By Ronnie Nathanielsz (photo - Chris Farina)
If their epic encounter at the jam-packed MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 19, 2005 was any indication, the celebrated rematch between Filipino ring idol and national treasure Manny Pacquiao and legendary Mexican Erik “El Terrible” Morales should be one of the most enthralling in recent ring memory.
The fight has all the elements of a classic with two gallant ring warriors ready to pounce on each other to effectively settle the score. Pacquiao is determined to prove that several alleged distractions cost him the first fight while Morales wants to redeem himself from an embarrassing loss to Zahir Raheem. Besides, he is eager to prove that he beat Pacquiao once and can do it again when they clash at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on January 21.
The rhetoric from both camps, not the fighters but their handlers, has added a new dimension of previously absent animosity and has only served to heighten public interest with hot-blooded supporters on both sides going after each other in sometimes vicious language on various internet forums. This, together with the unprecedented hype created by the giant Philippine television network ABS-CBN which reportedly gave rights holders Solar Sports no choice but to move out of its regular slot on RPN 9 and transfer to Channel 2, has raised national interest to fever pitch.
The issue that has sparked the verbal exchanges has been the constant harping by the Pacquiao camp, particularly trainer Freddie Roach and new-found promoter Gary Shaw who replaced the much-maligned Murad Muhammad, that Murad was largely to blame for Pacquiao’s unanimous decision defeat in their first meeting in what Shaw referred to as “huge distractions” foremost of which was the gloves. Roach joined him on this one since he claimed, even before and after the first fight that Pacquiao was forced to wear the heavily padded Winning gloves which Morales favored and not the Cleto Reyes gloves which are regarded as “punchers gloves” and would have accentuated Pacquiao’s awesome punching power. Both men accused Murad of selling out.
Murad who gave Pacquiao his biggest breaks by getting him a crack at the IBF junior featherweight title when nobody was willing to touch the brash young Filipino and steered his career all the way to a memorable battering of Marco Antonio Barrera and the first clash with Morales has flatly denied the accusations. Indeed many Mexican fight fans and trainers and even Ring Magazine’s respected editor-chief Nigel Collins have said the gloves didn’t make the difference while Morales supporters claim that if “El Terrible” wore Reyes gloves Pacquiao may have been knocked out. But that’s over and done with until we see what happens in “The Battle” on Sunday, Manila Time.
Roach carried the fight to the Morales camp in an interview with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today saying “they are assh—es and I don’t care about Erik. I think he’s a jerk and we are going to kick his ass this time..” But even as he cited the issue of the gloves Roach admitted that Pacquiao fought “a shitty fight, plain and simple and Manny and I were both guilty of taking this guy too lightly. We won’t do it again.”
Roach banged away at Morales saying it was alright for him to make excuses that he was sick and had a bad night when he lost to Zahir Raheem but it wasn’t right for them to make excuses over Pacquiao’s loss last March. “Erik Morales is not a nice person” emphasized Roach, adding “I don’t like him as a person and I can’ wait to fight him because I know my man is a better fighter and we will win.”
The only time Pacquiao admitted he was “pikon” or peeved was when Morales and Beltran asked his camp not to make excuses about the loss in the first fight. Pacquiao said “I was hot over what they said but its okay. I accept the fact that I lost but it was not the real Manny Pacquiao. That’s why I wanted the rematch. I will do everything I can in the ring to win by KO or any other way.”
But he had some nice words for Morales referring to the Mexican as a “a good guy, a nice guy. I respect him as a great boxer and a great warrior.” Pacquiao said, just like Morales, that the fight was “not about the money. This is about the honor of our countries.” The one line that somehow endeared Pacquiao to his opponent was when he told a news conference “God bless us.”
That line touched Fernando Beltran, the good-looking manager of Morales. Beltran told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today “that speaks of what a great man he (Pacquiao) is” but took exception to the remarks of Roach and Shaw particularly when they made excuses about the gloves, promoter Murad Muhammad, the rooms, the tickets. “Its always Manny didn’t have this, didn’t have that” he said adding that “there are too many people speaking for him and that is not correct” even as he pointed out that“Manny didn’t say anything. He is a very good gentleman. A classy guy.”
Looking ahead to the fight Beltran said “we look forward as a sportsman to see him in the ring on January 1 and after the fight I’m sure they are gonna give a hug like they did the first time. He is a tremendous person, tremendous fighter. It will be a great fight from the first bell to the last one or someone gets knocked out they are going to be enemies completely but once the fight is finished they are friends.”