Ricky Hatton never dreamed of this when he was growing up in Manchester, England. Like all young lads who lace up a pair of boxing gloves, he, of course, had designs on becoming a world champion. But fighting Manny Pacquiao, the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, in an effort to become the top man in the sport? Well, that thought was beyond even Hatton’s imagination.
“As much as we love to dream, I could have never dreamed this,” Hatton said in a recent teleconference. “I’m grateful to be in this position, but it’s a position I think I’m going to take full advantage of.
“I don’t think I need to express how much I’m looking forward to this fight. Everyone’s dream as a boxer is to become a world champion and doing that four times in three weight divisions, I’ve had a fantastic career so far. I’m nowhere near finished with what I want to do. You can’t get any higher accolade in boxer than to be the best pound-for-pound fighter.”
He’ll get that opportunity May 2 when he faces Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Hatton vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The first time Hatton (45-1, 32 KO) fought for the title of world’s No. 1, he suffered his only defeat. Facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. – who, for the time being, is retired – in December 2007, Mayweather proved too effective at thwarting Hatton’s aggression and eventually stopped Hatton in the 10th round.
But Hatton learned from that defeat. Now, he wants to educate Pacquiao (48-3, 36 KO), who’s coming off a victory against Oscar De La Hoya.
“It’s going to be a tactical fight,” Hatton said. “When you fight at this level, you can’t just go in there and plow in. But Ricky Hatton always goes for the knockout. Manny is very good with his feet, in and out, and with his southpaw stance, you have to think about what you’re doing. I know I can fight toe-to-toe, but what’s impressing me with my new trainer, is that I’m showing technical ability people didn’t think I had.”
Hatton’s New Trainer
Before Hatton fought, outboxed and stopped Paulie Malignaggi in the 11th round during their November 2008 fight, he hired new trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., to continue his education. Mayweather Sr., who previously has worked with De La Hoya, discounts Pacquiao’s win against his former fighter.
“It had nothing to do with Pacquiao just beating Oscar,” Mayweather Sr. said. “There’s no way Pacquiao beats Oscar. He beat a highly-dehydrated Oscar. He didn’t beat the real Oscar De La Hoya. That don’t excite me.”
Hatton Well-Rounded Fighter
What does excite Mayweather is Hatton and what he thinks is his ability to train who he calls the best fighter in the world (naturally, Mayweather believes he’s the best trainer in the world, as well).
Hatton is just ready to make a believer out of Pacquiao in this junior welterweight matchup. He’s ready to fulfill the dream he never could have imagined.
“The speed is going to be the big thing,” Hatton said. “Manny’s main attribute is his speed. But with the technical stuff me and Floyd have been working on, I think Manny has got something else to worry about other than my sheer size. There’s going to be a lot of technical ability he’s going to have to worry about. To say I’m confident would be an understatement.”
