Morales lashes at Roach for comments

In what appeared to be an explosive opening tirade in his third bout with Manny Pacquiao, Mexican ring star Erik "El Terrible" Morales expressed his displeasure on the 'stingy' remarks Freddie Roach hurled against him while the celebrated American trainer was here in the country for the Pacquiao-Larios battle earlier this month.

Roach reportedly called Morales a loud-mouth, nasty guy, who has no respect for Pacquiao and the Filipino people.

But Morales disputed these claims saying he has never insulted a Filipino in his life and that he has high regards and respect for Pacquiao both as a person and as a fighter.

"I have never insulted the Filipino people in my life, to the contrary I believe that they are as well as the Mexican fans who are very loyal to their boxers and have a well grounded knowledge of boxing and they support the sport like few others," Morales said in a report by Fightnews.com

"I have never put Pacquiao's greatness as a warrior in doubt either. I have mentioned in some interviews what I believe are his weaknesses, but I have never said that I don't respect him, because that is not true, I do respect him as a fighter," he added.

Morales also reacted about excuses for his loss to Pacquiao this year.

"Just like Pacquiao had his opinion on why he lost to me the first time, I also have my opinion on why I lost to him last January. For one I was over-confident after beating him so easily the first time and two, I made some mistakes in my training camp that I will not make for this third fight," said Morales.

"I respect all fans and it is insulting to me that Roach wants to put words in my mouth that I have never spoken. If he can't wait to see Manny try to beat me again, just tell him that Nov 18 will be here soon enough. In the meantime, he should stay out of my business and get his guy ready for another war," said Morales.

Morales and Pacquiao hope to put a definitive closure to their epic trilogy when they clash for the third time on November 18 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds under the super featherweight (130 lbs.) division and will be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View.

Pacquiao (42-3-2, 32KOs) and Morales (48-4, 34KOs) holds an even head-to-head record in their past two meetings - both considered "Fight of the Year" contenders - which drew over 700,000 pay-per-view buys combined.

During their first battle in March last year, Morales won by the narrowest of margins, but last January 21, Pacquiao exacted revenge in dramatic and historic fashion, flooring Morales twice in the 10th round to hand the Mexican his first knockout loss in his career.