The Grand Finale
 By Vikram Birring (Nov 27, 2006) Photo © German Villasenor
If one took all the positive aspects of the sport of boxing and put them into two words, they would read ‘Manny Pacquiao.’ Since bursting on the American boxing scene five years ago, he has accumulated an appeal beyond his millions of adoring fans in the Philippines. His fiery style keeps fans standing yet his speed and power usually place his opponents in the opposite posture. Seated on the canvas.
Life was not always this good for the ‘Pac-Man.’ HBO expert analyst Larry Merchant stated that Pacquiao once sold stolen cigarettes on the streets of Manila to get by. Seemingly, the greatest of fighters come from deprived upbringings and Pacquiao is no different.
Pacquiao began his career in the Philippines, and even early on, commentators drew comparisons between him and the great Gabriel ‘Flash’ Elorde. But it was not until 2001, when he received a chance on only two weeks notice, in which he got a shot to fight in the United States. His opponent: boxing wizard Lehlohonolo Ledwaba of South Africa.
Ledwaba was on the undercard of Lennox Lewis' Undisputed Heavyweight Championship defense against Hasim Rahman in South Africa and appeared brilliant in a victory against Carlos Contreras. Coming into his fight against
Pacquiao, Ledwaba was heavily favored. But the oddsmakers are not always correct and this is why they have the fights.
Pacquiao decimated Ledwaba in six brutal rounds and a star was born. In the next two years, he defeated all who stepped in his way (with the exception of a draw against the late Agapito Sanchez). On the fifteenth day of November 2003, he truly cemented his place on the boxing map when he handed the legendary Mexican champion (and universally recognized World Featherweight Champion) Marco Antonio Barrera a vicious 11-round thrashing in San Antonio, Texas. Nobody had ever beaten Barrera like that. Manny Pacquiao was for real.
Erik ‘El Terrible’ Morales grew up in the Northern Zone of Tijuana, Mexico; a place no better than the streets of Manila. A town of infamy, it is known for being the biggest drug and prostitution center in all of Mexico.
Jose Morales was once a fighter and he never wanted his son Erik to follow the same path. However, soon after his son turned professional, his father realized that Erik was something special and he would have a career that would easily eclipse his own.
Erik Morales won his first 35 bouts, defeating excellent fighters such as Daniel Zaragoza, Junior Jones, Wayne McCullough and Marco Antonio Barrera. By the time he faced Pacquiao in March of 2005, he was a rugged veteran of the warrior ilk; his trilogy against Barrera forever solidified in the annals of boxing history.
On March 19, 2005, Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao faced each other in phase one of their own soon-to-be trilogy. In a truly entertaining affair, Morales used his superior boxing skills to win a narrow unanimous decision over Pacquiao.
After the fight, Pacquiao's camp had a slew of reasons for defeat: a bad cut suffered in the fight, soft gloves contractually mandated by the Morales camp, poor quality socks and promotional distractions. Some of the reasoning seemed valid, and it was such a good fight that they would meet again.
On January 21, 2006, Pacquiao and Morales met for the second time. This time, it was the same toe-to-toe battle but somewhere in the middle rounds, Pacquiao slowly turned the momentum of the fight in his favor. Morales gave the appearance of an old fighter in his corner, weary and fatigued. Pacquiao knocked him out in the tenth round to add yet another kill to his growing collection of legendary knockout victims.
Finally, a third matchup was scheduled for November 18: The Grand Finale. Morales asked for one more chance and Pacquiao wanted the trilogy victory to move on to bigger and better things. Morales trained eight weeks with the renowned Velocity sports training group in Los Angeles before heavy training in the Otomi Mountains of Mexico. Pacquiao trained in the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles with Freddie Roach for eight weeks.
Many questions swirled around Morales' weight but he made weight easily, as did Pacquiao. The real questions would be answered in the ring. By the day of the fight, Pacquiao was the favorite in the Las Vegas casinos.
The crowd of 18,726 in the Thomas and Mack Arena was electric as the fighters entered the arena. Morales entered first, with a Mexican band playing a song on his way to the ring. Mexican flags appeared everywhere in the crowd; the Morales contingent still believed in their fighter.
Pacquiao came out next, to one of his own songs. In the Philippines, he is not just a fighter, but a movie and recording star as well. Filipino flags now flew throughout the crowd and the Pacquiao contingent somehow sounded even louder than the Morales crowd.
The fight finally started and every fan stood on his or her toes anticipating the action that lay ahead. It only took seconds for the action to start as the same gripping drama of their first two fights was displayed again. Pacquiao would flurry with unbelievable speed and Morales would respond in tirades of anger. Both fighters were coming straight forward. This would be a battle of wills.
In the second round, Pacquiao put Morales down with a straight left hand. Morales's left knee buckled and he careened into the ropes. The proud warrior got up and immediately started fighting Pacquiao again.
In the third, Pacquiao landed ‘Manila Ice,’ his vaunted right hook, the newest weapon in his arsenal (developed after the first Morales fight) and stunned Morales. Pacquiao threw furious combinations and put Morales down again. Morales got up and attempted to take the fight to Pacquiao but the Filipino bomber sensed the end was near and went in for the kill.
Another left cross sent Morales to the deck for the third time and this time Morales' face showed a look it never had before, intriguing yet sad. He sat calm on the canvas but showed no desire to get up, as Mike Tyson had against Danny Williams two years ago. Morales was not just losing the match physically, but mentally as well. His warrior spirit was gone; Manny Pacquiao had beaten the fight out of the Tijuana legend.
Morales stayed down, shaking his head. Why get up to get pummeled more? The ending was a foregone conclusion and Morales saved himself further punishment as referee Vic Drakulich counted him out at two minutes, 57 seconds of the third round. Pacquiao's fans erupted with the chant of "Manny, Manny, Manny!" The chant went on for several minutes as the fans stuck around to show their idol appreciation for his efforts.
In a fight of only three rounds, Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales gave the fans more to cheer about in nine minutes than the rest of the sport had in the previous ten-and-a-half months.
And what a Grand Finale it was.
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