Ricky Hatton: "I’m Massive at Junior Welterweight"

[mrosborne]

I've maintained that all along, but the only question remains - is Hatton slick enough to get on Pac's inside and deliver his usual hard-hitting gameplan?

The plodding Hatton that faced Tszyu and Collazo (and, in the later rounds against Floyd) is almost certainly a sitting duck to potshots if he dares to approach Pac with the stiff, limited head and upper body movement that he displayed back then.

However, if he keeps those earmuffs on and tries hard enough to match Pac's head movement (which IMO is one of the best in boxing today), then he's in with a chance to bully the **** out of him. Also, if the fast footwork he displayed against Castillo is present, he'll be even more dangerous.

Good points. I agree, and like I said, Hatton has to be defensive minded while applying that pressure. Winging shots and lunging in as he did in the Mayweather fight is certain defeat. Pacquiao's speed is his best asset in this fight. I personally don't believe Pacquiao has the guns and firepower to keep Hatton honest here, he's faced MUCH more brutal punchers than Pacquiao has, and not only stood up to them but defeated them. Mayweather knocked out Hatton with the perfect punch, and Hatton all but gave it to him by lunging in with no jab if you watch the replay. It was a foolish mistake, and I think Ricky acknowledges it. I don't Pacquiao landing such accurate blows in this fight, if anything Pacquiao will try to box and see it's not working, only pissing Hatton off and then it's going to turn into a slugfest, one that I see Hatton dominating once it gets nasty. He simply has too much aggression and power and I don't think Pacquiao will know what to do once Hatton puts it on him. We've seen Pacquaio fold once he's cut, and it's not out of the question to think that Hatton could cut Pacquiao. Remember, this is a orthodox vs southpaw match, heads are coming together. This could be the downfall of Hatton unfortunately now that I said that, that's the only thing I worry about. Nonetheless, my $500 is going on Hatton come fight night.

-MrOsborne

[lest26]

i think hatton aint actualy that bad at welter, ok he lost to Floyd but come on ppl he is p4p best on the planet, he beat callazo who is very tough and would give almost anyone trouble, you cant have a go at him for fighting ppl below light welter either coz he has taken on and beaten the best in the division and now he is targeting the best he can, you all have PAC held as some unbeatable god so give hatton credit, i think its gona be a tough one to call is this but i feelhattons tactics are perfect for getting pac where he needs him, on the other hand pac is very skilled fast and a south paw, hatton has overcome hem before and i feel he will in this bout.

[Xcusemymood]

All three were in response to posts that were negative about Hatton; and in addition, recently in another thread you said that no-one has ever rated Hatton highly apart from a few Brits, which is a hater statement if ever there was one.

Dave please go back and read the posts I commented on. I dont believe there was any hate at all. They were observations I agreed with, and frankly I dont believe any of those comments necessarily even had hate written on them. They were pointing out contradictions and deinetly didnt have any personal attacks.

In reply to the second part of your sentence, I believe I already replied quite nicely on the other thread(which is interesting you would even bring up considering you were blaming me for hate on THIS thread).

[ricky1978]

Pacquiao will continue with his winning streak....

[jetgeomcx]

Ricky's press statements are for psychological effect. He wants Manny to get intimidated this early and lose focus on his training. This is just a smoke screen to lead Team Pacquiao into another training route. Freddie knows exactly what to do. Manny listens good from all his trainors, is a fast learner and thinks sharp during the fyt. Ricky will revert to the same fighter as he is when he feels Manny’s punches. Remember that PacMan was sparring with WW and JrMW preparing for Oscar. His sparmates swear they can feel Manny’s power, and they all predicted a KO win for Manny. Freddie even said that Manny packs more power at 147, where his speed is still there. Manny will come at 147 against Ricky’s 154. We will see the outcome soon………