PACQUIAO: A KNOCKOUT IS MY GIFT
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 01 Nov 2006
Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao expects legendary Mexican Erik "El Terrible" Morales to be "in the best shape of his life" for their Grand Finale rubber match at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on November 18 because this is a "must win fight for him."
In answer to questions sent by Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today through his public relations officer and Team Pacquiao member Winchell Campos, Pacquiao said that a knockout will be "my gift to all my countrymen. A bonus."
Pacquiao made the comment in relation to predictions by WBC founding secretary general Rudy Salud and former WBC super flyweight champion Gerry Pe?alosa that Morales would be strong for the first three or four rounds but after that Pacquiao’s speed and power would get to Morales and Pacquiao will win by knockout in six or seven rounds.
Pacquiao said he knows that Morales had seen tapes of his fights and knows his (Pacquiao's) gameplan. The southpaw with devastating power in either hand indicated "I always go for a win or knockout in every second of every round."
At the same time Pacquiao said he believes the issue of Morales’ weight is being "blown up to make me feel over confident." He said he expects Morales ro make the 130 pound limit and not come in overweight. However, Pacquiao said that if by some chance Morales weighs over 132 pounds he will take the $1 million penalty and refuse to fight him.
Pacquiao said training camp was going well and "despite some distractions, we are on the right track." He said celebrated trainer Freddie Roach and he were still "working on the right hook to perfection." Pacquiao revealed they were working on some new things in training but added, "they are all top secret now." He said he expects Morales "to come up with new moves too."
When asked about a possible rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera next March, Pacquiao said he was not looking past Morales. He said "right now I am only focused on Morales and I will decide after the fight if Barrera is next. Of course all the fans would want me to face Barrera. That would be a great rematch and I would love to face him anytime, anywhere."
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
By Maloney L. Samaco, Mon, 15 Sep 2025A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
By Dong Secuya, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
Mon, 15 Sep 202521-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
By Marlon Bernardino, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
By Carlos Costa, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
Sun, 14 Sep 2025Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Crawford to defy odds?
By Joaquin Henson, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025