By Mark Vester
As Manny Pacquiao departs for the UK portion of his promotional tour to hype up his showdown with Ricky Hatton, scheduled for May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, he took some time to talk about the UK tour and the upcoming fight. He is prepared to take some heat from the Hatton fanatics in England, but won't take any of it personally.
"Even if it’s going to be hostile territory for me–as Ricky Hatton comes from this boxing-crazy country–I know that I will enjoy every minute of my brief stay there as I have heard a lot of great things about England, its notable people, its amazing culture and its proud history," Pacquiao said. "After my trip to England, I will proceed to Los Angeles so I could kick off my preparation for Ricky Hatton, who is one of the world’s most exciting fighters."
Pacquiao is not going to take Hatton lightly. He views him as a very dangerous opponent and plans to train harder than he did for last December's win over Oscar De La Hoya.
"Hatton is a very dangerous opponent as I have seen most of his high-caliber fights on video and you cannot take somebody like him lightly. This is going to be a big challenge for me. This early, I am confident in saying that I will train harder for Hatton and I won’t be surprised if I end up in a much better shape than when I fought the legendary Oscar De La Hoya last December," Pacquiao said.
He plans to explode in the ring when he trades punches with Hatton in May. Pacquiao views the preparations for Hatton as the most important training camp of his career.
"Once I report for training camp at the Wild Card under my very capable trainer Freddie Roach, my sole focus will be training. I will be eating, breathing and living Ricky Hatton from the day I start my training camp. I assure fight fans that when I get into the ring on May 2, I am going to show my best–as always–and ours will be an explosive and exciting fight. And most importantly, I am dedicating this important fight to my beloved countrymen and to all boxing fans from around the world," Pacquiao said.
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