Morales vs. Pacquiao was battle royale

By outslugging Manny Pacquiao in a toe-to-toe showdown Saturday night, Erik Morales sent messages to both Filipino hero Pacquiao, who moved up to 130 pounds for the crowd-pleasing brawl, and to Marco Antonio Barrera, Morales’ archrival and fellow Mexican superstar.

Morales’ close but unanimous decision victory confirmed the boxing adage that styles make fights. Although Pacquiao dominated Barrera in a knockout victory two years ago and Morales lost two of three bouts against Barrera, Pacquiao’s superior hand speed could not overcome Morales’ size and power advantage.

Asked whether he preferred a rematch – which Pacquiao said he wants – or a chance to get even with Barrera, Morales responded tactfully, “Whatever the public wants.”

The sellout crowd of 14,623 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena liked what it saw Saturday.

Cheering fans were on their feet at the end of the 12-round non-title bout. As much as they appreciated Morales’ daring style, moving forward and retaliating every time Pacquiao rocked him with his best shots, they also applauded Pacquiao’s courage.

He fought the last seven rounds with blood streaming from a severe cut above his right eye from a clash of heads in the fifth round.

Aware of his revered status in his native Philippines, where some 30 million fans were expected to watch the televised bout, Pacquiao refused to surrender to the handicap of profuse bleeding.

“He was a tough guy,” said Morales, who won 115-113, seven rounds to five, on all three judges’ scorecards. “I hit him with everything.”

Morales also got hit with everything Pacquiao had, particularly solid lefts to the head.

Whether crowd-pleasing bravado or bad strategy, Morales suddenly switched to a southpaw stance in the final round, daring his opponent to slug with him.

That played to left-handed Pacquiao’s advantage. He wobbled Morales with clean shots to the head and won the final round.

“I could have taken it easy, but the public wanted a fight,” Morales said.

Disappointed Pacquiao said he could not see out of his right eye due to the bleeding and swelling after the clash of heads.

Of his promoter Murad Muhammad’s signing a deal that required Pacquiao to fight with a different type of boxing gloves than he usually uses, he said, “If we used those gloves, I could have knocked him out.”