Erik Morales arrived at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Tuesday evening. Morales and his brother Diego arrived on a Lear jet from Toluca, Mexico, landing at a private runway just off the strip. "I expect a tough fight," said Morales upon his arrival. "Pacquiao is a real warrior. I've come prepared and I will answer any challenges that he presents." The rest of his camp will come in tomorrow, except manager Fernando Beltran, who came in on a commercial jet from Tijuana.

How has training been going?
It’s been very good. I’m feeling very prepared for Saturday night

How do you feel about being back in Las Vegas?
Fighting in Vegas is like fighting at home. I have a lot of fans here and a lot of my fans travel here to see me fight .

In your last fight with Barrera you said that you trouble making the weight. How is your weight at the moment?
No, I’ve had no trouble making weight this time. I’ve been preparing myself for three months. My camp has been very good so the weight has come off steadily. And I feel very strong.

Pacquiao, as we have seen in his last few fights over here, is a fast starter. How do you plan on dealing with his constant aggression?
I plan on boxing him and hurting him to discourage his charges.

For perhaps the first time in your career you are entering the fight as a slight underdog. How does this feel?
I don’t mind at all. The betting shops can say what they like it I don’t pay any attention to them

With regards to his severe beating of Barrera and your subsequent loss to Barrera, does this make this fight all the more important?
Yes, of course it does.

I notice that you have a cateract on your eye. Does this impede you vision at all?
No I can see perfectly but I do have to get it operated on. The reason I haven’t done it yet is that I’ve been too active fighting. And I if I take time to get it removed then I’ll be out for four months

So after Saturday night do you think you’ll be moving up in weight?
No, I think that I’ll fight a couple of more times at 130 then think about moving up.

Is this your most important fight to date?
Yes this is a very important fight for me as he beat Barrera and I want to beat him to make a statement. Plus I can’t lose two fights in a row. I feel very confident and strong.