THE first time Manny Pacquiao went into a trilogy, he scored two wins against one defeat.  That was against Erik Morales.

OK, you want some history?

When their first fight was sealed, the entire Filipino nation had qualms.  Many thought Pacquiao had no chance against Morales.  Everybody was on pins and needles.

And for good reason.

Morales was at the top of his game.

He was the living legend of Mexico.

He had beaten the other living legend of his time, his own countryman, Marco Antonio Barrera.

Morales was monikered “El Terrible” because, simply, he was just that:  Terrible.

If pundits said Morales would bamboozle Pacquiao, they were justified.

The oddsmakers in Las Vegas and virtually even all of London’s bookmakers favored Morales to defeat Pacquiao by a mile.

But they all had the biggest scare of their lives.

In that initial skirmish in 2005, Pacquiao gave a good accounting of himself.

In fact, he was doing well in the early goings.  Pacquiao was giving Morales some trouble with his pinpoint, power-laden shots to the face.

Then it happened.

Pacquiao got hit in the eyebrow by an accidental head butt in the fifth, causing blood to ooze rather unstoppably.

But when everybody thought that was the end for Pacquiao, they were wrong.

Amid adversity, pain and tremendous odds, Pacquiao fought on tenaciously as though he was not suffering through that bloodied brow of his.

For seven rounds from the wound-laden fifth up to the 12th and final round, Pacquiao gave Morales a helluva dose of hell.

So ferocious as a wounded tiger was Pacquiao that, in fact, in the fateful 12th, the Pacman almost knocked out Morales.

Had there been a couple of seconds left in that round, who knows, Morales might have been disposed of by Pacquiao, who was unrelentless in his attack.

Because of Pacquiao’s exceptional show of courage and determination, he readily earned a rematch after he lost on points.

OK, you want more history?

In January of 2006, the second fight was on.

Just like in their first fight, the return bout also proved to be a classic.

They banged away at each other as if there was no more tomorrow, tearing each other apart like two lions establishing kingship in the jungle.

Then in the 10th, Pacquiao uncorked the killer blows.

First, with his vaunted left, following it up with a combination, sending Morales crashing to the canvass like a log.

In no time, it was over.

Sweet revenge had been achieved by the Pacman.

With the score settled, there’s no recourse but to stage a third fight to decide which of the two was the best.

Well, I was fortunate to watch their third encounter in November 2006 live at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The day before history was to unfold before my very eyes, I was at the weigh-in for Pacquiao and Morales.

Stepping down from the scales, Morales stood right next to me. He was so small (five-foot-three), looking so emaciated, that I thought I could knock him down with just a single, simple and sweet nudge of my index finger.

True enough, on fight night, Morales didn’t last three rounds as Pacquiao savagely ended one of the most glorious eras in modern-day boxing.

For three rounds, Morales looked pathetic as he absorbed the beating of his life. Before he finally went down for good in the third, Pacquiao administered him his most devastating loss ever.

Segue now to Juan Manuel Marquez.

The loudmouth Marquez, after years of desperately trying, has finally clinched his own trilogy against Pacquiao.

And like Morales, this could also prove extra painful to him.

It doesn’t help that Marquez keeps on harping the lie that he had beaten Pacquiao in their first two meetings—they drew in 2004 and Pacquiao won by split decision in 2008.

All this time, Pacquiao has kept his cool, preferring to ignore Marquez’s ranting.

But there’s an end to everything.

And Pacquiao, of late, has become very vocal about his dislike of Marquez.

“All the issues will be finally put to rest by this fight,” said Pacquiao of their November 13 fight (Manila Time).

When Pacquiao, who doesn’t predict outcomes of his fight, talks that way, he is angry.  And when he’s angry, you can bet the unexpected to happen.

As in Pacquiao knocking out Marquez—finally.