ILS1
03-20-2005, 01:43 AM
LAS VEGAS -- Manny Pacquiao fought desperately with blood flowing down his face from a bad cut over his right eye. Against another fighter it may have been enough, but Erik Morales was not just another fighter.
Morales, fighting with the cool precision of a champion who has been there many times before, got the better of Pacquiao with jabs and big right hands Saturday night to win a close but unanimous decision in their 130-pound showdown.
No title was at stake, but there was plenty of national pride. Pacquiao is a national hero in the Philippines while Morales is revered in Mexico, and between the two they drew a sellout crowd of 14,623 to the MGM Grand hotel to see them brawl.
They didn't disappoint, going after each other from the opening bell in a fight that grew in intensity after Pacquiao was cut in the fifth round when he was hit with a right hand and the two boxers clashed heads.
Though blood flowed in his eye, Pacquiao fought gallantly and the two fighters went toe-to-toe in a frenetic 12th round that had the crowd standing and cheering.
All three judges had Morales the winner, but not by much. He won 115-113 on the ringside scorecards, while The Associated Press had Morales ahead 116-112.
"He was a tough guy. I hit him with everything," Morales said. "I knew the guy was quick. I knew boxing would be the key because he was so fast."
It was the first fight at 130 pounds for Pacquiao, and Morales appeared to be both the bigger fighter and the bigger puncher. Pacquiao fought inside with flurries, but it was the right hand of Morales (48-2) that was the big punch in the fight.
Still, Pacquiao landed effectively with both hands himself and he kept punching and coming forward and in the 12th round seemed to be landing the bigger punches.
"It was a close fight with a lot of close rounds," Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach said. "Morales landed the bigger punches but Manny landed more combinations."
Pacquiao blamed the loss on having to wear a different type of gloves than he usually uses. He wore them because his promoter, Murad Muhammad, signed a deal for his fighter to wear them.
Neither fighter went down, but it wasn't because of a lack of effort. They brawled at a relentless pace that brought back memories of Morales' three fights with Marco Antonio Barrera.
"I tried my best," Pacquiao said.
Morales kept his left jab on the cut over Pacquiao's eye, but said he didn't think the fight would be stopped.
"I wasn't focused on them stopping the fight," he said. "I wanted to punish him."
Pacquiao came into the ring as a slight favorite and wasted no time in going after Morales, who is generally a slow starter. But Morales fought back with right hands midway through the round, gesturing to Pacquiao as if the fight had just begun.
Morales was getting the better of Pacquiao with hard right hands in the early rounds, but Pacquiao landed good combinations of his own and the fight went back and forth with good ebb and flow.
Pacquiao (39-3-2) came into the ring with the weight of his country on his slight shoulders. Some 30 million people in the Philippines were expected to watch the fight on live television, and the husband of the country's president and many members of its congress traveled to Las Vegas for the fight.
The fight was more intriguing because of the common opponent the two boxers faced. Morales beat Barrera once and lost two close decisions to him, while Pacquiao stopped Barrera in the 11th round of their 2003 fight.
Morales had far more experience in title fights, winning 18 of 20, and held titles in three different weight classes. Pacquiao, meanwhile, was moving up to 130 pounds after a career that began at 106 pounds.
In another title fight on the card, Martin Castillo of Mexico retained his WBA 115-pound title with a unanimous decision over Eric Morel (35-2) of Puerto Rico. Castillo (28-1) won 119-109 on all three ringside scorecards in his second title defense.
Fight (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2017471)
Morales, fighting with the cool precision of a champion who has been there many times before, got the better of Pacquiao with jabs and big right hands Saturday night to win a close but unanimous decision in their 130-pound showdown.
No title was at stake, but there was plenty of national pride. Pacquiao is a national hero in the Philippines while Morales is revered in Mexico, and between the two they drew a sellout crowd of 14,623 to the MGM Grand hotel to see them brawl.
They didn't disappoint, going after each other from the opening bell in a fight that grew in intensity after Pacquiao was cut in the fifth round when he was hit with a right hand and the two boxers clashed heads.
Though blood flowed in his eye, Pacquiao fought gallantly and the two fighters went toe-to-toe in a frenetic 12th round that had the crowd standing and cheering.
All three judges had Morales the winner, but not by much. He won 115-113 on the ringside scorecards, while The Associated Press had Morales ahead 116-112.
"He was a tough guy. I hit him with everything," Morales said. "I knew the guy was quick. I knew boxing would be the key because he was so fast."
It was the first fight at 130 pounds for Pacquiao, and Morales appeared to be both the bigger fighter and the bigger puncher. Pacquiao fought inside with flurries, but it was the right hand of Morales (48-2) that was the big punch in the fight.
Still, Pacquiao landed effectively with both hands himself and he kept punching and coming forward and in the 12th round seemed to be landing the bigger punches.
"It was a close fight with a lot of close rounds," Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach said. "Morales landed the bigger punches but Manny landed more combinations."
Pacquiao blamed the loss on having to wear a different type of gloves than he usually uses. He wore them because his promoter, Murad Muhammad, signed a deal for his fighter to wear them.
Neither fighter went down, but it wasn't because of a lack of effort. They brawled at a relentless pace that brought back memories of Morales' three fights with Marco Antonio Barrera.
"I tried my best," Pacquiao said.
Morales kept his left jab on the cut over Pacquiao's eye, but said he didn't think the fight would be stopped.
"I wasn't focused on them stopping the fight," he said. "I wanted to punish him."
Pacquiao came into the ring as a slight favorite and wasted no time in going after Morales, who is generally a slow starter. But Morales fought back with right hands midway through the round, gesturing to Pacquiao as if the fight had just begun.
Morales was getting the better of Pacquiao with hard right hands in the early rounds, but Pacquiao landed good combinations of his own and the fight went back and forth with good ebb and flow.
Pacquiao (39-3-2) came into the ring with the weight of his country on his slight shoulders. Some 30 million people in the Philippines were expected to watch the fight on live television, and the husband of the country's president and many members of its congress traveled to Las Vegas for the fight.
The fight was more intriguing because of the common opponent the two boxers faced. Morales beat Barrera once and lost two close decisions to him, while Pacquiao stopped Barrera in the 11th round of their 2003 fight.
Morales had far more experience in title fights, winning 18 of 20, and held titles in three different weight classes. Pacquiao, meanwhile, was moving up to 130 pounds after a career that began at 106 pounds.
In another title fight on the card, Martin Castillo of Mexico retained his WBA 115-pound title with a unanimous decision over Eric Morel (35-2) of Puerto Rico. Castillo (28-1) won 119-109 on all three ringside scorecards in his second title defense.
Fight (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2017471)