Erik Morales, left, and Manny Pacquiao pose at Wynn Las Vegas on Friday following the weigh-in for tonight's fight. Morales (48-3, 34 knockouts) weighed in at 130 pounds and Pacquiao (40-3-2, 32 KOs) weighed in at 128 1/2 pounds. Photo by John Locher.

For months, Bob Arum has been pounding the drum about the rematch between Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao, loudly reminding anyone who would listen about the scintillating back-and-forth action that characterized their first bout.

The veteran promoter expects a sold-out Thomas & Mack Center and great sales on HBO Pay-Per-View, but Arum admitted he didn't realize how big the fight would be until Wednesday. That's when casino mogul Steve Wynn showed up to welcome the media at the final news conference at the resort that bears his name to help promote the 12-round super featherweight fight.

"You don't get Steve Wynn out to talk about a four-rounder between two guys making their pro debut," Arum said. "You get Steve Wynn coming out, you know you have yourself an event. This is not an ordinary prize fight. This is a fight in which you have the idol of millions in the Philippines facing the idol of millions in Mexico.

"A guy like Steve, who runs the most prominent casino-resort in the world, he recognizes what that means."

What brought Wynn out was the boxers' first bout on March 19. In almost any other year, it would have been a slam dunk to be tabbed Fight of the Year and would have been a strong Fight of the Decade candidate.

But their first fight had the misfortune to occur about seven weeks before the now-legendary brawl between Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales. Finishing second in Fight of the Year voting to Corrales-Castillo I, Arum said, doesn't take any of the luster off the performance Morales and Pacquiao gave.

"Corrales-Castillo wasn't the Fight of the Year, it might have been the Fight of 100 Years," Arum said. "You might see a fight like that once or twice in your lifetime, if you're lucky and you live long enough. But remember back to (Pacquiao-Morales I): How many people walked out of there that night saying it was the best fight they had ever seen?

"We're selling a fight here that is a known quantity. We don't really have to sell. We just have to tell people when it is and turn the lights on, because if you follow boxing, you know what you're getting."

Both fighters said they have a point to prove tonight. Pacquiao wants to erase the memory of the first fight, when he said a slew of distractions and a controversy over the choice of gloves conspired against him and resulted in him performing at what he said was less than his best.

Morales, whom Arum said will make $2.75 million, is coming off a loss to Zahir Raheem in a bout for which he appeared to train very little and was subsequently routed. Arum said looking at Morales that night reminded him of a chubby Oscar De La Hoya in his June 5, 2004, fight with Felix Sturm.

"Morales is a 130-pounder who that night couldn't make 135," Arum said. "People are forgiving him because of his past and because it's not like he got knocked out or they saw his skills were eroded. For whatever reason, and you can't excuse this, he wasn't interested and he didn't prepare. But the people know he has the ability to perform and they know what Pacquiao is going to bring out of him."

That would be punches, and plenty of them. Pacquiao said he expects the fight to be fought at a quick pace from the start.

He faulted himself for throwing too many lefts in the first fight and worked diligently with trainer Freddie Roach during training camp to improve his right hand.

"I'm not just a left-handed fighter now," said Pacquiao, who will make a career-high $2 million. "I'll be there with both hands."

That's fine with Morales, who has lost two of his past three after starting his career 47-1.

"The more the better," Morales said. "That's how I like it."

The doors open at 3:30 p.m. and the first undercard bout is scheduled for 4. The main event is expected to start at 8:15.