Manny Pacquiao vs Erik Morales

Érik Isaac Morales Elvira (born September 1, 1976 in Valle de Santiago, Mexico) is a retired Mexican professional boxer. He is a former four-time world champion at WBC and WBO Super Bantamweight (122 lb), WBC Featherweight (126 lb), WBC Super Featherweight and the IBF Junior Lightweight (130 lb) divisions. Morales also defeated fifteen different world champions during the course of his career. Famous for his trilogies with fellow Mexican legend three-division champion Marco Antonio Barrera and to Filipino seven-division champion Manny Pacquiao. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest boxers of his generation. He ranks #49 on ESPN's 50 Greatest Boxers Of All Time, a step ahead of Mike Tyson.

Erik Morales was born in the Zona Norte section of Tijuana. So many people think that but he was really born in Valle de Santiago Mexico. Under the tutelage of his father, Jose Morales, a fighter himself, Erik started boxing at the age of 5 and amassed a very impressive amateur career that saw him fight 114 times (108-6) and win 11 major titles in Mexico. In 1993, at the age of 16, Morales made his professional debut, knocking out Jose Orejel in two rounds. Between 1993 and 1997, he quickly climbed the ranks in the Super Bantamweight division, winning 26 fights, 20 by knockout, including wins against former champions Kenny Mitchell and Hector Acero Sanchez, before challenging for his first world title. It was during this time that he signed with promoter Bob Arum.

First fight with Morales

Pacquiao once again moved up in weight class, from 126 to 130 pounds, to fight another Mexican legend, three division world champion Érik Morales. The fight took place on March 19, 2005, at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. However, this time around, in his first fight at super featherweight, Pacquiao lost the twelve round match by a unanimous decision from the judges.

Second fight with Morales

The much anticipated rematch between Pacquiao and Morales happened on January 21, 2006, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. During the fight, Morales escaped being knocked down twice, once during the second round by holding onto the ropes, and once in the sixth round by falling on the referee's body. Pacquiao eventually knocked Morales out in the tenth round, which was the first time Morales had been knocked out in his boxing career.

Third fight with Morales

Pacquiao and Morales fought for a third time (with the series tied 1-1) on November 18, 2006. Witnessed by a near record crowd of 18,276, the match saw Pacquiao defeating Morales via a third round knockout at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

After the Pacquiao–Morales rubber match, Bob Arum, Pacquiao's main promoter, announced that Manny had returned his signing bonus check back to Golden Boy Promotions, signaling intentions to stay with Top Rank. This resulted in Golden Boy Promotions' decision to sue Pacquiao over contractual breaches.

At the end of 2006, he was named by both HBO and Ring Magazine as the "Fighter of the Year", with HBO also naming him as the most exciting fighter of the year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89rik_Morales