Pacquiao pounds Morales with third-round KO

Nov 19, 2006, 6:15 GMT

Las Vegas, NV - Manny Pacquiao scored a scintillating third- round knockout of Erik Morales Saturday night to retain the WBC international super featherweight title.

It was the third fight between them, and although it was the shortest in the trilogy, it provided for plenty of action, but unfortunately for Morales it was a quick ending.

Pacquiao (43-3-2, 34 KOs) knocked down Morales (48-5), a former champion in three different weight classes, three times in the bout. The first came following a left to the side of the head with nearly a minute left in the second round.

Morales though came back with some good combinations, only to go down two more times in the third round. A short right, followed by a straight left, floored Morales again. With the round nearing a close, Pacquiao landed another left to the face, sending his opponent on his rear and into the ropes. Morales looked to his corner and signaled he couldn't continue, with the fight officially coming to an end with three seconds left in the round.

The first meeting between the two came in March 2005 when Morales scored a 12- round unanimous decision. They fought again in January of this year with Pacquiao winning via TKO in the 10th round.

On the undercard, Ricardo Torres (30-1) won a 12-round split decision over previously unbeaten Mike Arnaoutis (17-1-2) to capture the vacant WBO light welterweight title. Torres won by scores of 116-111 and 114-113, while losing 114-113 on another scorecard.

Also, Omar Nino Romero (24-2-2) retained his WBC light flyweight crown by fighting Brian Viloria (19-1-1) to a majority draw. Romero was down once in the fifth and ninth rounds, but still managed to keep his title winning 115-112 on one scorecard, while two other judges had it 113-113.

© 2006 The Sports Network