Manny Pacquiao vs. Erik Morales: Never Ending Buzz

01.10.06 – By David Powell: I have never seen two fighters with this much excitement and anticipation for their upcoming bout. It reminds me of the hype I felt before Oscar De La Hoya vs. Trinidad and Tommy Hearns vs. Marvin Hagler. We’re still two months away from the actual bout and every day when you look at the net, there’s always news coming out from both camps.

Most of the news are mainly coming from the Pacquiao camp. Pacquiao does not only bring excitement to the ring, but he also brings them outside the ring with his never ending saga with promoters and managers. Years back, his struggle with former promoter Murad Muhamad was well documented prior to the first Erik Morales camp. Now, Pacquiao is hunted by questions about his signing with Golden Boy Promotion.

Of course this fight wouldn’t be anything without their loyal fans. Either camp has its own share of fanatics. If one search any forum, it’s more than likely that you will find debate between these two die hard fans. Some have turned into extreme fanatics. The fight does not stop in the ring; it continues in the world of internet forums.

The first fight did not disappoint to the hype. It was a classic example of boxer vs. brawler. Morales used his left hand jab to keep his distance and to set up his right hand. Meanwhile, Pacquiao with a go for broke mentality charged forward like a raging bull with one impaired vision, thanks to an accidental head butt caused in the 5th round.

The second fight did not disappoint as well. Pacquiao improved his arsenal and added a well trained right hook to the fight. For the first five rounds, Morales was winning rounds but Pacquiao was slowly dissecting Morales’ body. In the sixth round, Pacquiao gave Morales the most brutal beating ever. From then on, Pacquiao picked his shot while a tired Morales fought solely on heart. Manny went on to TKO him in round 10 and became the hottest star in boxing and hottest star in his home country.

I don’t expect anything less comes November 18. Some boxing scribes are quick to write off Morales but not this one. Morales has so much pride and courage that I cannot see him having a sub par performance. However, Manny Pacquiao’s skills and confidence are in all time high as of right now. It would be hard to bet against the young lion.