Manny Pacquiao Promises 'Once in a Lifetime Fight' vs. Ricky Hatton

In a telephone interview with FanHouse, Manny Pacquiao, widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, talked about his dominant win over Oscar De La Hoya, his upcoming fight with Ricky Hatton (Saturday, May 2 on HBO pay-per-view) and what it's like to be the biggest star in the Philippines.

Michael David Smith: We're a few months removed from your fight with Oscar De La Hoya. When you look back on that fight, are you surprised at how thoroughly you dominated him?
Manny Pacquiao: Well, before the fight I believed, of course, I was going to beat Oscar -- but not in an easy fight like that. I am surprised that it was an easy fight.

Most people consider you the best boxer in the world. Do you consider yourself the best boxer in the world?
I don't want to think about that, whether I'm the best in the world. I want to focus on my career and give a good show in my fight with Ricky Hatton.

The person who was considered the best boxer in the world before you was Floyd Mayweather Jr. Do you think Floyd is really retired, or will we see him in the ring again?
I think he's going to fight again. He's not really retired.

Do you think you will fight him some day?
That's possible. Maybe after this fight. I heard from Floyd Jr.'s camp that he's coming back to the ring.

So people around Floyd have told you that you should expect him to return?
Yes, that's what I heard from the people around Floyd, that he's not really retired.

Do you think he would want a tune-up fight against an easier opponent or would he jump right in and fight you if you beat Ricky Hatton?
For me -- if I'm Floyd -- I would fight a tune-up fight and then fight me. That's for me, but I don't know what his plan is. He might want to fight me right away.

Obviously, before you can fight Floyd you'll need to beat Ricky Hatton. What kind of challenge does Ricky Hatton pose to you?
Ricky Hatton is a strong fighter, a good fighter. He's the top guy, and he's never lost at 140 pounds. I would never underestimate Hatton. I consider this fight the toughest fight of my career. I'm not looking past this fight.


Have you watched a lot of tape of Hatton's fights to prepare?
Yes, I've watched his last few fights. I study every opponent I fight, and as I train for Hatton I look for certain techniques that I can apply to this fight.

You've fought everywhere from strawweight (106 pounds) at the start of your professional career to welterweight (147 pounds) against De La Hoya. What do you think is the ideal weight class for you?
I'm comfortable at 140 pounds. I weigh 148 right now.

You're the most popular athlete in the Philippines, but is there a down side to your fame? Do you wish you could just walk down the street and be left alone?
I wish I could. I wish I could. But that would never happen. Especially right now. I can't walk down the street in the Philippines.

You're 30 years old, you've been boxing professionally since you were 16, and you have 53 professional fights under your belt. How much longer will you box?
I don't want to fight much longer. I'm planning right now to retire soon.

What will you do after you retire?
My plan is to run for office.

I know you've run for office in the past as well. What is it about politics that appeals to you?
I want to run for office because I want to help people. I grew up in poverty, and I want to see other people have better lives. I think I can improve the situation for a lot of people.

I've heard that you are recording your own entrance music, and against Hatton you'll come out to a song that you sing yourself.
Yes, I have a new album and I'm going to use my song as my ring entrance on May 2.

Will you get more involved in music when you retire from boxing?
Yes. I love to sing. I'd like to have a concert soon after my boxing career ends.

What would you like fans to know about you?
Just that they should watch my upcoming fight on May 2 against Ricky Hatton. It's going to be a great, great fight, a once in a lifetime fight.


source:boxing.fanhouse.com

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Ricky Hatton comes face to face with Manny Pacquiao

By Steve Bunce, sundaymirror.co.uk 1/03/2009

When Manny Pacquiao fights, the whole of the Philippines stands still and crime drops to zero.

Pacquiao meets Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas on May 2 for the IBO light-welter weight belt - but the Filipino idol believes that there is something far more important on the line.

"It is a fight between two great boxing nations - there is national pride," said Pacquiao, who came face to face with Hatton and 6,000 cheering fans at the Trafford Centre on the outskirts of Manchester yesterday.

"This fight will be a great challenge because Ricky is a great fighter. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime fight.

"I wanted to come to Britain to meet Hatton's fans - they are great fans just like mine.

"I've seen Hatton's fans in Las Vegas and I know just how devoted they are. Hatton should be proud of them because I'm proud of my fans.

"My fans know that when I fight I fight for every single one of them."

Not only does crime cease in the Philippines when Pacquiao is in action, even the rival and warring political parties call a truce.

Yesterday's appearance in Manchester was part of a short promotional tour that will end in London tomorrow before Pacquiao takes up residence at Freddie Roach's Wild Card gym in LA.

Hatton presented Pacquiao with a Manchester City shirt and nailed double two to beat him at a game of darts - and he is convinced history will repeat itself in the ring.

Hatton said: "This is a fight between two nice men but there is nothing nice about either me or Manny when we get inside the ring. We're both aggressive but where some other fighters have been worried about him, he certainly won't worry me."

Pacquiao and his close friends will share a small apartment near the LA gym and cook all their own food.

"I know about sacrifices and that is why I will be with Freddie next week," added Pacquiao. "This will be the hardest fight of my life.

"I've been in a lot of big, big fights and beaten a lot of great fighters.

"My last fight against Oscar De La Hoya was important but Ricky Hatton will be much harder.

"He is a great fighter with great fans and I will have to train harder than I have ever trained before. Freddie knows just how serious this fight is for me and the Filipino people.

"I will be using the best sparring partners to prepare and on the night I will be perfect for victory."

Hatton will remain in Manchester for another four weeks before shifting his own training camp to Las Vegas to join up with Floyd May weather Snr.

Lee Beard, who looks after Hatton's training in the UK, is convinced that the Manchester boxer is in the best possible shape at this point in his strict training regime.

"Ricky is sharp and his weight is fine," said Beard.

"This is the biggest fight available and Ricky is determined not to make a single mistake.

"We will prepare before the move to America and when he gets on the plane he will be in terrific shape."

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The Hatton Strategy

BY: Rota Em

The Hitman has seen many brands of fighters in his eleven and a half years in the ring. From the likes of veteran Kostya Tszyu and speedster Paulie Malignaggi, to rugged brawlers like Jose Luis Castillo and Juan Urango, Hatton has undoubtedly cemented his own style as a dominant governor of the junior welterweight division. With an exception to the sole loss, a knockout at the hands of the undaunted slickster Floyd Mayweather Jr. at welterweight, Ricky Hatton (45-1, 32 KOs) has rarely been touched let alone be in danger of defeat in a 140-lb fight. This is an extremely bold statement considering the catch weight has bred many exceptional champions and has seen many more pass through its gates within the last decade. And in those ten plus years, even his decision wins were great in disparity. Simply put, all 12 fights that have gone to the cards have been clear-cut unanimous decision wins in the eyes of the judges. Even his gaudy conqueror, Mayweather Jr., cannot assert this notion about himself.



Strictly from a stature point of view, Ricky is just a tad short of the ideal height for a welterweight but that obviously hasn’t been a problem for him. He looks to be closer to 5’6” (as Wikipedia lists) rather than the 5’7 ½” that boxrec.com boasts. But in all fairness late greats such as “Homicidal Hank” Armstrong, Aaron Pryor, and Barney Ross are all 5’7” or under. His ‘boxy’, square-chinned build hides no secrets as to why he can take a good lickin’. Furthermore, he has excellent maneuverability and a nice pop in his punches.



Floyd Mayweather Sr. is entrusted with the delicate task of taking everything about Richard John Hatton and molding a specimen that can out-duel, out-gun, and out-last the former WBC lightweight champion and reigning pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao. The self-proclaimed ‘shoulder roll’ trendsetter will embark on devising a defense system to neutralize the Pacman’s speed and movement. Much of the required ingredients, however, the Hitman should already have. We often hear that a fighter either has it or he doesn’t. With some things you simply cannot instill when it just doesn’t come naturally. So let’s go over what Hatton needs to do in order to thank (with a win) the hundreds of thousands of fans who have supported him every step of the way.



“There’s only one Ricky Fatton!”



Another poorly-kept secret is the fact that Manchester’s own has been known to balloon to forty pounds above his campaigning weight in between contracts, hence “Fatton”. Ring experts and analysts would credit this non boxer-like peculiarity for his low gas finishes of late. When you’re physically trying to hold your own against naturally bigger guys like Luis Collazo, most certainly depletion becomes a problem by the time the last bell comes. Some fighters utilize plyometrics training to hone strength and energy. With plyometrics, targeted muscles are loaded, contracted, and spent in rapid sequence to stimulate elasticity and innervation to ultimately increase the speed or force of muscular contractions. Some example areas that this training can address are to increase the height of a jump or to maintain speed bursts and fast recovery throughout an entire performance. Hatton wouldn’t necessarily need to follow this specific regiment but the ideal improvement region would surely be stamina and conditioning. He should be consistent in his offensive strategy to ensure that he has gas for the later rounds, should he need them. Normally when advising a prone-to-tire fighter, you wouldn’t suggest that he go after his opponent but in this case I think Pacquiao would have more trouble fighting while backpedaling so it should be mandatory that Mayweather Sr. infuse the ‘always forward’ mentality. You can’t wait for a faster guy to make the first move. Frankly put, come ready and in shape and stay consistent throughout the fight.



‘Float like a butterfly’… counterclockwise.



Hatton has speed. But in this fight with Pacquiao, it’s not about whether he has the quickness or not. It’s whether he can ‘catch up’ to the lighter man that makes the biggest difference. Now remember, Hatton is a ‘box’. He’s a large target compared to Pacquiao so his movement might not necessarily get him out of range all the time. His biggest defense against the lightning fast Filipino is a little dance called ‘jab, jab, body, body, side step.’ It’s crucial that he ends the dance with a ‘side step’. You might even catch the ‘step’ repeated more than once during some intervals. He won’t outrun Manny, but he can make himself harder to be reached. He’ll look like David Diaz if he just stands in front of the Pacman. And Diaz didn’t do it by choice.



‘Sting like a bee’… and add feints.



This key has to do particularly with his movement and timing. He can dance with Pacquiao all night but there’s only one direction that can bear fruits to this labor. The Hitman needs to move to his left, specifically away from Pacman’s left hand. Ever since the annihilating wins over Erik Morales, the implementation of the right hand (once dubbed the Manila Ice) has been central to Pacquiao’s success. This will surely make it harder for any opponent now that there are two fully functional cannons on board. Nevertheless, we all would tend to agree that it’d be a smarter idea to circle away from the naturally stronger hand and allow only fractional contribution. And since that left will partially be out of commission, Pacquiao will look to over-assert it and that’s when Hatton can time and ‘sting’ the daring Filipino.



Live downstairs but sneak upstairs.



Lastly, Ricky needs to go to the body. Aiming for a little guy who has the head and upper body movement of prime Tyson is extremely difficult. De la Hoya’s ill-fated plan to engage Pacquiao in his fight was easily trounced. Hatton should apply body shots to his combinations. In fact, his combos should revolve AROUND working the body. In standing toe-to-toe, Hatton will risk being bruised, bloodied, and cut. The last of the three poses the biggest threat (for both). Pacquiao was cut in his first fight with Morales and you could clearly see the Filipino flustered and bothered. Hint: this was his last loss.



Hatton has the tools to break down any opponent in front of him. Now it’s only a matter of whether he’ll use the right ones at the right time. Mapping the blue-print is a fraction of the equation, executing it is the other 99.99%.Catch the action live on May 2 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Pacman in for tough fight–Roach

By: Jun Medina, Special Correspondent ; Manila Times Online

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao will be in for a tough, competitive match when he fights British junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton on May 2, according to Pacquiao’s renowned trainer Freddie Roach.

Roach, who has trained 17 world champions, said he is devising a new game plan for the Hatton fight, which will be completely different from the strategy used in the Filipino icon’s last fight against Oscar De La Hoya.

Hatton is known for holding his opponents and crowding them in the inside to land his vaunted body punches. And unlike De La Hoya who was 35 years old when he fought Pacquiao, Hatton is only 30 years old.

Some boxing scribes also see Hatton improving under the watch of Floyd Mayweather Sr., who has succeeded in polishing Hatton’s defense at least for the Briton’s recent fight against Paulie Malignaggie.

However, Pacquiao’s camp is devising a game plan for the Hatton fight.

“We have a great game plan and look to fight the perfect fight again,” Roach told boxing columnist Scott Dryden of People’s Defender, an Ohio-based weekly. “If we do [execute the perfect fight] he [Hatton] will get knocked out in the later rounds. It’s going to be a good fight up until that point.”

Pacquiao, the reigning pound-for-pound best boxer in the world, is guaranteed $12 million, his biggest paycheck, for the megabuck fight to be held at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Roach said Pacquiao-Hatton would be an exciting fight because both boxers pack power in their punches and that they “come to fight.”

Roach, a three-time trainer of the year, said one thing he likes about Pacquiao is his discipline and focus while training for a match.

“Pacquiao is a machine. From day one his work ethic was unbelievable,” Roach said of his prized student. “He is the hardest working fighter I’ve ever seen.”

He recalled that while training for the Oscar De La Hoya fight, Mike Tyson dropped by the gym told Roach to slow Pacquiao down because they had a fight in a couple of days.

“I said, ‘Mike this is slow,’” Roach said. “Manny is just a machine.”

“Manny averaged 44 rounds per day. He runs a lot basically trains like he fights; no caution. He really works hard,” Roach said.

Roach said he expects Manny to report to the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood on February 24 as he and Hatton are scheduled to kick off the super fight’s promotional tour Hatton’s hometown, Manchester in the United Kingdom.

They will also promote the fight in London before flying back to the United States with stops in major cities, like New York and Los Angeles.

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