De La Hoya sidin' with Ricky

Few people would describe Ricky Hatton's super fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr as "just another day at the office" for the Hitman. But then few people have faced Mayweather and left the ring without an embarrassing defeat. One of those few is of course his last opponent Oscar De La Hoya, who is also the promoter for the eagerly awaited welterweight fight on December 8th. Golden Boy has made it clear he is no fan of Mayweather and his allegiance will firmly be with the Hatton camp. He has even gone so far as to offer Hatton advice on how to beat the Pretty Boy. De La Hoya told skysports.com: "I've spoken with Ricky Hatton and I've told him 'look, there's certain combinations that Floyd Mayweather cannot handle, there's certain pressure he cannot handle - jabs, right hands, hooks, just be yourself.' "He's the perfect fighter to beat Floyd Mayweather, so I think come December 8th we will not see a huge upset - just another day at the office for Ricky Hatton." But De La Hoya warns that it will not be a walk in the park. As he found out himself, you cannot expect to just step in the ring and bully the six time world champion. "You cannot smother Floyd Mayweather Jr," continued De La Hoya, "you cannot just go up and try and hit him and see if it lands. "You have to be very tactical and very careful because he is very fast. But if Hatton puts on the pressure the way he always does, if he goes inside the ring with the energy he always has, he can beat him." 'Undefeated' Floyd Mayweather v Ricky Hatton for the WBC welterweight title, will be screened exclusively live on Sky Box Office on December 8. Full booking details will appear on skysports.com Hatton himself has admitted that he has spoken to De La Hoya, and will use his tips as he prepares for the biggest fight of his career. But with Mayweather one of the most televised fighters in the world, he is confident he already has plenty to base his strategy on. "Oscar has given me tips but I don't want to say anything unless Mr Mayweather gets an ear of it," Hatton told skysports.com. "But I've been watching him for so long now, he's been at the top so long, I think I know what he's all about. I think I've got the tools to do it right, I just cannot wait. I'd be a fool to stand off and try and out box him, that's not going to happen." Hatton obviously doesn't need a lesson on how to handle Mayweather at press-conferences. While the pound for pound king has shown his not so pretty side in the promotional press tour, he has failed to get underneath the Hitman's skin and his goading has fallen on deaf ears. By the time the tour reached London, Mayweather looked tired and frustrated at failing to get a rise from his Mancunian foe. This was unlike the scenes from last February when De La Hoya visibly lost his cool after seven days on the road with Mayweather to promote their fight. The Golden Boy believes Hatton has done brilliantly to show the restraint he lacked, and that can only help him win a battle of wills with Mayweather. "That's eating up Mayweather inside like you cannot imagine," said De La Hoya. "That's the prefect gameplan that Ricky Hatton can have. You know Floyd Mayweather is the one who is going to talk. He's going to put Ricky Hatton down and he's going to go off and do Dancing With The Stars. People will be able to watch him every week dancing away and he will have millions and millions of people watching while Ricky Hatton trains hard and dedicates himself to win this fight." Seeing the two fighters stand side-by-side at the press conference in London there is not too much difference in their height, but Hatton physically looks the bigger man. His team are confident he has all the natural advantages and they will put them to good use in Las Vegas. This view is shared by De La Hoya and he expects Hatton to be too big and strong on fight night. "Ricky Hatton is stronger," continued De La Hoya, "he can go in there and not worry about Floyd Mayweather's punching power because from my experience he hasn't got much power. "That's going to be a big advantage for Ricky Hatton. I believe if you take a look at the Jose Luis Castillo fight with Floyd Mayweather he gave Floyd a lot of trouble. Well Ricky Hatton is possibly a stronger, bigger, faster and smarter fighter than Castillo. Can Hatton beat Mayweather, he will!" Cynics may question De La Hoya's support and wonder what the boxer-turned-promoter has up his sleeve. One thing is for sure, if Hatton is victorious he is planning a big homecoming event at Wembley to reward his loyal fans. Top on his list of possible opponents is none other than Oscar De La Hoya, and it is a role the Mexican superstar is quietly keen to fill. When questioned on the possibility of facing Hatton next, De La Hoya admitted he was "keeping his fingers crossed Ricky wins." Skysports.com