this just in - PACMAN FAVOURED OVER MORALES

Pacquiao will win – Beristain Mexican trainer says Morales not ready to face Pinoy icon By nick giongco IGNACIO BERISTAIN, Mexico’s finest cornerman today and the man who helped Juan Manuel Marquez stave off Manny Pacquiao’s onslaught last year, is of the opinion that Erik Morales is going to be beaten by the Filipino jawcracker on March 19 in Las Vegas. "Erik’s coming off a loss and he’s got one difficult fight coming up. I think it’ll be more difficult for him to fight Pacquiao than when he fought (Marco Antonio) Barrera. Manny’s style is more complicated, than Marco’s, and I could be wrong, but I think Erik’s going to lose this fight," Beristian told the website boxingscene.com. Morales told the largest media congregation Top Rank has ever assembled in the Los Angeles area yesterday that he is "bigger than Pacquiao and punches harder" than the 26-year-old General Santos City bomber who is moving up in weight when they clash at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. "I also have experience on my side for this fight and I think Pacquiao knows that he has never faced someone like me. This is going to be an explosive fight," said Morales, who brings to the ring a sterling win-loss-draw card of 47-2-0 with 34 knockouts. Exuding confidence during a news conference at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel formally announcing the scheduled 12-round super-featherweight match on HBO Pay Per View, Morales, born and bred in Tijuana, lost on points to Barrera last Nov. 27. His other loss was also dealt by Barrera. Still, Morales is aware of what a fighter of Pacquiao’s caliber can inflict. "He (Pacquiao) is fast and punches hard, too. But I have what it takes to beat him," added Morales. Pacquiao did not utter a single threatening word towards his high-grade foe, but made it clear that he is thrilled that promoters were successful in pairing him with Morales. "It’s going to be a great fight, I promise you all," said Pacquiao, who huffed and puffed during his fourth-round knockout of Thailand’s Fahsan 3K Battery in December last year. Pacquiao, who arrived in Los Angeles over the weekend, totes a 39-2-2 slate with 31 knockouts. Top Rank, headed by Morales’ promoter Bob Arum and the M&M Sports of Murad Muhammad, the promoter of Pacquiao, are joining hands in staging the card dubbed "Bring It On." Marquez was supposed to wage war with Pacquiao, but the reigning World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation feather titlist "priced his way out of the fight," according to Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach. Marquez, who drew with Pacquiao on May 8, 2004 before over 10,000 fans at the MGM Grand, had demanded that he be given a purse of $1.5 million instead of $750,000, forcing Arum to pair Morales with Pacquiao