September 10th marks the date that Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao will once again begin a collision course towards each other. The two fighters met in March of this year and battled through twelve bloody, hard fought rounds in a fight that surely will be nominated for Fight of the Year. Before these warriors face each other again they will have to get past their opponents on September 10th. Erik Morales 48-2 (34 KO's) is scheduled to face Zahir Raheem 26-1 (16 KO's), who is best known for his performance against Rocky Juarez in 2004.

      Manny Pacquiao 39-3-2 (31 KO's) is penciled in against tough veteran Hector Velazquez 42-10-2 (31 KO's). On paper, Morales and Pacquiao should cruise to easy victories with maybe a few bumps along the way, but there is never a guarantee in this sport. For every five to ten successful "tune ups" there may be one Lennox Lewis vs Hasim Rahman or on a greater scale Mike Tyson vs Buster Douglas. 

      It appears that Manny Pacquiao has the easier of the two fights. Hector Velazquez is tough, yes, but tough will not be enough to upset the hard hitting south paw. Expect Velazquez to stand his ground but midway through the fight Pacquiao will put the finishing touches on Velazquez to end the fight. 

      As for Erik Morales, Zahir Raheem poses a small threat in the fight. Raheem is a good boxer who likes to stick and move, it's up to Morales to cut off the ring to get his offense started. This fight has all the makings of a possible bore; it depends on how much Raheem uses his legs and how well Morales cuts off the ring. If I had to guess, I would say Raheem will use his legs as much as possible to stay away from Morales but in the end Erik will wear him down forcing a late round stoppage. 

      If both win as expected, they will more than likely meet again later this year; that is, unless Morales moves up in weight to take on the winner of the Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo fight. However, like I said earlier, nothing is promised in this sport and a tune up fight can be as dangerous as a Buster Douglas uppercut on a February night.