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Boxing in Las Vegas, Nev., has been said to be on life-support.

But for Saturday night's trilogy-ending matchup between Mexican slugger Erik Morales and Filipino whirlwind Manny Pacquiao, the atmosphere is more fiesta than funeral.

Ultimate Fighting Championships and Mixed Martial Arts have been hogging the limelight of late.

Boxing, meanwhile, has showcased few megafights worth watching.

MMA, the new fight game in town, has proven to be a crowd-pleaser. The past few pay-per-view boxing shows have left boxing aficionados with less to cheer for and more to shake their fists at - especially when the monthly cable bill lands in your mailbox.

Dull fights of late have contributed to boxing's malaise. The endless numbers of world titles from the various sanctioning bodies have watered down the "champion" label.

But Saturday's rubber match between Pacquiao and Morales might turn out to be a jolt the sport needs to regain new life.

These two proven fighters rarely fail to deliver.

The fight has it all: two of the three top 130-pounders on the planet will enter the ring in a grande finale that will decide the fate of one or more ring legacies.

Pacquiao (42-3-2, 33 KOs), bringing with him a heritage begun by Filipino ring legends Pancho Villa and Flash Elorde, aims to be the final foe for Morales (48-4, 34 KOs), whom he stopped in the second outing but lost to by decision in the blood-and-guts original fight.

Morales, stopped for the first time in their second fight, seeks to solidify his greatness by paying back Pacquiao.

The winner of Morales-Pacquiao 3 will become a No. 1 contender to a third future Hall-of-Famer, Marco Antonio Barrera, who already has fought both fighters in classic matchups of the past.

Will Morales and Barrera battle a fourth time? Will Barrera get his chance to pay back Pacquiao for the beating he took in 2003?

That all hangs in the balance.

MMA - at least right now - cannot touch these bouts, even with the mouth-watering headliner of UFC 65 Saturday night (Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre). The boxing pay-per-view show provides enough entertaining fights to guarantee a sellout show at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Also, promoter Top Rank is expecting to top $1 million PPV buys - the first two bouts in this triology both scored more than $700,000.

This show boxing isn't in its death throes just yet.

Fights with this much sizzle can sometimes fizzle, but this one has all the makings of a masterpiece that can kick off a revival.

Cozzone owns and operates NewMexicoBoxing.com. His column runs Fridays in The Tribune. You can reach him at chris@cozzone.com