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When Manny Pacquiao and
Ricky Hatton walk out of their dressing rooms
May 2nd, Hatton's
head draped in an oversized hood, with trainer
Mayweather Sr. right behind him, talking the talk as
usual, and Pacquiao looking up, smiling to his beloved
countrymen, both men will be enjoying the thunderous
roar, they each demand . Why not, they are fighting for
the pound for pound, best of the best title, and it's
all about them. With a combined career of 101 fights,
and 68 knockouts and close to 600 rounds boxed, they
deserve it.
Over their career,
neither man has been banged up too badly, while each has
fought in tough hard fights, giving their all for their
fans, the sport, and themselves. Both have been knocked
out, been down, and hurt, but have always come back to
chase greatness.
I remember talking with
Hatton months before the Tszyu fight, and he told me
there was talk of him fighting Vivian Harris, but not
only did he want Tszyu’s title, he wanted his scalp. He
wanted the best.
I also remember talking
with Pacquiao a couple of years ago, and I asked him,
what more did he want out of boxing, and he told me, ”
I want everything.” I said, “you have done everything”,
and he smiled and said it again, “I want
everything.”
On the 2nd of
May, at the MGM Grand, one man will have everything.
THE FIGHT
If you look at the statistics for this fight its
pretty conclusive that its not going to the scorecards.
Hatton will try to steamroll Pacquiao inside, and try
to push him on to the ropes, and bang away to the
body, hoping to stop him sooner, than later.
Pacquiao will want to
keep the fight in the center of the ring, doubling up
on his superb jab, while setting himself for some fast
combinations to eventually wear down the bigger, slower
Hatton, possibly catching him with uppercut after
uppercut, until he falls, late in the fight.
HATTON - PROS
*Big puncher to the
body.
*Tough.
*Confidence at the
weight. [He will be heavier on fight night, 150 lbs.]
*Big fight experience.
*Aggressive and strong.
*Pressure fighter.
HATTON - CONS
*Smothers his
own work.
*Lunges in,
leaving himself wide open.
*Has lost a lot
of his speed.
*Actually
bounces into shots while coming in.
*Cuts, [although
it has not been a problem recently, I think it could
be in this fight].
*Losing the
weight time after time as he is getting older,
[could be a factor late in the fight].
*He has peaked.
[Around mid 2007].
PACQUIA0 - PROS
*Reach.
[He has to double up on the jab].
*Speed of hand and foot. [Huge factor].
*Southpaw. [Hatton had problems with Magee, Collazo, and
Urango].
*Big fight experience.
*Confidence in himself.
*Has become strong, while moving up in weight.
*Big fighting heart.
*At his peak, right now.
PACQUIAO - CONS
Has been
stopped to the body once. Also KO’d to the head.
Cuts to his
eyes. [Head clashes could be a factor in this fight].
Stopped early
on in his two stoppage defeats. [Round 3].
KEYS TO
WINNING:
If Pacquiao is going to
win, he has to jab and move, doubling up and hit
Hatton with fast combinations, while moving to his right.
He has to stay off the ropes, and away from the
corners. If he can do that, then he should frustrate
Hatton into opening up, and make mistakes, until he
eventually breaks him down mentally then physically.
Hatton will be exhausted, with his body bent over, he
will leave himself wide open for Pacquiao’s uppercuts.
For
Hatton to win, he has to try and bulldoze him early.
Throw everything at him. A lot of his people will say,
go to the body, but I disagree, he has to go tap, tap
to the head, then set himself for the big body
cruncher. The longer this fight goes, the slower he
will get.
MY PREDICTION:
Manny
Pacquiao by late TKO.
Gary Todd is an international, best selling author with
his book on world champions, “Workouts From Boxing's
Greatest Champs.” He has been involved in the sport of
boxing for over 25 years and he is a proud member of
the Boxing Writers Association Of America. Look out for
his follow up book, “Workouts, Volume II.”
3-11-2009
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