The Hitman vs. The Pacman: Pound For Pound Greatness

ByBoxing Press

By Gary Todd

When Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton walk out from their dressing rooms, 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 that 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 between them along with close to 600 rounds boxed, they deserve it.

Over their career, neither man has been banged up too badly, despite each of them fighting 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 came back to chase greatness.

I remember talking with Hatton months before the Kostya 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? “I want everything,” he said. 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, it’s pretty conclusive that its not going to the scorecards. Hatton will try to steamroll Pacquiao inside, 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 Advantages:

Big puncher to the body.
Tough.
Confidence at the weight and he will be heavier on fight night, 150lbs.
Big fight experience.
Aggressive and strong.
Pressure fighter.

Hatton Disadvantages:

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, which although have not been a problem recently, could be in this fight.
Losing the weight time after time as he is getting older, which could be a factor late in the fight.
He has already peaked, around mid 2007.

Pacquiao Advantages:

Reach; he has to double up on the jab.
Speed of hand and foot, a huge factor.
Southpaw. Hatton has had problems with left handed opponents 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 Disadvantages:

Has been stopped to the body once., also ko’d to head.
Cuts to his eyes; head clashes could be a factor in this fight.
Stopped early on in his two stoppage defeats, round three.

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 Hatton 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 Hatton’s 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.”