Pacquiao is a national hero in the Philippines and wanted to give his fans a hometown fight, so he put his rubber match with rival Erik Morales at risk by taking on former junior featherweight champ Oscar Larios, who came up two divisions. The fight took place Sunday morning in Manila to accommodate a live pay-per-view telecast Saturday night in the United States.

Fighting at historic Araneta Coliseum, the same venue that hosted the legendary third Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight, Pacquiao thrilled the packed house with a tough and exciting victory. Don't let the lopsided scorecards fool you. Although Pacquiao certainly was winning most of the rounds, Larios hung in there and didn't make things easy for him, although Larios was coming off a TKO loss in a junior featherweight championship fight in December and was a big underdog.

Larios had one great opportunity for a possible knockout when he clipped Pacquiao with a huge left hook in the third round. Although Pacquiao was clearly hurt, he quickly gathered himself. He steadily pounded Larios, opening cuts above and below his left eye, and scored knockdowns in the seventh and the 12th rounds, although neither came on a devastating blow.