MORALES vs. PACQUIAO 2

[JAbad28]

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The Battle, Morales vs. Pacquiao 2

Their first battle was an epic. Now Morales and Pacquiao meet again to kick off the new year. Saturday, January 21, 2006. Live on Pay-Per-View.

Las Vegas, NV - The super featherweight division's two most powerful forces -- three-time world champion Erik "El Terrible" Morales and two-time world titlist Manny "Pac Man" Pacquiao collide again in "The Battle!" -- the sequel to their exciting March 19, 2005 championship fight. Morales vs. Pacquiao 2, for the WBC International super featherweight title, takes place on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2006, at the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Wynn Las Vegas, 'The Battle' -- Morales vs. Pacquiao 2 -- will be broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View.

"This is what boxing is all about - two great champions who always give it their all, each and every second in the ring," said Bob Arum of Top Rank.

"It's great to kick off 2006 with a fight as exciting as the rematch between Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao," said Mark Taffet, HBO Senior Vice President of Sports Operators and Pay-Per-View. "January 21 figures to be an action-filled, quality night for pay-per-view boxing fans."

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I don’t think he’s going to learn how to do it any better than from the first time. His problem is not going forward because he is good coming forward. But his problem is going backward and that is what I will do, back up Pacquiao all night long.

- Erik Morales

HBO PPV.com

Morales, 48-3, 34 KOs, of Tijuana, and Pacquiao, 40-3-2, 31 KOs of The Philippines, are world-rated No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, by the WBC.

Morales is universally regarded as one of the best boxers in the world and has fought in sensational battles for years. The former WBC super bantamweight champion, two-time WBC featherweight champion and WBC super featherweight champion, Morales became the second fighter from Mexico to win world titles in three weight divisions - Julio Cesar Chavez was the first.

Morales' Hall of Fame caliber resume boasts victories over Marco Antonio Barrera, Carlos Hernandez, Jesus 'El Matador' Chavez, Guty Espadas, Paulie Ayala, Injin Chi, Kevin Kelley, Wayne McCullough, Junior Jones, Jose Luis Bueno, Daniel Zaragoza and Hector Acero-Sanchez.

On March 19, Morales scored a scorching points victory over Pacquiao in a riveting bout before 14,623 frenzied fans in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao started fast and furious against Morales in a battle which brought fight fans to their feet many times. Pacquiao won the first and third rounds on all scorecards as Morales weathered a huge firestorm.

Pacquiao won the seventh round on two scorecards and swept the ninth and 12th rounds. Morales won the fight by the narrowest of margins, 115-113 on all scorecards.

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Outside of the ring, I respect Morales very much. But once inside the ring, I don’t respect him. I will control him with my jab this time around. On January 21, you will see the real Manny Pacquiao.

- Manny Pacquiao

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"They told me he was fast and that he was a tough guy," said Morales. "He sure was…."

Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach contended his fighter was hampered by the use of the wrong gloves.

"We had to use a certain brand according to our contract," Roach said. "That's not the case this time. We're using Reyes, a punchers glove."

Pacquiao is a phenomenal performer in the ring having fought at a championship level for years. An aggressive left-handed slugger, Pacquiao is recognized as one of the hardest punchers at any weight. He is 14-1-2 in his last 17 bouts, with all wins by knockout including a sensational stoppage of Marco Antonio Barrera.

Morales vs. Pacquiao tickets are priced at $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50.

The Morales vs. Pacquiao 2 pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 pm ET/ 6 pm PT, on January 21, has a suggest retail price of $44.95, will be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to over 50 million homes.

GO PACQUIAO!!!!!!!

January 21, 2006 9PM ET!

**This is the rematch of the first PACQUIAO vs. MORALES fight which was great! MORALES won that one. It's on HBO so this is going to be a historical fight! Go and watch it!

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Yeah this should be a great fight.

Hopefully this time around Pacquiao will not get robbed of the match like he did last time.

I might even pay for this one that is how good I think it is going to be.

Thanks for the heads up, I truly had no idea until I read this.

[JAbad28]

Yeah, I have been waiting for this, forever. Since I am filipino I am rooting for PACQUIAO, I hope he wins this time.

I am going to my friends house to watch this fight.

[Forevame7189]

Yeah, I have been waiting for this, forever. Since I am filipino I am rooting for PACQUIAO, I hope he wins this time.

I am going to my friends house to watch this fight.

Hell, my dad is even considering for paying for this fight.

[JAbad28]

He should, it's going to be great!

[mattmatik]

There's a string of good fights coming up, starting with this one. I think Pacquiao is going to be too much for Morales but I'm going for Morales. I've always enjoyed watching Erik fight, I hope he can get himself back to where he was when he was fighting Barerra.

I'm really looking forward to the Mosley-Vargas fight though. Shane has always been one of my favorite fighters and I've always hated Vargas. Should be a great fight. Mayweather-Judah should be tough because of Mayweather's jump in weight class. And Mayorga-De La Hoya has potential to be great if both guys show up in top form.

Too bad there aren't many great heavyweights around nowdays. Seems like every other weight class is gaining in popularity while heavyweights are severely lacking.

[saotome6]

There's a string of good fights coming up, starting with this one. I think Pacquiao is going to be too much for Morales but I'm going for Morales. I've always enjoyed watching Erik fight, I hope he can get himself back to where he was when he was fighting Barerra.

I'm really looking forward to the Mosley-Vargas fight though. Shane has always been one of my favorite fighters and I've always hated Vargas. Should be a great fight. Mayweather-Judah should be tough because of Mayweather's jump in weight class. And Mayorga-De La Hoya has potential to be great if both guys show up in top form.

Too bad there aren't many great heavyweights around nowdays. Seems like every other weight class is gaining in popularity while heavyweights are severely lacking.

Go Morales!!! :yes:

And yea I agree

I'm really looking forward to the Mosley-Vargas fight. I have actually meet Mosley, When I was living in california. He used to kick it and play b-ball with some friends of him At a middle school.

[teejaydm]

Go Morales!!! :yes:

And yea I agree

I'm really looking forward to the Mosley-Vargas fight. I have actually meet Mosley, When I was living in california. He used to kick it and play b-ball with some friends of him At a middle school.

He lost though

[JAbad28]

Yeah, lol. He did lose, I was waiting for the fight since the 2nd fight of the 4... He got knocked out the 10th round!! He has been knocked down once in his career, and he says that there likely won't be a 3rd rematch, lol. Guess he want's to clear his head with the big beating he took! LOL.

Hope there is a third, I look forward to it.

[digipoi]

That was a great fight, almost didnt buy it since you had to spend all of your money on a card with just a main event. The undercard was horrible.

Pacman's accurate left hand and body work made the difference in this fight. He took advantage of Erik's inability to fight at 130 anymore. Normally Morales could carry his stamina to the end but this time his previous step up in weight to 135 really hurt him. Morales look like a shot fighter.

The fights Im looking forward to in the future would have to Jeff Lacy vs. Joe Calzaghe to unify two of the three super middleweight titles. Both men are undefeated in their careers, should be a great fight. Im also looking forward to the James Toney vs. Hasim Rahman for the heavyweight title. As much as I hate the heavyweight division, I like watching a blown up middleweight beating them all up.

Someone mentioned Judah vs. Mayweather. Judah's a punk who got whipped by a 16-1 underdog two weeks ago yet still slated to fight another overpriced punk in Mayweather. If that fight materializes it will probably be boring, but look to Judah doing another chicken dance.

[digipoi]

Wheres all the boxing fans? Football is so overated, you guys need to watch real sports.

[quigley0]

Wheres all the boxing fans? Football is so overated, you guys need to watch real sports.

lol. I like boxing, but it needs a SERIOUS overhaul. The sport oozes corruption, has WAY to many belts, and you have to pay $50 to see a match.

I just watched 2 NFL playoff games, for........ FREE!!

well, not really. I pay for cable. addicted to HDTV. But, it isn't ANOTHER $50 on top of everything else.

Boxing has SOOOO much potential, but it needs a SERIOUS overhaul before i consider it a "real" sport