Morales dares Pacquiao to retire him
By Joaquin Henson
The Philippine Star 08/17/2006
LAS VEGAS – The real Erik Morales emerged in a moment of transparency, if not weakness, during the recent Wynn Hotel press conference announcing his third fight against Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 18.
Morales was clearly peeved when in a STAR interview, he recoiled when asked to comment on Pacquiao’s reported objective of forcing his retirement.
"Let him tell that to me, to my face," said Morales in Spanish. He added something about Pacquiao that’s not fit to print.
Before his emotional outburst, Morales appeared cordial and civil towards Pacquiao with whom he shared the stage last Saturday in drumbeating for the "Grand Finale," the climax of their trilogy.
But don’t even think for a second they’re the best of friends. Their rivalry is seething and Morales realizes the coming bout will not only be for pride but his survival in the fight game.
Morales’ dare for Pacquiao to retire him exposed the sense of urgency that hangs over the Mexican’s head like a sword of Damocles. He was irritable and shaken up by the thought that retirement will be imminent if Pacquiao wins convincingly.
Morales tried to show a façade of confidence, smiling broadly at reporters and posing for pictures with wife Andrea and their baby son Erik Jr. But whenever he stole a glance at Pacquiao, there appeared to be a look of concern, if not disdain.
But the interview went on.
Who is a better fighter, Pacquiao or Marco Antonio Barrera? Me, he replied curtly.
How do you intend to fight Pacquiao – from a distance or close in? He smiled as if to sneer and said he’ll do what it takes to win.
What does he consider to be Pacquiao’s weaknesses? Again, he smiled and said he’d rather not say.
What does he intend to do differently in the third fight? He said he doesn’t respect Pacquiao’s boxing ability. Morales pointed out he won the first fight because he was in good physical condition and lost the second because he was not in shape. The defeat to Pacquiao had nothing to do with the Filipino being a better fighter – Morales insisted it was because he was not in shape.
Morales vowed to be in his best form for the third meeting and that’s why he said, he’ll win.
On his much-ballyhooed conditioning program in Los Angeles, Morales said it’s proceeding on schedule. He declined to reveal how much he weighs now although his weight was estimated to be in the 145 to 150 range. Morales has up to Nov. 17, the day before the fight, to weigh in at 130.
Morales said there are seven training, conditioning and nutrition specialists working with him at the Velocity Sports Performance gym in Los Angeles to prepare his body for the grueling workouts waiting at the Otomi Mountains in Mexico.
Top Rank Promotions head Bob Arum said Velocity was the same gym where Oscar de la Hoya underwent highly-specialized training for two years. Arum said the press will be invited soon to inspect the facility.
Morales said he watched Pacquiao beat Oscar Larios on TV and wasn’t impressed.
"It was nothing to be excited about because Larios was too easy an opponent," said Morales. "Pacquiao’s win didn’t mean anything because he won without difficulty."
Morales also didn’t seem excited about rehiring his father Jose as trainer. "Nothing new in what we’ll work on in the gym," he said. "We’ll just review the good things we did before. The real key is my conditioning."
Morales’ father was sidelined as trainer after he lost to Zahir Raheem last year and was not in his corner for the second Pacquiao fight.
Throughout the press conference, Morales put up a charade of being a humble fighter, grateful for the opportunity to redeem himself after losing three of his last four bouts.
However, his true colors surfaced when he was posed a difficult question that revealed his irascible nature.
Arum said Morales is a sketch of a perfect fighter to promote because he is a warrior who never says die.
"Erik is very determined and he is anxious to take on Pacquiao for a third time," said Arum. "These two great champions have always given it their all, each and every second in the ring, especially against each other. I expect this third fight to be the most exciting of the trilogy and that’s saying something."
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