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I'm sure of this. He will lose the day I pick him to win.
Despite genuinely liking pretty much everything about the guy, in and out of the ring, I have NEVER picked him to win a single one of his major fights. I was convinced that a reborn MAB would school him in the rematch (really), that the second Morales fight was a fluke, that JMM was way to versatile to lose a rematch (I scored it a draw), ODLH was too big, Hatton would rough him up and make him quit, etc, etc... I even thought Oscar Larios might land some wild, loopy hook and KO him early! Some ornery part of my jealous contrarian soul refuses to acknowledge this man's greatness; refuses to concur with what has become plain and obvious. He is the best fighter of this era, bar none. Not by virtue of skill of which he has plenty, but based on pure accomplishment; the only real measure of a fighter's greatness.
For whatever reason, I keep holding out for the opportunity to scream 'I told you so' to all of those star struck bandwagon Pacfans who believe this man to be invincible, who are oblivious to his flaws, and who naively believe that he can defy the weight classes forever. I keep waiting for the night that these folks get jolted back into reality.
I'm not from Manchester, England, so I'm not going to pretend that Ricky Hatton is or was ever going to be an all-time great, but in no bloody way did I imagine him getting steamrolled like he did tonight. The guy was the toughest thing going at 140; the same guy who stood up to and bludgeoned Kostya Tszyu into submission. For my money he genuinely seemed to be new and improved with FloyJoy in his corner. This fight was supposed to be exciting, dramatic, and explosive; and it was supposed to be competitive. Yet Manny crushed him like some golden gloves rookie.
If and when Pacquiao signs to fight with Floyd Mayweather, my mind will try to convince me that Floyd is too big, too skilled, too clever, too famous, and perhaps even too rich to lose to Manny Pacquiao. That Oscar was weight-drained deadwood when he got in the ring with Pacquiao. That Hatton fought like a ****** and gave it away. So, before my 'good sense' returns, I'll go ahead and make record of it now. Manny Pacquiao will KO Floyd Mayweather within six rounds. He will dominate and embarrass him. I'm finally picking Manny Pacquiao. I'm finally on board the PacMan bandwagon, which must, of course, mean that bandwagon is about to get knocked over.
Despite genuinely liking pretty much everything about the guy, in and out of the ring, I have NEVER picked him to win a single one of his major fights. I was convinced that a reborn MAB would school him in the rematch (really), that the second Morales fight was a fluke, that JMM was way to versatile to lose a rematch (I scored it a draw), ODLH was too big, Hatton would rough him up and make him quit, etc, etc... I even thought Oscar Larios might land some wild, loopy hook and KO him early! Some ornery part of my jealous contrarian soul refuses to acknowledge this man's greatness; refuses to concur with what has become plain and obvious. He is the best fighter of this era, bar none. Not by virtue of skill of which he has plenty, but based on pure accomplishment; the only real measure of a fighter's greatness.
For whatever reason, I keep holding out for the opportunity to scream 'I told you so' to all of those star struck bandwagon Pacfans who believe this man to be invincible, who are oblivious to his flaws, and who naively believe that he can defy the weight classes forever. I keep waiting for the night that these folks get jolted back into reality.
I'm not from Manchester, England, so I'm not going to pretend that Ricky Hatton is or was ever going to be an all-time great, but in no bloody way did I imagine him getting steamrolled like he did tonight. The guy was the toughest thing going at 140; the same guy who stood up to and bludgeoned Kostya Tszyu into submission. For my money he genuinely seemed to be new and improved with FloyJoy in his corner. This fight was supposed to be exciting, dramatic, and explosive; and it was supposed to be competitive. Yet Manny crushed him like some golden gloves rookie.
If and when Pacquiao signs to fight with Floyd Mayweather, my mind will try to convince me that Floyd is too big, too skilled, too clever, too famous, and perhaps even too rich to lose to Manny Pacquiao. That Oscar was weight-drained deadwood when he got in the ring with Pacquiao. That Hatton fought like a ****** and gave it away. So, before my 'good sense' returns, I'll go ahead and make record of it now. Manny Pacquiao will KO Floyd Mayweather within six rounds. He will dominate and embarrass him. I'm finally picking Manny Pacquiao. I'm finally on board the PacMan bandwagon, which must, of course, mean that bandwagon is about to get knocked over.