By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Filipinos in Britain including some members of the Philippine embassy have given Manny Pacquiao a rousing reception in Manchester, the hometown of Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton, and he also won the hearts of British media with his demeanor.
At an intended fan rally at the Trafford Center where Hatton supporters showed up to cheer and sing for the IBO light welterweight champion, some 2,000 Filipinos who had come from all over Britain stole the show according to Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening news as they “shouted and cheered their man who had God-like status among his people.”
Pacquiao was clearly overwhelmed by the reception and thanked the fans for turning out in the thousands on his first visit to England .
The ever-smiling champion made no boastful remarks only stating “The fight will be a great challenge because Ricky is a great fighter. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime fight, the kind you only see once in boxing history.”
In contrast, Hatton said that being unbeaten at 140 pounds gives him a crucial advantage. He said “this is a fight between two nice men but there is nothing nice about me or Manny when we get inside the ring. We’re both aggressive and while some other fighters have been worried about him, he certainly won’t worry me.”
The two fighters who clash in the “Battle of East and West” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 2 smiled and laughed together as they met for the first time before some 6,000 fight fans and a band that rallied behind Hatton.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was not surprised at the number of Filipinos who showed up. He said “when Manny goes into the ring he fights for 90 million people in his country and the 10 million Filipinos who live around the world. He is a tremendous athlete and unlike any other we have ever promoted.”
Hatton who resumed training two weeks ago after returning from a Caribbean cruise with his family revealed in a conversation with Steve Lillis of the News of the World that when he was on the vacation he was even goaded by several Filipino waiters who Hatton claimed “laughed at met because they think I have no chance. They won’t be laughing next when I go back on the boat. I won’t be second best when I challenge for the world pound-for- title.”
As expected the fighters were decent to each other but their trainers Floyd Mayweather Sr and Freddie Roach were not, trading cutting remarks from day one and carrying their word war into Britain.
When Arum introduced Roach as the greatest trainer in the world, Mayweather grabbed the microphone and said “if anybody thinks Freddie ‘the Joke’ Roach can out-train me they have to be sick.” Roach retorted “it’s a shame Floyd Sr isn’t in the Hall of Fame.”
Resorting to his familiar rhymes, Mayweather Sr predicted Hatton would de-throne Pacquiao as the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter claiming that when Pacquiao beat the world legend Oscar De La Hoya, “he was over the hill, now its time for you to swallow the same old pill.” Pacquiao and Hatton enjoyed the give-and-take between their trainers.
In their one-on-one darts encounter, Hatton enjoyed the homecourt advantage as the action took place at the New Inn, Hattersley where Hatton was raised in by parents Ray and Carol Hatton. Besides, Pacquiao was not familiar with the format for the contest but he gamely took up the challenge.
Hatton as expected won the game of 501 in sixteen throws, nailing a double two to end it as the place went wild. At the end of the match, Hatton who is a fan of the English Premier League football club Manchester United presented Pacquiao with two jerseys.
Roach and Mayweather Sr also got into the act with their own special challenge match with the first to hit the bullseye declared the winner. But after 15 attempts neither trainer could hit a bullseye.
Pacquiao will hold one final media conference in London before flying to Los Angeles where he will begin training at the Wild Card Gym for what he told us would be the toughest fight of his career
