FREDDIE ROACH sees a strong similarity between the Nov. 18 rubber match pitting Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales with that of the 1985 movie clash between Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone, and Ivan Drago, portrayed by Dolph Lundgren.

"For me, this will be like the movie ‘Rocky’ where Stallone’s opponent undergoes training with a group of experts and doctors but still loses against a natural fighter," Roach told Hispanic fight scribe Ramiro Gonzalez in an article published in the Los Angeles-based Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion on Monday.

Like the muscular Drago who honed his skills using the most modern techniques and facilities, Morales has been training under a team of physical conditioning experts, doctors and dietitians.

Roach revealed that just before he went to work the corner of Gerry Peñalosa in El Paso, Texas, Pacquiao had weighed in at 134 lbs, just four lbs over the superfeatherweight limit of 130.

Morales tipped the scales at 142 on Friday during an official weigh-in supervised by the World Boxing Council in Mexico City.

His training team and even staffers of the Velocity Sports Performance in Los Angeles expressed the belief that Morales is right on track.

But some observers say Morales is still behind in his race to meet the weight limit. At 142 pounds with just 25 days remaining before fight night, Morales will have to lose at least a pound every two days to make the limit.

"He can do that," said veteran Inquirer sportswriter Recah Trinidad, "but he might be too weak to put up a good fight against Pacquiao who, on the other hand, is just four pounds overweight at the moment."

If Morales comes in above the weight limit of 130 lbs, he will pay a fine of 0,000 for each pound that he is overweight. That holds true for Pacquiao, too.

Under the contract signed by the two boxers, each fighter can decline to fight, pocket the fine and call it a day.

Pacquiao, however, is not inclined to simply taking Morales’ money in the event Morales is overweight. During an interview two months ago, Paquiao said he will still enter the ring because not to do so would make him appear "greedy."

Because of Pacquiao’s tremendous performance during workouts and sparring sessions, Roach is confident that the Filipino can easily duplicate or even surpass his 10th round knockout win against the Tijuana native last January.