Tweet
Hatton vows to match manny for speed
HATTON VOWS TO MATCH MANNY FOR SPEED
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Post to del.icio.us Facebook
Ricky Hatton says he's out to match Manny Pacquiao for speed when they meet in Las Vegas on May 2.
The pair clash in a mouthwatering light-welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with the Hitman aiming to take Manny's P4P crown.
Pacquiao has won world titles at a host of weights, with his brilliant speed proving too much for most of his opponents.
But Hatton, reborn with new trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr now in his corner, believes he'll be just as fast as the Pacman come fight night.
He said: "Well, I strongly believe I would be as fast as Manny. And I think Floyd will probably agree with me, the way we've started off in the first couple of weeks. If I'm not as fast as Manny, I will only be the narrowest of margins behind him."
Since splitting with Billy Graham, Hatton produced one of the best displays of his career to stop brash New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi.
And he believes the new approach brought by Mayweather Sr is bringing to the fore skills that had been dormant in past fights.
He added: "My defence is a lot better, I'm picking up shots, I'm moving my head faster, I'm jabbing a bit more. And because Manny's probably watching videos of Ricky Hatton, all the videos that he's watching will be the old Ricky Hatton, and then when the new Ricky Hatton turns up, I think he's going to get a shock. I think one thing that won't shock him is my strength and my size, which I think obviously if he's not preparing for it, he should be.
"But I think there's a technical side, the defensive work and the speed is going to shock him more than anything."
When a possible Hatton/Pacquiao fight was discussed in the past, many experts were predicting a real slugfest with the Filipino buzzsaw going toe to toe with the non-stop pressure of the Hitman.
But the new Ricky now expects May's fight to be a far more tactical affair.
"I think it is going to be a tactical fight. When you fight at this level, it's always got to be a tactical fight. I mean, you're can't just go in there and plough in.
"But I think in years gone by, I think a lot of people when they think of Ricky Hatton, they expect for me to just plough him.
"But under my new trainer, Floyd Mayweather, and just after spending seven weeks with Floyd, I think you can see the massive difference in the Paulie Malignaggi fight in my boxing ability, my hand speed. I mean, everybody thought Paulie was going to outbox me and outspeed me. And in fact, I think I outboxed him and outspeeded him.
"Even in the short two weeks I've been in training camp, I think Floyd will be testing only to this. I'm as fast now as I was when I finished with training camp last time, so these are all good signs. But, obviously Ricky Hatton always goes for the knockout. But with someone like Manny Pacquiao, he's a good boxer, he's very good with his feet in and out, and he's got that southpaw stance. Obviously you can't go in there just crash-****-wallop so to speak, you've got to think about what you're doing. But I know I can fight toe to toe, I know I can body punch. What's impressing my new trainer now, I think I'm showing technical ability that I think he didn't think I had at first. But I think that's going to shock Manny more than the size and the power aspect."
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Post to del.icio.us Facebook
Ricky Hatton says he's out to match Manny Pacquiao for speed when they meet in Las Vegas on May 2.
The pair clash in a mouthwatering light-welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with the Hitman aiming to take Manny's P4P crown.
Pacquiao has won world titles at a host of weights, with his brilliant speed proving too much for most of his opponents.
But Hatton, reborn with new trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr now in his corner, believes he'll be just as fast as the Pacman come fight night.
He said: "Well, I strongly believe I would be as fast as Manny. And I think Floyd will probably agree with me, the way we've started off in the first couple of weeks. If I'm not as fast as Manny, I will only be the narrowest of margins behind him."
Since splitting with Billy Graham, Hatton produced one of the best displays of his career to stop brash New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi.
And he believes the new approach brought by Mayweather Sr is bringing to the fore skills that had been dormant in past fights.
He added: "My defence is a lot better, I'm picking up shots, I'm moving my head faster, I'm jabbing a bit more. And because Manny's probably watching videos of Ricky Hatton, all the videos that he's watching will be the old Ricky Hatton, and then when the new Ricky Hatton turns up, I think he's going to get a shock. I think one thing that won't shock him is my strength and my size, which I think obviously if he's not preparing for it, he should be.
"But I think there's a technical side, the defensive work and the speed is going to shock him more than anything."
When a possible Hatton/Pacquiao fight was discussed in the past, many experts were predicting a real slugfest with the Filipino buzzsaw going toe to toe with the non-stop pressure of the Hitman.
But the new Ricky now expects May's fight to be a far more tactical affair.
"I think it is going to be a tactical fight. When you fight at this level, it's always got to be a tactical fight. I mean, you're can't just go in there and plough in.
"But I think in years gone by, I think a lot of people when they think of Ricky Hatton, they expect for me to just plough him.
"But under my new trainer, Floyd Mayweather, and just after spending seven weeks with Floyd, I think you can see the massive difference in the Paulie Malignaggi fight in my boxing ability, my hand speed. I mean, everybody thought Paulie was going to outbox me and outspeed me. And in fact, I think I outboxed him and outspeeded him.
"Even in the short two weeks I've been in training camp, I think Floyd will be testing only to this. I'm as fast now as I was when I finished with training camp last time, so these are all good signs. But, obviously Ricky Hatton always goes for the knockout. But with someone like Manny Pacquiao, he's a good boxer, he's very good with his feet in and out, and he's got that southpaw stance. Obviously you can't go in there just crash-****-wallop so to speak, you've got to think about what you're doing. But I know I can fight toe to toe, I know I can body punch. What's impressing my new trainer now, I think I'm showing technical ability that I think he didn't think I had at first. But I think that's going to shock Manny more than the size and the power aspect."
Comment