By Mark Vester
Ricky Hatton is not convinced of Floyd Mayweather Jr's punching power. Actually, Hatton senses that Mayweather is feather-fisted fighter with brittle hands. He hopes to expose his hunch when he challenges Mayweather for the WBC welterweight title on Dec. 8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"I think to beat Ricky Hatton you need that firepower to stop me coming," said Hatton. "Floyd has the speed and boxing ability and defense, but Tszyu had the physical strength and that dynamite right hand. I think you need power against me and I'd be more worried about facing power than speed. He has to stop me coming at him and the question is has he got the power to hurt me? It's well documented that he has problems with his hands and he may be protecting them. I've no doubt he might lead me a merry dance at times and pick me off, but has he got the firepower to deal with my educated pressure? And that's the key - educated pressure. I don't think so."
Hatton has been going over the two toughest fights of Mayweather's career, the first battle with Jose Luis Castillo and the May 5 superfight with Oscar De La Hoya. In both fights, Hatton saw that Mayweather came close to losing when pressure was applied througout the contest. Hatton plans to apply non-stop pressure in each of the twelve rounds of the contest.
"Floyd's style is perfect for me," Hatton said. "He likes to sit on the ropes, cover up for long periods, but he's got to be careful the fight doesn't run away from him. De La Hoya nearly beat him, but tired after six rounds. I'm not going to tire, I'm going to get faster. He nearly lost his first fight to Jose Luis Castillo also. They were people who took the fight to him. That's what I'll do, only they didn't fight him with the intensity that I will."
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