Have the Hitman's fans met their match?

Nice article. I have to say though, I've seen Pacquiao's fans, and Hatton's, and I'd have to give it to the Hatton fans everyday.
The English have the amazing ability to be the best supporters in most sports, and boxing has to be one of them, I cannot name a single other Filipino sportsman, but I bet and Filipino could name the English football team. This Pacquiao is all they have, of course they'll be a big supporter of him!

Good article. Even if he fought Hatton with one man and his dog watching, he'd still give him a masterclass. So what the hell are you going on about the England football team for?

Whatever happens on the night it is clear that as nice and dedicated a guy Manny is, come the end of the fight he is gonna get mashed up, i'm not saying it's gonna be easy but the end result will be an outstanding win for Ricky, the supporters, this great country of ours and we will finally be able to say we have THE best fighter from our shores as the No:1.

Peace

Nice article. I have to say though, I've seen Pacquiao's fans, and Hatton's, and I'd have to give it to the Hatton fans everyday.
The English have the amazing ability to be the best supporters in most sports, and boxing has to be one of them, I cannot name a single other Filipino sportsman, but I bet and Filipino could name the English football team. This Pacquiao is all they have, of course they'll be a big supporter of him!
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Rather narrow minded post. Simply because the likes of football and cricket arent major sports in the Phillipines you claim Pacquaio is "all they have".

Using Hattons so called fans after their performance in the Mayweather fight and the les than stellar reputation of English football fans abroad is also somehow ironic.

Hatton arguably has the second or third biggest support of any boxer but the crux of the article is correct in stating while Haton has huge support, he will never have the same status, or pressure, that Pacquaio has.

"Mayweather Sr, who joined Hatton's camp before his defeat of Paulie Malignaggi last November, is so impressed with the affect he has had on his new charge that's he taken to writing poems about his own powers as a trainer."
As bad as anything that BBC Web illiterates turn out as English. Pathetic. Shameful.

Rather narrow minded post. Simply because the likes of football and cricket arent major sports in the Phillipines you claim Pacquaio is "all they have".

I beg your pardon....I understand your replying to someone else's post but can you name another sports star/team of any note from the Phillipines please. Cheers

SalochinC, you really are one sad fool. This is a boxing blog, not an application to join Oxford!

On the fight itself, I fear Hatton is making the same mistakes he made against Mayweather, he is getting caught up in all the hype, and I fear he will suffer a very painful loss.

My thoughts on this are divided, does Hatton just not have the ability at ultimate elite level or is he just too nice a guy?

I feel he has the ability but just becomes too nice or respectful against true elite opponents i.e Mayweather and Pacquiao only. My conclusions are that he is lacking a bit of ability but combined with his respect and adulation of his opponent( which creates a bit of fear) along with his lack of true inner anger, he will be unable to dethrone Pacquiao.

Against Tszyu he was hungry to prove himself, against Mayweather he was buzzing he had made it and took his eye off the job until it was too late, which Hatton will we see against Pacquiao?

@1.thanks for cracking me up.Are you sure you're reading the same article?And why mention the English football team?

Pacman isn't all they have, Donaire & Penalosa are two pretty well known Filipino boxers.

As for the fight itself i may as well stick my oar in: Hatton to win by KO in the middle rounds. We haven't got any evidence that Pacman can mix it with the bigger boys, he beat an extremely average lightweight in Diaz (David) and boxed beautifully against the weight-drained punchbag that was De la Hoya.

Quickness and speed can only get you so far until you run into a freight train of a punch from a much much bigger guy. Manny is no Mayweather Jr, in comparison he's a fair bit easier to hit. His punch resistance against Marquez (his last real test) at super-feather was questionable - he got wobbled by a little guy quite a few times.

Coxy I agree with everything you have just said, this fight is a real 50-50 imo, but my opinion is leaning towards Hatton not having ultimate class, I hope I am proved wrong.

One thing I can guarantee, is that after the fight you will have a wave of "I told you so" posters.

Even If I'm right about Hatton not quite cutting it, I certainly won't pretend I thought it was a dead cert!

The manny that fought against marquez is a totally different manny to the one fighting now. Hes far more elusive. I love manny but i used to despair at his brawling, come-forward style. What has shocked and amazed me is how he has seen the weaknesses in his game and ironed them out so efficiently. He will use speed against hatton (obv). Hes also a helluva lot bigger so will be harder to wobble. And i just dont think hatton will get near him. Manny will flit around him and tag him up. I do like hatton too and i hope he acquits himself well and goes on to have more big fights. But i hope and think manny wins this one. Then i actually hop eboth go on to fight and beat FMJ consecutively. Then manny v JMM again maybe just to shut up all the haters lol.

The funny thing aby marquez is ppl call for a rubber match but its already over even if JMM wins its still only level lol but he did box well v Diaz and it would be a good fight to see.

I think this one could be close and it depends really on how well Manny can handle the pressure supplied by Hatton. If he can cope with the heavy shots to body and Hattons close style he will win. I think we've seen the best (and worst) of Ricky so far it just depends on Pacmans ability to cope with him.

Also on the comment of fans, someone mentioned the Hitman had maybe 2nd or 3rd largest support. I'd question that remark, what do you call support? Personally any man who can get 30,000 odd Brits to travel what 4,000 miles is an amazing achievement. Pacman may have alot of fans there but how many live in the US? (i dont know its a genuine question) And as for Golden Boy he has Mexican heritage so already a vastly large population for national support plus the American market and he always to my memory fights in the US, if he'd come to Europe and had 30,000 fighters maybe i'd say he was popular to. Until fans show true support and follow their man across oceans and high financial costs i'd have to say Hatton takes this one. But really in the end of the day it comes down to 2 men. And my go its gonna be brilliant!

Bilsim,

As for other Filipino sportsmen that you would like to know here goes:

1. Paeng Nepomuceno: 4-time bowling World Champion & bowling Hall of Famer; check out Guinness Book of World Records & you'll see him there

2. Bata Reyes: US Billiards Hall of Famer; check out his games played in England; He is not called "The Magician" for nothing

Pinas is a billiards country. If you follow the sport then you would know about the tournament regularly held called "Europe vs The Philippines". Might be a good break from watching nil-nil Premier League games of late.

3. Django Bustamante: another billiards master. There are a lot to name but you would not know any of them as you only watch footie.

4. Onyok Velasco: Olympics boxing silver medalist. Again the list of boxers the country is constantly producing is long (Flash Elorde, Donaire, Luisito Espinosa, etc). They have conquered the international arena but have not reached the heights Pacquiao has.

5. Eugene Torre: Asia's 1st Chess Grandmaster. We have a respectable record in chess as a country having finished as high as 3rd in the Chess Olympiad as a team. The other chess masters we have are Wesley So, Mark Paragua, etc who have ruled World Rapid Chess Tournaments in the under 14 & 16s previously.

6. Our basketball team rule the ASEAN circuit but not the whole Asia nowadays. Never conquered the Olympics in this field. It's not hard to imagine why as basketball is a height sport, which we obviously lack. Football will hopefully takeover this sport as we are nowhere even in ASEAN footie.

Our national sports never move forwards due to corruption. The individuals mentioned above did it either on their own or with the support from a private company. Hopefully come London 2012 we will win our first Olympic gold. Yes, shamefully, the closest we have ever got is silver. So despite some success in the pro arena this has never translated into good Olympic medal haul.

Eskrimador

but I bet and Filipino could name the English football team. This Pacquiao is all they have, of course they'll be a big supporter of him!

You don't play football in UK. You play soccer & I am sure there is not a single Filipino who knows the name of ANY soccer team in England, or any other place for that matter.

Are you kidding they love football in the Phillipines! Fanatics... Pacqiauo himself arrived to the De La Hoya fight wearing an Arsenal jacket (wrong choice of team though Manny!).

But talking about football is past the point- this fight's gonna be a big one! I personally don't care about the fan situation.

I predict Manny on points - neither fighter is getting knocked out!

Football is not a very popular sports in the Philippines, it is Basketball, Boxing, Billiard and Bowling not to mention WWE wrestling.hehehehe.. Batista is a Filipino by Blood, his Father was a Filipino and his Mother is a Greek...

You don't play football in UK. You play soccer & I am sure there is not a single Filipino who knows the name of ANY soccer team in England, or any other place for that matter.

@gelynch52

Actually there is no such sport as soccer, its a made up Americanism. We play football, association football !

@ bilsim

Nice article. I have to say though, I've seen Pacquiao's fans, and Hatton's, and I'd have to give it to the Hatton fans everyday.
The English have the amazing ability to be the best supporters in most sports, and boxing has to be one of them, I cannot name a single other Filipino sportsman, but I bet and Filipino could name the English football team. This Pacquiao is all they have, of course they'll be a big supporter of him!

-------------------
Just like what @eskrima have said

Google the name Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno

He is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for three records: 1) for most Bowling World cup wins, 2) for being the youngest ever to win the Bowling World Cup (at 19 years of age), and 3) for having won the most number of bowling tournament titles. In total, Paeng has 118 career bowling titles. Paeng who still actively competes up to this day is the only bowling athlete to have won or awarded titles in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

or Google AMF World Cup of Bowling.

Since 1969 he's the ONLY athlete to have won the championship more than once. "MORE THAN ONCE". NO ONE EVEN WON IT TWICE! HE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR TIMES!

@ bilsim

Nice article. I have to say though, I've seen Pacquiao's fans, and Hatton's, and I'd have to give it to the Hatton fans everyday.
The English have the amazing ability to be the best supporters in most sports, and boxing has to be one of them, I cannot name a single other Filipino sportsman, but I bet and Filipino could name the English football team. This Pacquiao is all they have, of course they'll be a big supporter of him!

-------------------
Just like what @eskrima have said

Google the name Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno

He is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for three records: 1) for most Bowling World cup wins, 2) for being the youngest ever to win the Bowling World Cup (at 19 years of age), and 3) for having won the most number of bowling tournament titles. In total, Paeng has 118 career bowling titles. Paeng who still actively competes up to this day is the only bowling athlete to have won or awarded titles in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

or Google AMF World Cup of Bowling.

Since 1969 he's the ONLY athlete to have won the championship more than once. "MORE THAN ONCE". NO ONE EVEN WON IT TWICE! HE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR TIMES!

I MAY ADD on this!!

THE PHILIPPINES IS THE first country TO score or reach 100 points in basketball in an international tournament!!!! Before basketball ends up 20 points in a whole game!! ALso the HIGHEST RANKED FINISHED IN BASKETBALL IN WORLD BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP THEY GET 3RD PLACE BEHIND USA AND BRAZIL IN 1960'S AND ATLEAST SILVER MEDAL IN OLYMPICS BASKETBALL IF NOT FOR THE CONTROVERSIAL RULE IN 1960'S!!

PANCHO VILLA THE FIRST ASIAN CHAMPION IN BOXING AND FLASH ELORDE WHO ALSO INTO THE BOXING HALL OF FAME!!!

MANY MORE.. YOU DONT KNOW ABOUT PHILIPPINES HISTORY SO YOU BETTER BE CARE OF YOUR COMMENTS OK!!

@ bilsim

Reading your comment, I was reminded of this nice quote I read somewhere which goes something like this:

"It's better to keep your mouth shut and look like a fool, than open it and confirm you are indeed one".

Good post but you should be embarrassed that you mention the fight is on 4th May rather than the 2nd - clicking on the link even takes you to the story announcing the fight for the 2nd!

acero... the quote goes:

"Best remain silent and be thought a fool, than open your mouth and remove all doubt."

arielsa,

Yes, I think you're right, thank you. That's why I said,"goes something like this", coz I forgot the exact wordings, but I'm sure bilsim got my drift.

I really cant wait for this fight. For my money its the biggest fight this year.
Khan V Berrera?
Not on the same planet. one is a wanna be & one is a has been.

These two are the best of the best.

ALL BOOKED UP!!! VIVA LAS VEGAS BABY

cant wait Hatton to finish pac-man off inside 8 rounds!

35,000 state side in egas cheering him on to watch history in the making!

couple of cherry picked fights and a fight in dubai and hatton can retire pound for pound king!

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

i think this will be a much closer fight than ricky is letting on, and i think he knows it!

manny has the speed and power to cause ricky a lot of trouble, but if ricky's conditioning is right he should have the brute strength and weight behind punches to win.

but i expect a narrow, hard-faught fight, and i cant wait.

Bring on May 4th!!

#14 gelynch52:

"you don't play football in UK, You play soccer"

Why are some people intent on showing that their level of ignorance is greater than everyone elses? I'd have thought a total lack of knowledge, wit and education would be something one would prefer to disguise rather than flaunt, but what do I know?

Football, as played in the UK, Europe, South America, Africa and Asia has been referred to as association football for well over a century. It's the most widely participated in team sport in the world, and is played with the feet and a ball. Hence the name.

American Football is just that: American. It's a minority sport everywhere but the USA, because it has limited appeal to those who like proper sport, like WWF wrestling.
It's played predominantly with the hands, a ball and a suit of armour, in 10 second bursts with 5 minute intervals inbetween.

American football is at least 50 years younger than association football (the Cambridge Rules were drawn up in 1848, whereas American professional football can only be traced to 1892), and actually has its origins in 'proper' football anyway.

You only refer to Football as Soccer because some imbecile made the mistake, 115 years or so ago, of calling a sport that's not football, "football" and consequently you now get confused by there being 2 sports with the same name. In the rest of the world we don't have this problem so we refer to it by its proper name.

We'll doubtless continue to do so, even if it annoys you.

Pacquiao will win because he is a true athlete with total dedication. He lives the lifestyle of an athlete, maintains his fighting weight between fights and is very fast indeed - feet and hands. Anyone who saw the de la hoya fight in full will understand this.
The Philippines don't have many superstars simply because the country does not have the investment in sports that western countries do.

When will Hatton learn that even if he manages to beat the pound for pound champion it doesn't mean you become p4p number 1. Manny has won titles at 4 different weights and Hatton has only ever had 2 fights at 147 one of which he lost. As much as i like Hatton i think Manny will be too quick for him and pick him off.

well said fjsm33!

[14. At 01:33am on 03 Mar 2009, gelynch52 wrote:
but I bet and Filipino could name the English football team. This Pacquiao is all they have, of course they'll be a big supporter of him!

You don't play football in UK. You play soccer & I am sure there is not a single Filipino who knows the name of ANY soccer team in England, or any other place for that matter. ]

I'm a Filipino ex-pat and I bet I can name all of the Premiership teams and around 90% of the Football League teams from Championship to League 2!

That's what being stuck in a little diner for four hours in Utrecht (after a legendary Toon win in Rotterdam in the CL all them years ago - sigh, those were the days).

Back to the fight, I think Manny will have his work cut out against the Hitman and I don't agree with Roach's comments that they will dominate the fight. Having said that, Roach is a master tactician and if Manny executes the gameplan well then he should just about win it. What Hatton's got to be careful of is losing his head if he gets 'schooled' after the first couple of rounds, thus reverting to his old habits (pre-Floyd Sr era). If that happens then he will be easy pickings as Manny will just dart in and out and hardly getting caught.

And isn't it refreshing to see fighters having that mutual respect for each other instead of trying to wring each other's throat? Aww

Meant to say:

That's what being stuck in a little diner for four hours in Utrecht (after a legendary Toon win in Rotterdam in the CL all them years ago - sigh, those were the days) does to you!

eskrima:

are you for real? Bowling, billiards and chess referred to as 'sports'. get a grip.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

[37. At 11:25am on 03 Mar 2009, Ben Dirs - BBC Sport wrote:
All right chaps, calm down. It never ceases to amaze me hwo some of these conversations end up. One minute we're talking about Hatton v Pacquiao, the next we're talking about whether the average Filipino could name everyone in the England football team! ]


Yep, I can do that as well :)

Ben Dirs @ 37

Mostly due, I suppose, to tactless comments by some insensitive posters. I can identify at least two here.

Back to the boxing Ben.

I just cannot see Hatton losing this fight and I genuinely see it being a stepping stone to a rematch with FMJ. Hatton will be too strong for Pacquiao and regardless of the Pacman's guile and skill in the ring, when Ricky hits him, he will stay hit.
A stoppage? ..No, but a good points win..yes!

Next up, FMJ in a rematch that will be one of the biggest grossing fights ever - possibly in England.
Picture it now, A resurgent Hatton trained by FM senior V's an unbeaten FMJ opposing both Hotton and his father.
It all sounds scripted to happen.

@40

I can't see Hatton losing this fight either. My worry for Pacman is when he misses and Ricky gets off one of his patented body shots. Sure, Manny has great speed and movement but you can't learn how to take a punch off a naturally much bigger and stronger guy.

I too would like to see him take on FMJ again, problem is FMS has already said he wouldn't train Ricky if he did fight him. But money speaks, especially with the Mayweather family! The other stumbling block would be having it here, HBO pull the strings as well as having the Vegas casino (usually the MGM) pumping money into the guaranteed purse pot. But a 90,000 Wembley showdown would be the best thing since sliced bread, were it to happen!

How are the Brittish the best boxing fans or best sporting fans in the world for that matter. They booed throughout the American national anthem in the FMJ fight to the absolute disgust of not only the American fans but the entire watching world. English football fans are hated in the vast majority of countries - being loud and loutish doesnt make you a good fan. The Irish and the Scots are proper fans - no fighting, respectful of other nations anthems and cultures. Of course the majority of English sports fans are just there to support their team but the louts are always at the fore and ruin it for everyone else English or not....

As for the fight - Goin to be a cracker but Hatton wont have the stanima in the later rounds and Manny will KO him. Too much damage to the body between fights, it happened against FMJ and even Mayweather Snr has said Ricky has to stop the indulging between fights or his career will be over sooner rather than later which is a pity cause hes a great fighter but its true. Manny to win in the 9th or 10th and some patriotic English bookmaker will have stupid odds of about 80/1 so there is money to be made...

A lot of nonsense on here.

I don't think anyone wants to demean the phillipines by saying that Manny is all they have. Obviously they have competed in other international sports, such as basketball in the 1960s (great example), but they have no other world famous sportsmen. Looking at England who's stars are prominent in most major global sports, from snooker to football to cycling etc, there is clearly no comparison.

What's remarkable is the following Hatton has when boxing is probably somewhere low down in the top 10 of most popular sports in this country, and until recently he wasn't even the most important fighter! Put things into context people!

Am i the only one throughly underwhelmed by this fight? what is Hatton attempting to prove?

Here we have the typical british boxing situation, they will hype up Manny until the cows come home, and when, as i suspect Hatton scores an emphatic middle/late rounds win, buried will be the fact that the man he beat started his career at a shade over 100lbs, and only has one fight at this weight against a man who should have retired many a year ago.

Hatton wins and magically will be pound for pound #1, he may even get a rematch against FMJ, and once again we will be treated to scenes reminiscent of a little boy trying to box his dad.

It'll be an extraordinary atmosphere - can you imagine what it'd have been like if it was at Wembley, or for that matter one of the NFL stadia if you must fight in the US? - and it should be an interesting fight.

To me, it comes down to whether Pacquiao can take Hatton's punches. If he can, he wins. If he can't, he doesn't. It's as simple as that, and as difficult to predict as that. There's no doubt Pacquiao will outbox Hatton, but plenty of doubt as to whether that's enough.

Who's the pound-for-pound king if Hatton wins this one, if we discount FMJ as retired? Probably not Hatton, probably not Pacquiao, but then who else?

Why does everyone insist on lauding Pacquiao's 'boxing' skills. Granted he was involved in classics with Morales, but watching the 24 rounds against Marquez, its clear anyone with a strong jab and defensives nous can outbox Manny at will. Especially coming up against the much naturally larger Hatton, i cant see Pacquiao making many inroads at all.

But what is to be expected from a man, so much smaller?

@ 47

The two fighters are roughly the same height. If anything the pacman is a little taller.

Height they may be comparable, but in build and strength, Hatton is a clear winner. Manny started his career at Flyweight, Hatton even without his lavish post fight lifestyle, walks around far higher than 140lbs, and boils down to make LW, i seriously doubt any weight control techniques will be needed by Pacquiao.

Hatton is physically a stronger man at 140lbs, and come the fight, i think it will show.

It's not unusual for boxers to fight in weight divisions far above those in which in they start, De la Hoya being the most recent to win 6 (i think) different weight divison titles. He started at super-featherweight and ended up fighting as high as middleweight, that's 130lbs all the way up to 160lbs.

Plus, if this is such a mismatch then why is Manny odds on to win? He has the speed and movement to give Hatton all sorts of problems, but i still think Hatton will win if he can wear him down from the start.

At least Hatton is taking on the P4P best there is, unlike fighting in his own backyard for years before taking on shot fighters.. meow i know!

"ShinyDavidHowell - There are an awful lot of people who think Juan Manuel Marquez beat Pacquiao twice, and consequently who think he's already the P4P best."
---------------------
i'm one of them. apart from a few emphatic rounds for pacman, marquez boxed his head off twice. he got the decision, but he didn't beat him - big difference.

It all depends on ONE thing - which Ricky Hatton turns up on the night, if it's the one who beat Kosta Tszyu then it's going to be Hatton, otherwise it's more than likely be Manny Pacquiao.

Oh and by the way this is supposed to be a post forum on the fight and the blog not a childish let's see who can slag each other off the most, FFS grow up.

JMM is a pressure fighter that put Manny on the back foot, in many fans minds he beat Manny, just not on the score cards. Hatton pressures his opponents in a similar manner but is bigger and stronger, the way to beat Manny is head on fight fire with fire. Hatton has the ability to bully Manny around, speed wont be a big factor here, Hatton is far faster than credited for, he isnt a depleted ODH or a alphabet champ like Diaz, this is the first true test for Manny and its a step too far. Ricky by KO!

By the way in response to the title of Ben's blog, seeing as the fight is in Vegas and there are a lot of Philippinos (sic) in the U.S.A. then yes I think that on this occasion that they have.

I would love to see Hatton fight Marquez especially after watching him absorb so much punishment against Juan Diaz at the weekend. Boy, he is tough but would he withstand the same punishment against Hatton? For me, it's doubtful.
Would for my money be a better match up that Hatton v Pacman is 'on paper'.

Just want to throw in a contentious point at this stage that had Hatton been allowed to fight in his usual style by the ref in the one-sided match-up with FMJ, I think we may have seen a much closer fight.
The ref did seem to insist they fight not any closer than 1 ft" apart and this suited FMJ perfectly.
Me thinks that most fans incorrectly have Hatton written off as over the hill.

What worries me about hatton is that his started this thing again, about how he will be to big and to strong for pacman. Lets not forget thats the same thing they were banging on about before fighting floyd jnr, and............. HE GOT KNOCKED OUT!!! Pacman beat oscar in his last fight. Now i know and everybody else knows that hatton will be much more game then oscar but end of the day pacman has the believe in himself that he can fight bigger guys and win. He also has the abilities to back this up. Personally i feel Pacman is gonna show the world why he is P4P No#1.

There is also another thing i forgot to speak about. I have a funny feeling that the British media are gonna say hatton is P4P#1 if he beats Pacman. That is absolute bull!!!!!!!!!!!
The P4P#1 is not decided like its a belt. You cant just beat the P4P#1 and then become #1. The P4P system works on the sort of run your on. Who you are beating and not just a one off fight. Thats how i feel about the situation? Am I the only One?

Hi folks, I remember that when Ricky fought Tszyu - even though he won - he was at a lower level in terms of timing, quality and accuracy; that until Tszyu started to fade due to Ricky's rythm and pressure. I have the felling that Roach has seen that too and is sure that a fit and fast Manny, who technically appears to be the better boxer, will prove to be too much for Hatton. Don't snow me under a wave of angry replies: these are my two technical cents and I am not trying to take anything away from the IBF title victory in Manchester.

To those knocking Hatton for his loss to the P4P NO1 aka PBF would do well to remember Manny has lost twice in the past to nobodies, admittedly one could be excused for been weight drained as Manny did appear but that same excuse doesnt wash with pacman fans when bringin ODH into that same frame. I believed the 1st fight despite the 1st round knock down JMM beat Manny, some argue both occasions that was the case. Manny needs to step up his game for Hatton because hes getting more than he bargained for.

Good shout on Marquez, knew I'd forgotten someone. Perhaps Hatton should fight Marquez if he beats Pacquiao... both can punch and take a punch, so it'd be great entertainment!

Very good shout, Nahid1987, about how the P4P judgement isn't made belt-style.

bilsim wrote -

"I've seen Pacquiao's fans, and Hatton's, and I'd have to give it to the Hatton fans everyday.
The English have the amazing ability to be the best supporters in most sports, and boxing has to be one of them"

-------------

???

You're having a laugh surely.

They "have the amazing ability to be the best supporters"?

There are very few countries in the world whose fans would boo their own national football team to the extent that I have witnessed from English "supporters" over the past few years.

But perhaps you mean "best supporters" in the sense of being friendly wherever they go, never being racist against the Germans the Irish or the French, never being boorish lager louts, never causing fights, and not having in fact one of the worst reputations in the whole of Europe.

Oh wait... : )

On the fans: they're probably amongst the loudest, and almost certainly the most willing to travel around the world to see their sporting heroes in action. Everything else is open to dispute.

On the fight: the only outcome I'd rule out is Hatton on points. If it goes the distance it'll be because Pacquiao outboxed Hatton but lacked the power to put him away. Hatton by KO in the middle rounds or Pacquiao on points or late stoppage would be my most likely outcomes, but in terms of actually predicting a winner I'm clueless.

Pacman too quick, in terms of handspeed and movement around opponent. He should be able to clearly hurt Hatton by 8th round.

Pacman has already shown his willingness to mix it in the heavier ranks with the likes of DelaHoya regardles of how the fight did turn out.

ok this little hissy fight over the last few posts but lets get back to he article . great article i think hatton will edge it ,but this is boxing and its open to a few suprises. so i cnt wait!

WOW! There has been a a lot of strong opinions on this fight.

My opinion remains unchanged. On the surface Hatton should beat Pacquiao with ease, but then another voice tells me that Pacquiao has never been outclassed and severely beaten over 10 rounds, as Hatton was against Mayweather. I know we are talking about Mayweather here, but this is the same Mayweather that only just beat Oscar De La Hoya on a Split Decision, the same Oscar De La Hoya that got destroyed in 8 rounds 15 months later by Manny Pacquiao. Was that purely down to weight drain only? Or is Manny Pacquiao something special, really special?

Hatton will provide the answers to that question, as I said earlier I hope I am proved wrong, but a part of me just feels that there is something about Hatton that is lacking at the very extreme elite level of the sport and that is why IMO he will be found wanting against Pacquiao.

PS That also applies to if he fought Marquez too, who IMO is the most under-rated fighter on the planet.

I really can't pick this fight, the only thing i do know is that it can't fail to live up to the hype.

What bothers me more is Floyd "one of a kind and i'll shock your mind" Mayweather Snr trying to pass himself off as some sort of rapper when he's basically just copying Big Bank Hank on Rappers Delight.

massive fight - very exciting - could go either way...

Pacman is a class act - but he has lost against smaller and less talented men than Hatton before and so could do again...

Hatton if he gets chance to use his "bustling" style could dominate... but everyone said that about De La Hoya before Pacman completely avoided him and picked him off with some ease... and De La Hoya, even though was not as good as he once was is still good enough to be a huge danger

50:50 in my mind.... i went to the Mayweather fight and i backed Mayweather to win (i am english and a Hatton fan)... and may well go out for this one as well.... but this could go either way... hopefully Hatton by TKO in the 12 round, last minute, after a rip-snorter of a fight.

PS - Hattons "boxing" fans are great - and arguably the best boxing fans around... sadly they are accompanied by a loud of complete inbreds who quite frankly are nothing more than traditional English thugs / louts... with this in mind i have to concede that pacmans fans are probably better...

hello i fink hatton will win peroid

Theres factors in this fight that I think sway it for Manny. The first is his stock is high because of the De La Hoya fight, secondly he does have that mystique about him coming up the weight divisions and performing well, not something Hatton can boast. Then theres the trainers, I know Mayweather Snr knows what he is talking about but in my opinion Freddie Roach pips the battle of the trainers, Roach will have plans A/B/C and so on worked out months in advance. He would not be a part of this fight if he did not think Manny would win it.
For me I think Hatton is still completely untested since the Mayweather fight, his last two have been against guys who did not bring their game those nights. Manny will do and Hatton will be in his sternest test since Mayweather against an awkward, well prepared guy who is quick, moves well and clearly is more heavy handed than people credit, his quick slashing hooks and straight punches could easily rip Hattons face to shreds. I can see Hatton being saved on his feet late in the fight.

Hi all,

first post as just joined up... My heart wants Hatton to pull this over, however my head is telling me otherwise.

Pacman - Lets not forget what he has achieved so far in his career it's nothing short of phenomenal - I know ODLH was a geriatric old man but still he got schooled at his own game.

Hatton - is superb and his game has improved since FMS has come on board - however I really see this fight being Hattons for the first 4-5 rounds with powerful combinations trying to catch Manny then in the mid to latter rounds Pacman just dancing around him picking him off - and genuinely making Hatton look hopeless

I CANNOT see hatton KO'n Pacman it won't happen folks - Roach knows and has his gameplan

Although noone has mentioned it yet but maybe Khan can help out Hatton with tactics seen as he spent a lot time working with him for his fight with Fagan - hatton may know something he can exploit because Khan went toe to toe with Manny in sparring quite a bit doing well

As far as I'm concerned, Mr Hatton is well out of his league with Manny Pacquiao.

The Hatton "fan factor" doesn't work in the US. They don't care about his fans. It may give him a boost to hear 20k jolly mancunians belting out "There's only one Ricky Hatton", but his opponents, opponent's corner, the American public aren't bothered or moved by all that.

It's true Pacquiao will find a different kind of opponent in Hatton, with his brawler style. But Pacquaio's speed, agility, and head movements will be too much for Hatton.

As a Brit, you always want to see your own succeeding in America. But realistically I don't see it happening.

Hatton is fighting the so called best pound for pound fighter in the world. The last time he put himself in a ring with a man claiming that title, it all ended in tears. Or 20 pints for the travelling fans.

I think must people here underestimate de la hoya, especially when you compare the fight between DLH-FJM and ODH-PAC

Personally I think that in preparation for the fight against PAC, Oscar sacrificed too much in order to reach the weight, you could see it in his movements and style during the fight.

althought impressed with the PAC win, personally the only person DLH lost to is to himself.

It doesnt matter who has the better set of supporters because they wont be in the ring with ricky during the fight. Pacman like Fmj is different class to hatton. Hatton will get over excited and rush forward in straight lines (similar to the Fmj fight) to try and use his size and strength and will make himself easy to hit for a much better boxer with lightning fast hands. Manny by unanimous decision!!

As was refered to above Pacquiao is the favorite for the fight. English bookies have Hatton approx 7/4 to win with Paquiao at 2/5. I didn't check to see how the American bookies see the fight.

The bookies don't often get it too wrong. They were right for the Mayweather fight.

"I'd love it if" Hatton won but maybe our hearts are ruling our heads.

Only 'shinydavid' shared my opinon, but i would like to hear what more people think! HATTON AND THE MEDIA THINK THAT IF HE BEATS PACMAN HE WILL BE P4P#1. I STRONGLY DISAGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm I the only one? ( Full Comment Regarding P4P system on comment number 58.) **Hint Hint** very interesting Read **Hint Hint**

i dont think it would make ricky p4p no.1 if he wins but i think should hatton win, manny would surely have to be removed as p4p no.1

p4p no.1 i think means that theoretically he could and should beat ANYONE at any weight at the current time (obviously cant fight every weight but.....)

surely if pacquaio is dealt a defeat this would have to see him de-throned????

thoughts anyone?

The mythical P4P #1 can't be won in just one fight. If Hatton were to beat Pac the logical progression would be to fight Marquez who's #2 (#1 in my eyes) and then take on FMJ. Win all 3 and he'd retire #1 in the P4P list. I still think that he'll go straight for FMJ if he wins though and will fight JMM over here if he loses.

Regarding the fight and CozmanKO comment... Pac is not in the same league as FMJ - the latter is one of the best defensive fighters i've ever seen, he rarely gets into troubl. Pac on the other hand has great speed, but he gets hit pretty often.

I don't wanna sound like i'm belittling Billy Graham, but the guy had health problems that was a detriment to Ricky in the training side of things. I thought Ricky looked pretty quick in his last fight against PM, after all this was a guy who lost by a 4-round margin to the great Cotto.

Hatton won't have to run around the ring after Manny like he did with FMJ and PM, if he does try and come in i think FMS will add method to that madness. Also, don't be surprised if you see Hatton moving from side to side to let Manny actually come to him trying to make him miss. If you look at his 2 fights against JMM he throws multi punch combos, many of which missed - hence why he took a pasting for 70% of both fights (yet somehow got a draw and a win).

Hatton beat a so-called slick speedster to the punch time and time again in PM, with his new training regime under FMS he's just gonna get quicker. With the added lump on his punches i do honestly fancy Hatton to do it in the 5-7 range. If he catches him flush with that big left uppercut i just can't Manny being able to take it, based on Marquez stunning him (who's not a huge puncher) numerous times in both fights at a much lighter weight.

Hello everyone, this is my first post on here as i have just signed up. There is a lot of interesting views on this fight and also a lot of what seems to be childish squabbling going on so it should be right up my street!!! ;)

As far as the fight goes i am split 50 - 50 at the minute. there's no doubt in my mind that in previous fights Pacman has looked a lot slicker and quicker than Hatton and also throws a lot more accurate combinations but i totally agree with the comments of Coxy0001 above when he says that Pac is no where near the fighter that FMJ is/was. He is a lot easier to hit and does get hit more often and we have seen in the past that he does get hurt as we saw when JMM fought him and he was also Ko'd a couple of times earlier in his career. Hatton will be the biggest opponent he has fought, even bigger than ODH who was a shadow of his former self and weak as a kitten he was so weight drained. this will be Hatton at the weight he feels most comfortable at, coming into the ring at around 11 stone and i doubt whether pac will have felt punches with the power that will be behind Ricky's.

At first i thought Pac would walk it but the more i think i am starting to think it really could go either way. regardless of waht anybody say, a lot of this is gonna come down to who is better "on the night" as we have all seen good fighters just not perform when it matters and if one of them doesn't perform in this one, the other will DESTROY them.

I hope Ricky wins simply cos i am a fan of his and a fan of British boxing but i wouldn't like to bet my money on it. Either way i am sure it's gonna be a hell of a fight and one i am looking forward to a lot more than i did when he fought Magic man.

coxy 0001 i agree with you 100% that manny is not anywhere near as talented as mayweather. IMO Mayweather is an all time great but wont be remebered that way because of his more negative style. However, manny is still a class above hatton.

I dont think you can read too much into the PM fight. PM only threw a handful of rights in the whole fight. I know you can argue the same for manny v odlh but manny looked more impressive.
Also i would be very surprised if hatton waited for manny to come too him like you said. almost all of hattons best performances have come by making his opponent work for 3 mins through sustained pressure. While his boxing skills are under-rated hatton doesnt have the tools the outbox manny even with FMS in his camp.
the only way hatton will win is if manny cant take the power. We will have to wait for the fight to see bcoz De la Hoya didnt lay a glove

Whatever happens, shouldn't we give credit where credit is due to the pacman? After all, he has gone up so many weights just to fight one of the best in the world in Ricky Hatton who is a great deal heavier. That is courage beyond belief, and if he does it, we should all just sit down, take in some air and say "wow, that pacquiao really is as good as people say he is." Hatton only moved up one weight to fight FMJ and was slaughtered, out of his depth to say the least. So, if Hatton does beat Pacman, there are really no positives because if, he does win, then it will simply be because he beat a smaller man. The only one who can win the plaudits is the pacman, plain and simple. So, I although I am English, I must support the underdogs(because of his weight, pacman is the considered underdog) so, Pacman will win.

I want Hatton to win as i like him and it would be good for British boxing but like a lot of people before me, i agree that if he does win, it would be inaccurate to call him the P4P #1. It's a strange old title as i think Pacquiao deserves it at the minute but if Hatton beats him then he should lose it BUT.... Hatton shouldn't inherit the title as he has remained at LW for all but 2 fights in his career and he lost one of them badly and the other was less than convincing. Somebody who is classed as the P4P best should have fought and won titles through a few different weights as Pacman has done and others including FMJ, ODH and RJJ did in the past. That's what gets up my nose about this P4P title cos it's not even a real title and something that is hard to determine who should claim the rights to it. In my opinion there is only one boxer on the planet who deserves it even if he is currently "retired" and that is Floyd Mayweather, he is the best out there in any weight division by a country mile.

3:31pm on 06 Mar 2009, scottydog09 wrote:

I want Hatton to win as i like him and it would be good for British boxing but like a lot of people before me, i agree that if he does win, it would be inaccurate to call him the P4P #1. It's a strange old title as i think Pacquiao deserves it at the minute but if Hatton beats him then he should lose it BUT.... Hatton shouldn't inherit the title as he has remained at LW for all but 2 fights in his career and he lost one of them badly and the other was less than convincing. Somebody who is classed as the P4P best should have fought and won titles through a few different weights as Pacman has done and others including FMJ, ODH and RJJ did in the past. That's what gets up my nose about this P4P title cos it's not even a real title and something that is hard to determine who should claim the rights to it. In my opinion there is only one boxer on the planet who deserves it even if he is currently "retired" and that is Floyd Mayweather, he is the best out there in any weight division by a country mile.

==========================================================================

I would have to disagree about FMJ being the p4p best in the world. All he does is hug and if it wasn't for one solitary judge, the match between FMJ and an old ODLH, it would have been a draw. Pacquiao made more of an impact on ODLH's face than FMJ did. 16 months between fights don't make a difference either. You can't be a brilliant boxer one minute, then 16 months later become a has-been, washed up journeyman the next. Its just closing your eyes to the truth about the ability of pacquiao and trying to make feeble excuses about ODLH.

Also, when the pacman moves up to 140lbs that means, he would have moved up 34lbs, from 106lbs(1st bout) to 140lbs(bout against Hatton) whereas the lowest Hatton has moved down to is 139.25lbs and the heaviest 147lbs.
Seems to me that Hatton is not brave enough to become a proper p4p best in the world because he would consider himself out of his depth. A brilliant p4p fighter is someone who can move up/down weights and still win fights without it affecting their ability. Hatton will never move up because of lack of confidence, whereas the other great p4p fighters i.e. ODLH, Roy Jones Junior, Sugar Ray Robinson, Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and Manny Pacquiao have an enormous amount of confidence in their abilities as professional boxers.

Vidicistheman you are spot on!!!!!! Hatton cant be considered P4p#1 cause he is only good at Light Welterweight! Now lets not knock the man, that is good. But its just not good enough for the P4P title. Nobody on the message board would be talking about this if it wasnt for the media and hatton himself. On the other hand hatton has to stop thinking just cause he looks bigger then his opponent he can punish them and win. The last time he was saying he was bigger then his opponent he got knocked out!! He has to concentrate on the other things!! I really do want hatton to win, but its really hard to see that outcome.

Vidicistheman, there is no way that any fighter could win as many titles and belts and also beat fighters of the quality of Hatton, ODH (even though i admit this was less than convincing, however the records show he won), Corrales, Castillo, Gatti, Judah and Chavez if all he did was hug. Mayweather is a remarkable defensive boxer, he may not be as exciting to watch as some others but that shouldn't detract from his outstanding technique. I half agree with you on the ODH issue, in my eyes i thought ODH actually won that fight but as the records show, he didn't. Mayweather wasn't at his best that night but still managed to walk away with the win. Nobody fights brilliantly every fight but to compare that fight and the ODH v Pacman fight is ridiculous. 16 months obviously did make a difference and you could see it on the night. De La Hoya was slow, lethargic and didn't seem to have a clue what was going on around him, he looked drained and physically exhausted before he even stepped into the ring compared to 16 months earlier when he was at his prefered weight and raring to go. I think any fighter could have done a job on him that night as he was so out of it. I am not for one second trying to ignore the talents of Paccquiao who i think is a fantstic fighter and boxes beatifully but the fact remians that when FMJ was around he was considered the best by EVERYONE in boxing from fighters to reporters to fans, unfortunately because of his pathetic attitude he also has a lot of haters. Like i said earlier though, i rate Pacman very highly and honestly don't know which way this fight will go and that's why i am so excited for it.

As for all the stuff about who should be thought of as P4P best i had already agreed with what you said in my earlier post.

Ok to anyone who thinks that marquez beat manny twice in their last two fights are out of their minds. They were closed fights and yes, marquez probably outboxed manny most of the rounds but you can't based anything on that. In the rules of boxing, if you knock your opponent down, he gets a point less. So, common sense, even if you are the best boxer in the world, if you keep finding your face in touch with the canvass, you LOSE the fight! Manny knocked Marquez down four times, that's is why he won TWICE! Nope, not one draw and a win, he won TWICE,why? in the first fight, some judge who never learned maths scored 10-7 instead of 10-6... he can't even count how many times marquez hit the canvass during the first round. If he knew how to count, then Pacquiao won twice with a total margin of 2 points for both fights(that's 1 point each!!). However, I give my outmost respect for both fighters who gave us 2 fights to be remembered for centuries.

anyways, regarding the Hatton-Pacquaio fight, it's 50-50 and I don't wanna explain why since some people already said it.

"You can't be a brilliant boxer one minute, then 16 months later become a has-been, washed up journeyman the next. Its just closing your eyes to the truth about the ability of pacquiao and trying to make feeble excuses about ODLH."

Yes, you can become washed up in that space of time. The writing was on the wall when DLH fought Forbes and didn't look hugely impressive. Do you also ignorantly think it's normal that a guy who is huge for a welterweight weighs in 2lbs under the limit? Then ONLY rehydrate 2lbs before getting in the ring? If DLH had got in the ring with a Cotto, Hatton etc it wouldn't have gone past the 3rd round. It says alot about Pacmans power (or lack of) at the higher weights that he couldn't KO a weight drained punchbag and a paperweight champ in Diaz before the 9th?

@p4pking

In both fights Marquez landed more punches in every dept (power, body, head etc), only thing that Pac had the edge over was the jabs. Yes Marquez got knocked down and then he took Pac to school for the rest of the fight. Even Roach has admitted that he didn't know which way either fight was gonna go until they announced it, and he knows a helluva lot more than you or i.

"You don't play football in UK. You play soccer" - gelynch52

Sorry but you're wrong. And since you are obviously an ignoramus, I'm not going to waste my time trying to explain why you are wrong. Just know that you are and that I laughed for ages at the obnoxiousness of your comment. Thanks for that! It was pure comedy.

Nice reply

Nope I am not an expert or anything. But neither do you or Freddie Roach. That is why we pay judges so they can judge. It's all about simple inequalites. Me and you are less than Freddie Roach (Trainer) is less than the Judges. In case you don't understand, I'll put it in your own words. Judges knows a helluva lot more than you or I or Freddie Roach. Pacquiao won by a split decision because 2 is more than 1. In your own words, 2 is helluva lot more than 1. Now, in a war, what's the use of a thousand paintballs if it can't kill the enemy? You get what I mean?

For me Hatton's got to cut the ring of and stop Manny from being able to move, if he can do that I think Hatton's power to the body will catch up with Manny mid fight.
If Hatton allows Manny to move he's in for a tough night and I'd predict he'll get his head jabbed off, his eyes will swell and he'll cut. I'll go as far as to say it'll be stopped if Hatton allows Manny to move about too much and get his rhythm, not by TKO but because of cuts.
That could mean a few scrappy rounds to start with Hatton trying to walk through a few to cut the ring off, a bit of wrestling, then Manny being dragged into a brawl which Hatton will win.
As for Hatton Vs Marquez, Hatton would beat him easily. If Marquez allowed Ricky as much freedom as he did Diaz (I don't know how to box and run out of steam after 5 rounds), he wouldn't have got past the early rounds when his legs went wobbly. Ricky is a different class than Diaz and can stand off a bit when he needs to. He's not the best outside boxer, but picking inside shots none are better IMHO.