Pacquiao lives up to his word by decking Morales

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao vowed there would be no excuses this time. It turned out he didn’t need any.

Throwing punches at every angle, Pacquiao avenged his defeat 10 months ago and handed Erik Morales the worst beating of his career before finally stopping him in the 10th round Saturday night of their 130-pound showdown.

It was the first time Morales had been stopped in what had been a spectacular career, and it came with a spectacular effort by a Filipino who never stopped punching.

The end came at 2 minutes, 33 seconds of the 10th round when Morales, who had barely risen in time from the first knockdown of the round, was knocked back down with a flurry of punches and referee Kenny Bayles wasted no time in stopping the fight.

“I saw I hurt him every time I hit him in the body,” Pacquiao said.

Morales’ face was a mess of welts and he had lumps on his forehead and head after taking the beating of his career. It was the third loss in the last four fights for the Mexican who had held titles in three different weight classes, but has been in some bruising fights.

“I was tired because of making weight and I was tired because of all the tough fights I’ve had,” Morales said.

Morales (48-4) had beaten Pacquiao in a 12-round decision last March, a loss Pacquiao blamed on problems with his promoter, his taxman and his gloves. He went into the ring this time saying he was 100 percent and that there would be no excuses, win or lose.

The first fight was a 12-round brawl, and the rematch promised to live up to expectations early with both fighters trading freely and landing clean shots to the head. Pacquiao was busier and seemed to win some early rounds through sheer volume of punches.

No title was at stake, but a lot of national pride was in a bout that drew 14,618 fans to the UNLV campus arena, many cheering on their countrymen.

As the fight went on it was Pacquiao’s supporters doing the most cheering as he wore down Morales and landed shot after shot to the head and body.

“I could see he was having problems taking my punches,” Pacquiao said. “I had no problem taking his.”

Pacquiao (41-3-1, 32 knockouts) landed a big punch in the second round, a left hand that sent Morales backward and forced him to grab onto the top rope to stay up. Morales also appeared ready to go down at the end of the sixth round after a series of punches in the corner, but bounced off referee Bayles and stayed upright as the bell sounded to end the round.