Crimson Crux

(Jed Jacobsohn/Getty images)

Congratulations to Manny Pacquiao for a masterful conquest of El Terrible! You did the nation proud. Manny became the first boxer to send Erik Morales to the canvas; the latter lost for the first time in thirteen years via TKO.

Watch the video of the final knockdown here.

Some memorable quotes about the fight:

“I could see he (Erik Morales) was having problems taking my punches. I had no problem taking his. He never hurt me.” — The Pacman

“A telling moment came in the ninth, when Morales, clearly tired, did the unthinkable: The consummate warrior backpedaled away from Pacquiao, which drew boos from the crowd.” — Michael Rosenthal

“In that crucible of the seventh, the Morales Era in boxing began to wane into history…When a hard combination slammed into Morales face, his nose was broken, his eyes blackened. The Pilipino continued his domination with rights and lefts in the eighth, almost beyond reason, Morales made one last attempt to reverse Pacquiao’s tidal wave domination.” — Patrick Kehoe

“They say that there [are] literally thousands of islands that make up the Philippines. Well, when Manny Pacquiao’s hand was raised in victory over Erik Morales, the earth might have moved a bit with all those Filipinos jumping up and down.” — Pedro Fernandez

Still, hats off to a brave stand from Morales. I won’t forget the moment he embraced Manny, terribly battered but still smiling. What a class act of a pugilist.