DAY OF SUPER PACMAN

LAS VEGAS — This time, it was Erik Morales’ face, and not Manny Pacquiao’s, that looked terrible after the fight.

In avenging his painful loss to the Mexican last March, Pacquiao knocked out Morales in the 10th round Saturday and gave the millions of Filipinos who watched the fight more reason to celebrate.

Unlike in their previous encounter where Pacquiao was at the receiving end, the Filipino boxing hero delivered the stronger punches this time. He floored Morales twice in the 10th round to signal the end of the bout.

It was the first time that Morales was knocked out in his career (48-4-0). Pacquiao improved to 41-3-1 with 32 knockouts.

Powerful body shots and heavy blows to the head in the earlier rounds slowly took the fight out of Morales who just couldn’t hold on and bowed in the end.

Pacquiao wore the right pair of gloves this time, the Cleto brand otherwise known in boxing as the puncher’s gloves. Morales opted for the Winning brand described by Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach as "pillows" because of its thicker padding.

Pacquiao later said the gloves did make a difference. "Ganyan talaga ang Cleto. Uunti-untiin ka sa sakit," said Pacquiao.

Morales scored with punches of his own, at times staggering the Filipino himself. But each time he got hit, Pacquiao shook them off by taunting Morales to give him some more.

A solid left straight by Pacquiao to Morales head sent the native Tijuana down on a neutral corner. He got up as referee Kenny Bayless counted, only to absorb another flurry that finally put him away.

When he fell on the canvas the second time, it was quite clear that he wasn’t going to get up. The referee didn’t even bother to count, waving his hands to end the fight at the 2:33 mark of the 10th round.

The celebration started inside the ring as Pacquiao’s handlers jumped onto it. Morales stayed on the floor for some time, being attended to by his cornermen and the ring physician. He sat on his stool for a couple of minutes before he was even allowed to stand on his feet.

When Pacquiao lost to Morales last March, he suffered an ugly cut on his right eyebrow.

No blood flowed from Morales’ face during the rematch. But it was a mess by itself. He looked stunned as he was led to his dressing room.

First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, a Pacquiao fan, joined the celebration on the ring.

Later on, he partied with Pacquiao and his friends in one of the clubs at Wynn Las Vegas.

Pacquiao couldn’t handle the smoke inside the club and had to ask permission to leave shortly after midnight. Pacquiao was having steak at 2 a.m. when a couple of mediamen visited him.

Inside his suite, the celebration continued. It was expected to last until early in the morning, since Pacquiao will have to stay up.

The Thomas and Mack Center was almost filled to the rafters with 14,618 boxing fans coming over to witness the rematch between two of the world’s finest boxers today.

The crowd started to fill the arena more than two hours before the main event. The chanting had begun early on between Mexican and Filipino fight fans.

Morales arrived at the TMC at around 6:30 p.m. The Mexican crowd went wild when he was shown on the wide screen walking down the hall leading to his dressing room.

Morales was wearing a blue cap and red jacket, trained by Ricardo Jimenez of Top Rank, and members of the "El Terrible" team. Morales looked serious as shown on the screen.

Less than 10 minutes later, it was the turn of the Filipinos to cheer and wave the flags they’ve brought along. Pacquiao was on screen also headed toward his dressing room.

The Filipino southpaw looked more relaxed, even smiling for the camera with his lovely wife Jinkee to his left. Right behind Pacquiao was his Filipino consulant Jo Ramos and American manager Shelly Finkel.

Both fighters were brought to the venue from the Wynn Las Vegas on board elegant limousines. Security was tight at the venue, considering the great following these two boxers have.

Though Morales was first to come out of his dressing room and step into the ring, it was Pacquiao who was introduced first.