Destroyer!
Pacquiao dominates end to trilogy, possible end to Morales

Ringside by Victor Perea, Mike Sloan, Albert Howell
Photos by Chris Cozzone
- FightWireImages.com

In one of the year’s most anticipated match-ups, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, of the Philippines, and Erik “El Terrible” Morales, of Tijuana, Mexico, two future Hall of Fame boxers, met for the third and final time inside the packed-to-capacity (18,276) Thomas & Mack Center last night in Las Vegas.

With a smorgasbord of media attention throughout the weeks leading up to the highly anticipated contest promoted by Top Rank, every distraction, weakness and strength of each fighter had been thoroughly analyzed and laid out for all to read.

Proclaiming that his loss at the hands of Pacquiao, in the second bout, was due to the toll of making weight, Morales enlisted the help of the professionals at Velocity training in Los Angeles. With both father and son fully confident in their preparation for the bout, Morales surprised everyone at the official weigh in, not only coming in one pound under the limit but looked healthier and stronger than he’d had in year.

In the ring, however, Morales proved even more fragile under the heavy guns of Filipino bomber.

A very fit looking Morales entered the ring and—as we would find out later—a very sick with fever Pacquiao met him after a grand entrance that brought the capacity crowd to an inaudible level. At the very first sign of contact both fighter’s fans jumped to their feet and cried out.

"MANNY! MANNY!” filled the arena as Pacquiao jabbed his was around the first round while Morales waited to jump on Pacquiao TO land a well-placed body shot. Pacquiao landed a stiff overhand right with about a minute to go in the first round and Morales countered with a combination of his own that had the crowd on their feet.

Pacquiao moved well and landed a straight left-right jab on target to punctuate a good, yet close, round for Pacquiao.

Trading evenly for the beginning of the second round Morales began to give one of his classic performances, rewarding the fans watching with a slugfest.

They exchanged some more and Morales landed a good three-punch combo that shook but did not hurt the Filipino.

Pacquiao, wanting more of the same, motioned Morales to “C’mon”, with his gloves. Morales began to lunge many counters at Pacquiao. After countering Pacquiao’s straight left by spinning him around and onto the ropes, Morales attempted to pin the man he once conquered using an overhand right-left hook-right uppercut combination.

Like a cornered animal, Pacquiao scrambled to get out of his confines by using a blinding left hook to the head that Morales never saw coming. Down for the first time since their last encounter, Morales took only a moment to compose himself and continue as every single person in attendance was on their feet and vocally supporting one fighter or the other.

Not one to lay down or retreat, Morales, while hurt, engaged the younger Pacquiao, making a strong push toward the end of the round. The two warriors traded with such a furious pace to close the round that it gave the closest rendition of a human cockfight that you will ever see.

After winning the first two rounds, Pacquiao began to listen to his corner and push combinations to the body. Pacquiao landed two times heavy into Morales’ midsection—unfortunately Morales would not back down as the two exchanged wildly.

Chasing each other with stunning foot movement and equally impressive hand speed, Pacquiao eventually earned the bigger payoff when a huge left hand dropped Morales for the second time as his head snapped back.

Beating the count after thinking about the outcome, Morales continued still on bended knee. Pacquiao then unleashed a fury on Morales in his own corner, with a barrage of hooks, upstairs and down.

Unable to match his speed, Morales caved in to the pressure and was dropped for the third and final time of the night.

As the crowd went into a frenzy, Morales lay on his side, staring back at his corner with the look of dismay, then shook his head in disbelief that he had just been manhandled by a quicker, stronger Pacquiao.

Knowing his time was certainly up, Morales stayed on the canvas until referee Vic Drakulich officially ended the contest at 2:57 declaring Pacquiao the victor.

"I felt so much stronger," said Pacquiao after the fight, "I could feel that I was the stronger one from the punches and his movement.I could tell right away that he felt my punches."

Cementing his position as the clear-cut most entertaining fighter in the business, and pound-for-pound best, Pacquiao also became the No. 1 challenger to Marco Antonio Barrera, who was present at the fight, for the WBC super featherweight title.

"I had a lot of reasons to be distracted,” said Pacquiao, was not only battling the flu but an impending lawsuit by Top Rank over an unlawful signing of a contract to Golden Boy Promotions.

“But when I heard the national anthems and the crowd get so loud, I was focused completely on Morales.

"In the second, I could tell he was hurt by my right hook so I kept throwing it. I just felt so much stronger."

Pacquiao, now 42-3-2 (32 KOs), has inked a four-year with Top Rank.

Morales, roughhoused in the loss and now 48-5 (24 KOs), received a standing ovation at the postfight press conference.

"For the first time I think in my career I could feel my opponents power," said Morales, a three-division champion.

"I think it may be that time. I was beaten by the better man tonight. "He was just too fast, too strong . . .

"I did everything needed in camp to win this fight. It just wasn’t my night." -- Victor Perea

Torres beats Arnaoutis in dubious fashion

"Mighty" Mike Arnaoutis thought he had the fight won when it was over.

So did most of the fans in attendance, the vast majority of those press row.

Yet Arnaoutis, somehow, was not awarded a 12-round decision over the powerful Ricardo Torres as two official ringside judges favored the Colombian. Adalaide Byrd saw it 116-111 and Harry Davis had it 114-113. Jerry Roth scored the bout in favor of Arnaoutis 114-113. Fightnews.com also had in favor of Arnaoutis, but by the tally of 115-112.

When the official verdict was announced, awarding Torres a vacant junior welterweight title, the 18,000+ that filled the arena jeered and booed, voicing their disapproval.

The fight itself was nothing to write home about, as Arnaoutis appeared to show Torres a little too much respect throughout the bout. Torres was unable to fully figure out his opponent's cagey defense. Aside from a few scant body shots from the Greek fighter, much of the first several rounds had the crowd in a restless (frenzy). Torres was not as aggressive as most figured he would be, considering his electrifying loss to Miguel Cotto several months back. Aside from a strafing right hand that clipped and buzzed Arnaoutis midway through the third, Torres never truly pressed the action onto the slick Arnaoutis, thus resulting in a dull affair in a fight that had a plethora of potential.

Arnaoutis was the first one to deliver some legitimate damage, however, as in the seventh round, he dropped his foe with a picture perfect left hook/right cross combo. Torres flopped onto the canvas and had a somewhat difficult time getting back up onto his feet. When Torres did eventually pull himself together and was allowed to continue, the wobbly fighter from Bolivar was saved by the bell. Arnaoutis sort of let Torres of the hook once the fight resumed by touching gloves with him instead of pouncing—but, then again, only a handful of seconds remained in the round.

Once the eighth round began, though, the fight’s action quickly exited the building. The rest of the fight saw both men sizing each other up and not pressing the attack whatsoever. The crowd began booing in spurts and neither fighter took initiative to try and win the contest, leaving for uneventful and close rounds to score.

Still, it was Arnaoutis’ defense and boxing skill that appeared to win him most of the remaining rounds in the fight.

“I thought I did enough to win the fight,” a disappointed Arnaoutis said immediately following the contest. “It was difficult to (hit him) and it was very close, but I still think I won.”

Arnaoutis lost for the first time as a professional and now stands at 17-1-1 with 9 KOs. He was unavailable to the press following the fight as he did not attend the post-fight press conference. Torres, who admitted that he could have done more in the tussle, improves to 30-1 with 27 KOs. – Mike Sloan

Viloria and Nino battle to majority draw; Nino keeps belt

Brian Viloria (19-1-1-1, 12 KOs) and Omar Nino (24-2-2, 10 KOs) fought to a majority draw in their 12-round WBC world mini flyweight championship bout. The champion Nino, who was knocked down twice in the bout, retained his belt.

This fight was a rematch of their August 2006 fight at the Orleans Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas when then-champion Viloria dropped a decision to Nino. Viloria looked very flat in that fight and Nino won convincingly.

In round one of their rematch, Viloria nailed Nino with a straight right hand to begin the round, stunning his adversary. Right out of the gate it was apparent that we were seeing a different Viloria than the one we saw in his first fight with Nino. Now we had an inspired Viloria in the ring determined to regain his title.

Round three saw the fighters trading in close quarters. Nino dug hooks to the mid-section of his opponent while Viloria answered with power shots of his own. Viloria connected with an overhand right-left hook his best combination of the fight and one that stunned his combatant.

The first four rounds were all very close in this highly-competitive battle. Nonetheless, these rounds were all marked by Viloria pressing the action and keeping the pressure on his opponent.

Viloria scored a knockdown in round five a round, which he won handsomely. Although the knockdown appeared to be caused more from a push than a punch, referee Joe Cortez ruled it a knockdown when Nino's glove touched the canvas while attempting to regain his balance after the push-punch.

In round six, the momentum of the fight shifted in favor of Nino. Feeling a new sense of urgency after the knockdown in the previous round, Nino emerged in the sixth round as the aggressor.

Round seven was a big round for Nino who tagged Viloria with multiple right hands early in this round. A Nino left hook followed by a left uppercut both landed flush on Viloria's chin. Nino controlled rounds six through eight by landing the crisper, cleaner shots.

Needing to mount a comeback to regain control of the fight, Viloria knocked down his opponent in round nine with an overhand right. Viloria needed a momentum changer and delivered with a knockdown of his adversary.

In the tenth round, the two fighters engage in a brutal exchange; one in which Viloria bettered Nino.

Viloria, who was cut above the left eye in the previous round, seemed poised to cruise to victory during the championship rounds. However, it was Nino and not Viloria who would control the action during the eleventh and twelfth rounds. In the final round, Nino mixed up his hooks with his jabs effectively. A Nino left jab snapped back the head of Viloria. Then, it was a left hook by Nino that landed upstairs.

In an unpopular decision, the judges scored the bout 115-112 for Nino and 113-113 twice. The fight was declared a majority draw and Nino retained his belt.

After the fight, Viloria spoke about his effort saying, “I believe I did everything to win back the title. What were the judges looking at? In my heart I know I won the fight. Omar knows I won the fight. Let's do it again. Let's do it a third time.” -- Albert Howell

Salgado wins decision in PPV debut

Undefeated contender Juan Carlos Salgado cruised to an easy, albeit well-earned, unanimous decision over the game and rugged Marcos Licona.

The six round affair almost ended in the first round when Salgado rocked Licona with a left hook, but the gritty veteran from Mexico City was able to fight through the turmoil and hang on for the entire duration of the battle.

All of the fireworks happened in the opening stanza, though, as the final five rounds were virtually devoid of action.

With that said, Salgado, also from Mexico City, won via tallies of 60-54 (twice) and 59-54, improving to 17-0-1 (13). For his efforts, the gutsy Licona dropped to 23-9-1 (8). - Mike Sloan

Beltran wins by DQ

In a scheduled 8-round super bantamweight bout, Fernando Beltran Jr.(28-2-1, 17 KOs) earned a disqualification victory over Edel Ruiz (27-16-5, 16 KOs), who was disqualified for repeated low blows.

In round one, Ruiz came out strong, connecting with a right hook to the body followed by a left hook downstairs. A Ruiz straight right snapped back the head of Beltran, Jr.

In the second round, Beltran, Jr. started to find his mark after a lackluster start. Beltran looked more comfortable this round throwing and landing more punches.The fight in close quarters favored Beltran and the inside is where they would end up in the second stanza. Beltran forced Ruiz to the ropes where he unleashed a barrage of punches.

Beltran continued to force the action in the third round. And, in the fourth, the southpaw Beltran landed multiple right jabs, uppercuts and hooks. The number of punches particularly power shots absorbed by Ruiz, seemed to now be taking its toll as Ruiz' activity level dropped significantly in this round.

It was an action-packed start to the fifth round as Ruiz caught his second wind and began to press the action more. Just when it looked like Ruiz was climbing back into the fight, he was deducted one point for continual low blows (he had been warned twice prior for hitting below the belt). Shortly thereafter referee Kenny Bayless deducted another point from Ruiz for a low blow. Then, after Ruiz hit Beltran, Jr. two more times below the belt, referee Kenny Bayless called off the bout at 2:00 of the fifth round declaring Beltran, Jr. the winner by disqualification. -- Albert Howell

Vanes continues to win

The heaviest bout of the night featured former Olympian and Armenian-born Vanes Martirosyan in a scheduled six-round super welterweight contest against Puerto Rico’s Edgar Reyes.

After a sharp first half of the round for Martirosyan, continuous running from Reyes prompted the 2000 US Olympian to stop in the middle of the ring and call Reyes to fight. Reyes decided to stop backpedaling and shortly after was met with a powerful straight right that sent him back against the ropes. Big left hooks from Martirosyan landed as often as he threw them. In the second, he’d found his rhythm and landing three-punch combinations throughout the second round.

As in most of his previous fights during his young career, Martirosyan figured his opponent out and was picking him apart before the third. Reyes began to come forward more during the third round and losing every time he exchanged with Martirosyan.

Excellent footwork allowed Martirosyan to make Reyes miss and follow up with flush counter hooks nearly every time. In complete control of his opponent, Martirosyan landed several straight right hands, one of which popped Reyes’ head back.

Answering the fourth, Martirosyan quickly attacked the hurt Puerto Rican with a two-punch hook combination. Reyes tried to dance and feint as Martirosyan smiled and shook his head, landing another straight right left hook combination to remind Reyes who was in control. A monster left uppercut nearly tore Reyes’ head off as a round Martirosyan could have won 10-8 closed.

In between rounds Reyes’ corner wisely decided to discontinue the contest making the winner Martirosyan still perfect 11-0 (7). Reyes drops to 10-6 (3) as he was down 40-36 on all three judges scorecards at the end of the fourth. -- Victor Perea

Concepcion outpoints Hernandez for youth belt

The lead-off fight of the night was the super bantamweight battle between highly regarded contender Bernabe Concepcion and undefeated prospect Joksan Hernandez.

The bout was for a meaningless belt (the WBC World Youth super bantamweight) but the two men put on a show worthy enough to kick off what is the mega fight between Erik Morales/Manny Pacquiao III.

After several rounds of only moderate action, the tiny giants finally kicked things into high gear, entertaining the still-filling Thomas and Mack Center arena.

Concepcion dropped his foe with a short, compact left hook midway through the opening round and it seemed as though the Filipino pugilist was going to end things rather abruptly. However, the tough hombre from Ensenada, Mexico, was able to battle back and keep the fight relatively close throughout, lasting through the allotted ten rounds.

In the end, it was Concepcion's tenacity and late body assault that paved the way toward victory as he was able to secure the win via unanimous decision.

The official scores heavily favored the native of Rizal, Philippines, 96-93 (twice) and 98-92. Fightnews.com also favored Concepcion but by the wider margin of 98-91, though the fight was much more competitive and closer than the scores would suggest.

Concepcion, who improved his professional ledger to 19-1-1 (10 KOs), is hoping to eventually make some waves in the talent-rich 122-pound division and a win over a highly-touted prospect such as Hernandez will only help.

Concepcion still needs some work, obviously, before he starts tackling the elite of his weight class, but he definitely has some potential. As for Hernandez, his game effort wasn't enough and he suffered the first loss of his pro career; he now stands at 11-1 (6 KOs). - Mike Sloan

Fight Scrapped

The evening’s lone walk-off bout between bantamweights Oscar Blanquet and Ernel Fontanilla was scrapped. No official was given as of press time. – Mike Sloan

Bonus Photos

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