustrating Pacquiao, but the weight fluctuation and lack of ring activity along with the psychological edge that the ?Pacman? possesses are going to prove very difficult to cope with in the later rounds. Manny is an active fighter with a huge punch and has been improving. He is the man of the hour and I believe that when the dust settles, we will see the Filipino superstar pounding Morales to the floor again in the ninth round, forcing the ?El Terrible? corner or referee to stop it, sending the great Mexican warrior into retirement.
Dr. Howard Reynolds
Morales is a great warrior, on the downhill side of a marvelous career. Pacquiao is one of the top boxers in the world, at the peak of his powers. This should be an easy victory for Pac Man, knockout in a middle round, let?s call it the fifth.
Richard Hulse
There’s no doubt Morales has trained hard for this one, and will give it everything in the ring. And he does have that well-executed first win over Pacquiao. Nonetheless, I feel Manny has improved since then, as evidenced by the second match, and will get the win here, possibly by stoppage in the late rounds.
Dave Bitar
Morales by Decision. Morales is certainly nearing the end of his great career, but I think the extended time away from the ring this year between the second and third fights with Pacquiao will help him. He’d had a number of tough fights in a row, so the extra rest should pay off. I expect a fresher Morales when he takes the ring Saturday night. He’s already shown he can beat Pacquiao, that he has the size and skill to do it, because at his best he has the ability to box and slug with him. The question is whether he still has enough left in the tank to do it for twelve rounds. Morales has always been one of the toughest and most determined fighters in the sport, and I think he’s got enough left in him to carry him to a narrow decision in what should be a close competitive fight.
Roger T. Tubajiki
This fight is a difficult one to predict. Still, I pick Manny Pacquiao to win by a unanimous decision.
Nathan Nall
This fight will have all the excitement of the previous two, but with Morales a little fresher. By the second round of their rematch, it was plain to see that Morales was not 100%. This time around, he will be. Morales did have to come down from a high weight, but from the earlier looks of it, so did Pacquiao. My first instinct was to go with Manny, but my gut whispers something contrary. I pick Morales by a close majority decision and who knows? We may see a Pacquiao – Morales IV someday.
Brian Wilbur
The obvious choice is Pacquiao here, but I feel that the stage is set for an upset. Freddie Roach and Pacquiao are over confident and will likely not change their game plan from the second fight. Morales has had almost a whole year to reflect upon that loss, only getting more motivated to train each time he thinks about it. I predict a possessed Erik Morales to rekindle his prime form to put on one last great performance in his career. I see Morales winning an extremely close but earned split decision.
