Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton: Will "Fatman" Beat Pacman?

Ricky Hatton has only one loss in his celebrated career. It was as a Welterweight against undefeated p4p champ Floyd Mayweather Jr., and if you are going to lose to someone, there is no better loss to have on your resume than little Floyd.

Peruse boxing history, and you will find the hardest guys to defend against and also the guys that are avoided most are the southpaws; this fact also made its way onto the big screen of Hollywood in the 1976 inspirational movie Rocky, during a scene in which Apollo Creeds trainer is discussing the skills of Rocky Balboa in his upcoming fight.

"He's a southpaw. I don't want you messing with southpaws. They do everything backwards." Apollo creed: Southpaw nothing. I'll drop him in three. Apollo Creed meets the Italian Stallion. Now that sounds like a damn monster movie.

Manny Pacquiao or "Pacman" as he is known in boxing circles is a stratospheric fighter who has ended the careers of two of the greatest fighters in history, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales and is likely to have ended another one with his recent beat-down of Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya.

Manny is nearing sainthood..he stops for prayer in the midst of sparring matches and gives away six figure amounts to his home in the Philippines, but next in line could be a fighter with the equivalency in firepower, Manny should be on the lookout for the insurgence of "Hitman" Ricky Hatton.

This potential insurrection hasn't happened yet however, and this complicated story gets even more complicated when you add the fact that Floyd Mayweather Junior wishes to come out of retirement to face Manny Pacquiao.

Recently, on a Michigan radio station, it was reported by David Mayo, a  press columnist from Detroit Michigan—Mayweathers hometown—that there is truth to these sudden rumors.

Mayo tells Ryan Terpstra of WGHN Radio that Mayweather Jr. apparently wants his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., to train him for a fight against Pacquiao. Mayweather Sr. currently trains Ricky Hatton, who also could potentially be Pacquiao's next opponent.

There is a possibility that Pacquiao goes and fights Hatton, because even if little Floyd comes back in January and starts training, he couldn't be ready to fight until close to the middle of the year, at least May, according to Mayo.

"It might suit Hatton and Pacquiao to go ahead and make that fight...in Wembley Stadium, which is the idea, trying to draw this super mega-live crowd...and the winner gets Floyd. With Pacquiao fighting in England, you run the risk of, if not an eliminated Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, certainly a devalued one, or Mayweather gets turned to Hatton instead."

So there's a number of things that could happen and the plot is certainly thickening in this on going story of a mega million dollar showdown to take place later this year; as a huge combat sports fan I'm extremely excited to see all this shuffling taking place...let's just hope that the Mayweather money and political Boxing drama doesn't ruin an otherwise history making event.

"World champions aren't made in gyms, they are made from something they have deep inside them, a desire, a dream, a vision..."-Muhammad Ali

Note: Special thanks to WGHN RADIO for David Mayo interview.

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