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Photo © HoganPhotos.com
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During the past week I've penned two articles on Manny Pacquiao, Manny the great? and Manny "Mr. Predictable" Pacquiao? As you can guess the first article posed the question of whether Manny Pacquiao will go down as a great boxer and the second article questioned would Manny Pacquiao be predictable against Erik Morales throwing the straight left hand too much. As you probably know by now, Pacquiao proved which category he belonged in by stopping Erik Morales in ten rounds.
Saturday Night's fight was billed "The Battle" and it was a battle until the sixth round. Something happened in the sixth round that never happened in their first meeting, Manny Pacquiao started to dominate the action taking Erik Morales out of the fight. Anyone that has followed Erik Morales' career has seen him in wars before, giving and taking punishment, but midway through tonight's fight Morales stopped dishing out the punishment and started taking it all.
A major factor in Saturday's Night's fight was Manny Pacquiao's body attack, something he lacked in the first meeting. Pacquiao was relentless to the head and body forcing Erik Morales to back away something I had never seen "El Terrible" do in a fight. As the rounds went on, Morales' face became swollen and puffy, showing the signs of a beaten and battered warrior. To Morales' credit he was able to manage a flurry now and then but it simply was not enough to keep Manny Pacquiao away, a man who fought as if he was possessed. \
In the tenth round Morales' body could no longer take the punishment, he was sent to the canvas twice, forcing referee Kenny Bayless to call a halt to the match. The tenth round stoppage marked the first time Erik Morales has been stopped in his career.
With Saturday's win Manny Pacquiao has become one of boxing's brightest and biggest stars. Marco Antonio Barrera, who Pacquiao stopped in the 11th round, has gone on record recently showing interest in a rematch with Pacquiao and with that said I'll say this, Marco Antonio Barrera should be very careful of what he wishes for because it just may come true.
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2006
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By Kenny Perrault (January 23, 2006)
