Pacquiao Impressive In Destruction of Morales

By Geoffrey Ciani: Manny Pacquiao easily destroyed Erik Morales in their highly anticipated rubber match this past Saturday night. It was a tremendous win for Pacquiao. That anyone could be capable of clobbering a fighter of Morales’s caliber with such ease is absolutely amazing. After all, Morales has been one of boxing’s elite for the better part of the last ten years, and against Pacquiao, he was reduced to nothing more than a helpless victim. Indeed, from the opening bell, it became apparent that he didn’t stand a chance against the hungry young fighter from the Philippines..

Boxing can be a strange sport sometimes. In the case of Pacquiao and Morales, we have two fighters who have squared off three times in the past twenty months. The outcomes of these three encounters were all vastly different, but now that this trilogy has concluded an obvious picture has been drawn.

We’ve just witnessed the decline of one great warrior and the emergence of another. In fact, this trilogy perfectly illustrates a figurative passing of the torch.

In their first encounter, Morales was able to box his way to victory. His superior skills and experience enabled him overcome Pacquiao’s swarming style. For his part, Pacquiao certainly had his moments, but in the end, he fought a bit too one-dimensionally to overcome what Morales brought to the table. In a sense, Morales may have taught Pacquiao a valuable lesson that night, and Pacquiao has improved tremendously in the months since.

Pacquiao is no longer the fierce puncher who relies exclusively on his left cross and relentless stamina. As if he wasn’t already dangerous enough, it’s now apparent that his right hand has become a key part of his arsenal. Pacquiao now carries amazing power in both hands, helping to amplify an already stellar swarming style. Thusly, his combination punching has improved, he’s become even more aggressive, and is now a more confident fighter. In light of that, it’s apparent that Pacquiao’s trilogy with Morales has proven invaluable; he’s come out of it even more dangerous than he’d already been.

Morales is no longer the elite fighter he once was. In fact, everything about him seemed off on Saturday night. While there’s no doubt that had something to do with Pacquiao, the things that once made Morales great seemed to be grossly lacking. He appeared considerably slower, had no bounce in his step, and had absolutely no fluidity about him. Even worse, he had no pop in his punches. All of the epic wars Morales has had over the years have taken their toll. All that remained was his heart and his courage, but this time, that just wasn’t enough.

With victory, Pacquiao has firmly established himself as one of the greatest talents in the sport. In fact, a strong argument can be made that Pacquiao is the best fighter pound-for-pound in all of boxing. Perhaps more importantly, Pacquiao seems to still be improving—a frightening prospect for any potential opponent. With his unique combination of freakish power, relentless stamina, and unrivaled determination, Pacquiao will pose major problems for any potential foe.

So what’s next for these two great warriors?

For Pacquiao, it seems the logical next step would be the long-awaited rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera. Since losing to Pacquiao three years ago, Barrera has re-established himself as a premiere fighter, proving critics wrong who had written him off after that bout. A rematch between the two is seemingly inevitable so long as Barrera wants the fight. After Pacquiao’s utter destruction of Morales, it would be understandable if Barrera had reservations, especially considering the result of his first bout with the beast known as Pacquiao.

Barrera is a very smart fighter who undoubtedly realizes that he cannot stand toe-to-toe with a ferocious warrior like Pacquiao. To beat Pacquiao, Barrera needs to devise a plan that relies on boxing and, more importantly, defense. With Pacquiao’s aggressive style and high work rate, this will prove to be a most difficult task. The fact is now Pacquiao is better than when these two first met. Is this a fight that Barrera wants to take at this stage in his career? I certainly have my doubts.

Although I’d never count Barrera out of any fight, I’m hard-pressed to see how he’d keep Pacquiao away for a full twelve rounds—a most daunting task if ever there was one. If the Barrera fight doesn’t come to fruition, a possible showdown with undefeated WBO champion Joan Guzman might be a good route for Pacquiao.

For Morales, I think it’s the end of the line. He’s had a tremendous career that provided fans with many entertaining fights. He was a true warrior who represented everything that was good in a sport that’s often plagued by corruption. It is my sincere hope that he will retire and enjoy life. He has nothing else to prove.

Manny Pacquiao: Why Pacman will Destroy Marco Antonio Barrera

By Ted Sares: The MAB-Manny Pacquiao bout has not yet been made but if and when it is, it will be similar to the second Morales-Pacquiao fight, or at least the result will be. Once again, it would feature one fighter at the top of his game and moving with positive momentum and another who may be fading, though that will in no way harm his chances for future induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. "Pac Man" is going up the elevator and "The Baby-Faced Assassin," off his two fights with Rocky Juarez, seems to have slowed down. Here is how I see their rematch playing out, but first the breakdown:

Height and Weight:

Barrera, 63-4-0-1, stands 5 ft. 6 in and has about the same reach as Pacquiao who is 5’6 1/2. Manny always appears comfortable no matter what weight is designated. For his part, MAB always comes in fit and ready as well.

Stamina:

The days of 12 round brawls with Erik Morales may be over for Marco Antonio Barrera. He can no longer sustain that kind of pace. In his last fight, Pacquiao, who fights with sustained and non-stop intensity, had little trouble with Morales knocking him down three times en route to a 3 round TKO victory. Previously, he beat Mexican Oscar Larios to retain his World Boxing Council super bantamweight title over 12 rounds . He knocked down Larios twice with a series of combinations, swelling his left eye nearly shut in an awesome display of power boxing. Stamina for "The Pac Man" will not be an issue. A big edge here for Pacquiao.

Experience:

MAB had a successful amateur boxing career where he won 55 out of 58 bouts. At 32, he is five years older than Pacquiao but in terms of wear and tear, he may be considerably "older" having fought many ferocious battles against great opposition in his 68 pro bouts. Who can forget his three wars with "El Terrible?" Since turning pro at 15, he scored a number of spectacular wins over a list of opponents which reads like a "whose who." And names like Junior Jones, Kennedy McKinney, Carlos Hernandez, Johhny Tapia, Prince Naseem, Rocky Juarez, Eddie Cook, Jesse Benavides, Pastor Humberto Maurin, Paulie Ayala, Robbie Peden, Kevin Kelley, Jesus Salud, Junior Jones, Jose Luis Bueno, and, of course, Manny Pacquiao dot his resume.

If his opposition's won-lost record were added up, the result would be eye-popping. Significantly, however, his last three fights have gone the distance perhaps indicating that he has become more of a boxer than boxer-puncher.

On the other hand, Pacquiao has 48 fights under his belt (43-3-2, with 34 ko's). Manny has the edge in ko percentage (79%), but of more significance, he destroyed Morales in November delivering a spectacular performance culminating in a devastating stoppage in the 3rdround. In their second fight, Pacquiao was the first to ever stop Morales. Both are warriors who have fought and beat solid opposition.

Chin:

Off his first fight with Pacquiao, there are questions about his heretofore reliability to take a punch. Sometimes fighters grow old overnight and that may be the case with MAB. On the other hand, two of Manny's three losses were by ko, the last in 1999 to the very capable Medgoen Singsurat, 44-4 and against Rustico Torrecampo, 14-8, in1996.This might be a chink in the Pacquiao armor, but I doubt it.

Style:

Barrera is multi-dimensional and orthodox with an edge in boxing ability. He is a complete fighter who can brawl or box with equal degrees of success, but that was true of a "younger" Barrera.

Pacquiao skills have increased considerably under the tutelage of Freddie Roach and that gap has closed. Pound for pound, he may well be the most devastating puncher in boxing today. For his part, the Pac Man, a southpaw, has polished his jab and now includes in his impressive arsenal a sharp and crisp right hook to go with his sledgehammer left. He has incredible speed, endurance, power; the whole package....and he enjoys doing what he does.

These weapons proved far too much for both El Terrible and Larrios. In a sequence of three fights with Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Fahsan 3K Battery, he decked them 9 times. Add two more each for Larrios and Morales and three more for the second Morales fight and you are now up to 16! Numbers don't lie.

Both have high boxers IQ's though Manny can sometimes lose focus but this certainly was not the case on November 18.

Going with the power boxer over the boxer puncher, I give the overall advantage to Pacquiao in this all important category.

Intangibles:

Never count Barrera out of any fight. He has the pure pedigree of a champion and is comfortable within himself. While he may have more machismo than is good for him, he also has superior ring smarts. But he will have to fight differently than he did in his first fight with Manny. If he doesn't, it will prove fatal. MAB has been through many brutal wars in the ring and a fighter can grow old overnight. It hasn't happened to him yet, but it may not matter given what Pacquiao brings to the table.

As for Manny, He is perhaps the most exciting fighters in the sport of boxing. He is trained by Freddy Roach and the two seem extremely comfortable with one another. Manny may have some flaws, but I'll be darned if I can find them. And after all, no one is perfect. Moreover, once a fighter brutalizes another such as Manny did to MAB in their first fight, it has to give him the clear edge in confidence.

Prediction:

Manny Pacquiao has lost only one fight since 1999.....and he avenged that loss in destructive fashion. He is at the top of his game. Can the same be said for MAB who, like a cat, may think he has nine lives? I see Manny dictating the action after the second round, picking up the pace considerably and then nullifying whatever skill advantage Marco Antonio might have by putting relentless pressure on him and then luring him into furious exchanges.

Marco Antonio will soon find out that Manny Pacquiao is no Rocky Juarez. His warrior heart will take over but, as with Morales, it will prove to be his undoing, for it will take more than heart to hold off the incoming, relentless and merciless Pac Man. For the second time, I see him stopping the "Baby-Faced Assassin" but this time within five rounds in destructive fashion.

A Manny Pacquiao comes along only once in a great while. Enjoy him while he is here.

By Wray Edwards: Many fighters from Feather to Lightweight can remain competitive into their middle or even late thirties. Two critical factors which contribute to the long or the short of it are physical and mental battle scars. Having now lost four of his last five fights with ever increasing punishment, it is no wonder that as he sat on the canvass with the thousand yard stare, Erik Morales shook his head in resignation.

Even as he walked to the ring, he had the look of one on the way to the dentist for a root canal. With half-smiles and eyes down he seemed reluctant to even be there. Manny didn’t look much better, but at least had a game face. Here was a guy who had recently been clearly out-pointed by Zahir Raheem, stepping into the ring with, IMO, a rising, top five PFP fighter well on this side of the hill. What was he thinking? Knowing when to quit is half the game in Boxing. It enables one to avoid a senseless beating, especially at the end of a grand career. There are those who say, “He should have gone out on his shield.”

I would much rather see that reality check, blank stare, than have a great fighter sacrifice himself and his future health to the blood lust of the fans, or some masochistic ethic.

Kostya Tszyu stepped back v Hatton. Frazier stayed home v Ali and many other fighters have hit the wall and knew it, or decided to bag this one, and get back to the camp and train better for a rematch. Of course a clean KO avoids these messy decisions, but a series of evermore punishing knock-downs or thrashings which clearly and accurately predict the outcome, should be taken as enticements to use common sense.

Last night’s fight was an excellent example of a professional fighter yielding to the dictum that “discretion is the better part of valor”. Boxing matches are much, much more than just sex and violence. They are, many times, a passion play in which we see, in microcosm, great decisions being made which bear one one’s honor, reputation and future health and wealth. Morales-Paquiao III was such a fight.

ROUND ONE was the usual parade lap as the drivers heat their tyres and jostle with the competition, scraping their hooves in the dirt and snorting. Manny was more aggressive and was exercising his new-found right to good effect. It’s kinda like that first hit in a football game…it chases away the butterflies and sets the tone for action. Pacman took the round as Erik did not seem ready to start fast as pre-fight speculation had predicted.

The first significant punch came with 1:02 to go in the First Round as Erik threw a left and Manny countered with his right over Erik’s arm as Morales re-cocked his left to double up but missed as he fell to his right from the force of Manny’s right. The last minute of the round got things up to speed as Morales began charging, driving Manny to the ropes at times. The first time against the ropes Paquiao did a pretty humorous foot shuffle of which Ali would have been quite proud.

I noticed that unless Erik was in full attack, his arm motions seemed a bit listless, whereas almost every stroke by Manny had tension and purpose.

ROUND TWO cranked up in earnest at 2:32 as Paquiao made his first really furious charge with a four or five punch combination. Erik just did avoid getting significantly tagged by any of them, but from the look of it, it was just a matter of time. After some pretty good action which saw both fighters drive each other across the ring to the ropes making good contact…at 1:11Manny caught Erik with a left just below Morales’ right ear.

Just before that Erik had Manny at the ropes and falling at a forty-five degree angle to his left. Erik misses a left and a right…Manny throws a right which reached full extension before hitting Erik in the face…Erik counters right which sails over Pac’s right shoulder as he ducks forward. Then, before Morales can recover his right guard, Manny throws the sweeping left and Morales goes down on left knee and right glove. Erik took his eight and gutted it out to the end of the round in heavy punch and counter with Manny.

THIRD ROUND’S THE CHARM.

At 2:05, after picking up where they left off at the end of Two, Manny sells a punch to Erik’s mid-section which causes Morales to drop his left guard, whereupon Manny throws a crushing right chin-checker to Erik’s head who reels and counterattacks. At 1:36 Morales throws a straight left at too great a range and allows the glove to drop during recovery from which he tries to double up. Alas his second left was thrown from too low allowing a stiff and fully loaded Pacman right to check off Erik’s head.

Manny follows the retreating Morales with repeated lefts driving him to ring center. At 1:27 Manny throws a right straight down the pipe between Erik’s gloves. The punch folds him up as he reels back from a Pacman half-right which is followed by a point blank left which drops the fading Morales to his right knee and into the ropes. Morales rolls right with his head near the canvass and struggles to his feet. Ref Vic Drakulich checks the fighter during the eight and prepares to reset the match.

Just then Manny comes moving in as Vic looks over his shoulder to get Paquiao’s eye for the restart. Upon seeing Manny moving in before being invited Vic sends him back to make sure Pac’s first move is upon his (the Ref’s) explicit instruction. Then one of the HBO crew (Possibly the irritating white-haired geezer) yells out “What is he doing?” as if the Ref is giving Erik too much time. Thankfully, Manny Steward explains to the dolt that a fighter must remain in a neutral corner after a KD until called out by the Ref, rather than just creeping up behind the Ref’s back before he’s ready to resume.

Back in action, they both let it all hang out with tremendous shots and contact. Erik hit Manny with one shot equal to or better than the blast delivered to Manny’s head by JMM back in May of ’04, which caused the TV image of Manny’s head to blur so much it looked like it was being sucked through a wormhole into a parallel universe. The Pacster walked right through it.

Then, as Erik retreated with his left guard at about mid chest Manny set his left foot and lunged a right which fell short, followed by a huge left right on Erik’s kisser. Any fencing master would have been pleased. Morales went down pretty much in the same place he had the last two times, but this time he drew his knees up, rested his forearms on them in the realization that his boxing career was probably over. At 0:09 he took a deep breath, shook his head and made peace with himself.

The stats showed Manny to have been fully twice as effective as Morales. Manny’s camp and fans were transported by his victory; A great victory also for Shelley Finkel…couldn’t happen to a better guy.

It has been a pure pleasure to watch a scruffy, one-dimensional fighter from the Philippines mature into a world class boxer with expanded skills and repertoire move into the mainstream of our sport. One thing has not changed though: Manny’s focused aggression.

For what it’s worth, IMO Erik should retire. He has been there and done that…so many of us hope you find a new direction and go with our thanks and admiration El Terrible. See you at the fights.