By Jack Welsh

With the public split over the superb skills of Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales, it is hard to go wrong when they meet Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

Both former world champions promise to contribute their share of all-action that could turn HBO’s Pay-Per-View12-rounder of super featherweights at 130 into Fight of the Year, 2005.

With Top Rank and M&M Sports in a co-promotion, it is the kind of an elite pairing that attracts sports high rollers where six-figure wagers are the rule rather than the exception. Nevada’s legal oddsmakers with its’ national line, installed Pacquiao, 26, former IBF junior featherweight champion and national hero from the Philippines, as a 7-5 favorite.

However, Morales, 28, with his super star status out of Tijuana, Mx., and having won WBC titles at 122, 126, 130, can reduce that price to 6-5 pick ‘em or even money.

Pacquiao, born in Kibawe, Phillipines, has shown throughout Asia as a clever
southpaw with a 39-2-2, 30 KOs ledger, but had only five bouts in the United States since 2001, having turned pro when he was 16 In 1995. “El Terrible’s” ledger is 47-2-34 K0s over 13 years and reads 18-2 in world championships.

The biggest plus in the bio of the surging Filipino was acquiring the services of world-class Freddie Roach as trainer in San Francisco.

Though still virtually unknown in America, Pacquiao won the IBF featherweight crown when he kayoed Emmanuel Lucero, previously 21-0-1, in the third round with one punch July 26, 2003 in Los Angeles.

It was a different story about the name game Nov.15, 2005 when he stopped former three-time WBO jr. featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera in the 11th round at 125 pounds in San Antonio.

In his biggest victory, Pacquiao was pleased with his effort over a legend Mexico considers its’ greatest featherweight champion and also a 2-1 victor over Morales in their classic trilogy. Pacquiao was in the greatest shape of his career for the greatest fight of his life against the incomparable Barrera, out of Mexico City with 57-3 credentials.

“I was really focused for this fight. I knew I was going to knock him out. When I knocked him down in the third round, I did not think he could get up. But Barrera came back and I’m surprised that he lasted that long.”

The mammoth upset earned Pacquiao a shot at Juan Manuel Marquez,
the WBA, IBF chanpion from Mexico City, in Las Vegas, May 9, 2004, at the MGM Grand.

The scenario was incredible when the Filipino bomber dropped Marquez three
times in the first round with TNT left hooks.

Marquez, (42-2) kept rising, boxing sharply to win the third through sixth round and continuing the miracle by staggering Pacquiao in the fifth and sixth rounds. Manny threw the harder punches but Marquez was the busier fighter. The decision was a thrilling12-round draw that left the experts arguing the verdict could have gone either way.

In the official scoring, Burt Clements of Nevada had it a draw at 113-113 while Canada’s Guy Jutras saw it 115-110 for Marquez and John Stewart of New Jersey matched the 115-110 for Pacquiao.

The judges’ ballots also had many observers declaring the Pacquiao-Marquez fury deserved last year’s Fight of Year, boxing’s prestigious honor going to a revamped Barrera when he took Morales’ WBC super featherweight crown on a 12-round majority decision Nov.27 at the MGM Grand Garden before a bi-partisan crowd of 11,162.

Whatever Pacquiao’s admirers expect to see him use against Morales, there will be some changes, according to Roach.

“After those three knockdowns in the first round, Manny went crazy trying to knockout Marquez with hooks. He’s a good boxer and that’s what he wasn’t doing and it let Marquez get back in the fight. Morales likes to bring it to you and we won’t have to be looking for him. You also will see Manny in a much smarter fight. Something he didn’t do with Marquez”.

Roach, a bantamweight contender out of New England before turning to training fighters in the ‘80s, feels Pacquiao and Morales “will be a much more exciting fight than it was for Manny with Marquez.’’

“Morales was 144 when he lost a close fight to Barrera. Erik had put on 14 pounds since the weigh-in. But he will have a big problem whatever his weight in handling Manny’s speed and power. Don’t forget Barrera was able to make Morales back up under pressure and he is much more effective coming forward which he likes to do, especially with that right. When Morales has to back up, it affects his counter-punching and boxing,” Roach reflected.

It will be interesting to see how the quicker Pacquiao reacts to Morales’ often admitted slow foot out of the gate, and be able to refrain from instant war with that vaunted left hook that shocked Marquez.

There are many hunch players betting boxing who might swing to the physical side when they can’t separate one fighter from the other.

If true, Morales may get some extra attention since he stands 5’8” and has a 72-inch reach with Pacquiao still 5’5” tall from his last bout plus a 67-inch reach.

The assumption here is Morales promises to be a lot quicker at first bell than he was with Barrera and should have the useful advantage of being able to punch down on the shorter Pacquiao, who might be struggling to get the inside he’ll need to launch that vicious left hook. Of course, Roach may insist on keeping the weapon under wraps until the fight’s action has a tempo.

If we see a different approach in Pacquiao, as his astute trainer implies, it also seems certain that “El Terrible” will be up a notch or two over that squeaker finish against Barrera, especially if the formers great stretch rally arrives earlier.

Morales isn’t reflecting on the past, and is well aware of his mistakes.

“I felt a little tight early and it really bothered my timing. It came later, but I just couldn’t get my jab off .I know I really gave away a lot of those early rounds.”

Barrera was the pace-setter as he rocked Morales late in the first round and had him bleeding in the nose from steady combinations in the second round.

The fight as still up for grabs after six rounds but Marco Antonio was in front
on scores of 58-56, 58-56, 59-55 at the MGM Grand Garden where 11,162 patrons were cheering themselves hoarse.

In the seventh round, Morales was suddenly an all-purpose fighter, scoring with jabs and salvos to the head and body. He was now looking like the “Tijuana Terror” to his fans by winning four of the last six rounds on two judges’ ballots. The third judge scored the same except in the 11th round which he called even and it made for Morales the difference between a draw and a loss, the scorecards reading 115-113,
115-114, 114-114.

Morales hasn’t been out since Barrera, but in two fights before that torrid duel, “El Terrible” had a shaky start with Carlos Hernandez and Jesus Chavez before getting home via 12-round decisions. Chavez was defending his WBC super featherweight title Feb.28 in Vegas.

With the MGM as the venue, the crowd of 8,094 watched Chavez buckle Morales’ knees midway through the first round. Then Mexico’s icon showed his huge reputation was solid when he dropped Chavez twice in the second, cutting his left eye.

The champion came back to cut Erik’s left eye with jabs in the fourth round. Both fighters were super aggressive in going the distance. There were no more
knockdowns, but the house was standing for the 12th round as Morales showed the way with his accurate, sharper punches, winning the 130-pound belt on scores of
117-109,118-108,115-112.

Pacquiao and Morales, with much respect for the other, have issued no trash-talk about this showdown. However, the pride of the Philippines would do well to review Erik’s post-fight comments: “I was over confident until I got hurt in the first round. It made me much more conscious of the fight. I was more cautious. Chavez was still a complete fighter when I dropped him twice in the second round, so I don’t think it makes a difference.”

In his last outing prior to facing Barrera, Morales returned to Las Vegas July 31 to win a 12-round defense against Carlos Hernandez, the IBF titleholder, in what was a near-shutout. In his media recap of the action, Morales was typically generous.

“Carlos is very strong and a very tough man with a big heart. I thought he brought out the best in me. I don’t worry about all that pound-for-pound talk. That’s for guys who are worried about themselves because I don’t think that way. I fight for the people.”

(Jack Welsh is a syndicated columnist who is headquartered in Las Vegas and regular contributor to Boxing Press, Boxing Insider, Ringsports.Com, Boxing In Las Vegas and other American sports publications.)