Referee Kenny Bayless halted the fight at 2:33 in the round when Morales hit the canvas twice after receiving a series of explosive punches from Pacquiao.

In the previous round the 27-year-old Pacquiao intensified his attack by forcing the Mexican to the ropes while launching a barrage of punches to the body.

Morales was unable to withstand the blows in the round. He hit the canvass and was counted out.

"I could see he was having problems taking my punches," Pacquiao said. "I had no problem taking his. If he wants a rematch, I would give him a rematch. There should be a third fight. He never hurt me. I could take his power. I was able to land a lot more different punches this time. We worked on that in the gym."

Pacquiao improved his record to 41 wins, 3 loses and 2 draws, while Morales suffered his third loss opposite to his 48 wins.

"He hit with me a lot of real good shots," Morales said. "I was getting hit a lot in the head. As the rounds went on I was getting more tired. At the end I felt slow. It hit me just as hard in this fight as the first fight."

It was the second straight loss for Morales, who lost by decision to Zahir Raheem last year.

In their first fight, Pacquiao lost a unanimous decision to Morales.

Pacquiao's next fight might be against Marco Antonio Barrera for the WBC and IBF titles.

The Pacquiao-Morales fight will be replayed on HBO the following weekend, 1/12/06..