Quote Originally Posted by miles
I find it intriguing how so many think Morales is going to get KO'ed again....

We must remember that Morales was more than holding his own for the first half of the last fight and he won the first fight effectively. If Morales can ensure that his conditioning is absolutely on the button then he has the basis with which to make the fight more competitive than the last one. Morales needs to work more on his defence which was shambolic at times last time out, with Manny being able to hit at will. He needs to keep his hands higher and try and move in and out of range effectively. He needs his legs for 12 rounds, so needs to be fit and needs to try and avoid taking unnecesary punishment.

For me, the keys are Morales' conditioning, his mental approach to this and the strategy he adopts in the ring.

The fight is a pick 'em IMO but the popular sway is going with Manny....I though am resolute in not counting out a Morales at the age of 31, who will be fighting from the trenches...

Morales only turns 30 on Sept. 1. Erik is only 2 years older than Manny after all. He actually had a harder time beating the scales in the 1st fight. If you remember back then, he spent a lot more time and effort draining at the weigh-in and even had to strip down to his birthday suit. That’s in stark contrast to the rematch where he made 129 or so on the fist go without a hitch. If his weight issues were gonna give him problems, then they had more reason to pop up during their first meeting.

For my part, what I find intriguing is how a lot of his fans point out what he was able to do in the 1st fight, but in the same vein fail to appreciate the obvious adjustments Pacquiao made in the rematch that have rendered Erik’s blueprint obsolete and almost completely useless. To their credit, Team Pac Man figured Erik out and learned from their experience against him in the past and this time came up with a sound plan for success. It’s now Erik and his people’s turn reciprocate that by upping the ante in the rubber match. However, not only must they figure out what went wrong the last time out, they must also anticipate any new moves by Pacquiao AND spring new surprises of their own.

Like Larios found out the hard way, Pac’s a machine dishing out relentless pain constantly chipping away at your stamina and health if you let him. What’s good for Larios is that he never had to endure the type beating to the BODY that Pac gave Morales. That was the key to breaking down Erik and leaving him open to the head. If he raises his guard to cover his face, that’ll leave him open to the midsection and vice versa.

But it’s not as straightforward going to the body as it sounds. Pac had to show a few more wrinkles in his game that enabled him to penetrate Erik’s defense, particularly his vastly improved right hand and some impressive lateral movement that was many times able to spin Erik around. Unlike before, Erik now had to deal with a quick moving two-fisted target who was picking his shots intelligently and wasn’t always going for broke… and horror of horrors was actually counterpunching! Pac made it a lot harder for Erik to get set up with his own offense and was also at the same time protecting himself a lot better than he ever did (but he still gets hit a lot for my tastes).

If you fail to control the pace by outboxing him, then you’d be in big trouble and Pac clearly has the advantage if he’s allowed go into blitzing mode. And the damage Erik was accumulating only help wore him out and slowed him down further and made it easier for Pac to back him up and pile up the pain as the fight progressed. Pac is one of the best conditioned boxers when primed for a super fight and could sustain that kind of torrid pace, speed and pressure for more than 12 rounds, and he’s displaying a lot more variety in his attacks and an improving defense. When Pac took control of the fight after Erik substantially slowed and weakened, it was only a question of whether Erik could reach the final bell or not.

Pac is a work-in-progress Elite. His boxing repertoire wasn’t as limited as it was when he was a 122 Champ who challenged and bludgeoned Barrera – another legend who was then considered THE featherweight – into submission and he continues to improve with every fight as he approaches his prime. Although as we’ve all seen, it wasn’t always smooth sailing getting Pac 100% ready for his opponents. Nevertheless, he was ready for the rematch and had other ideas from what Morales might have envisioned. For Pac’s foes to overcome him, they must 1st come to grips with the fact that he’s no longer as one-dimensional as they would like to believe and that he’s getting better and better. That way, they’ll know what they’re really up against on fight night and not be caught off guard. That goes for their fans as well.