Can Floyd Mayweather Teach Ricky Hatton How To Beat Manny Pacquiao?

Pacquiao vs. Hatton: Head to Head

May 2 is fast approaching and for those of you who have been living in a cave deep in the nether regions of nowhere, that is the day that boxing fans the world over are waiting for. Two of the sports most popular icons are set to square off against each other in the ring battle that has been dubbed “The Battle of East and West”.

The Principals

The man from the East in this venue is none other than Manny Pacquiao, pride of the Philippines, (an understatement I’m sure) division hopping warrior aka “Pac man”, the currently recognized pound for pound king in all of Boxingdom and coming in from the West is the Pride of Manchester, (another understatement) king of the 140 pounders,aka “the Hit Man” and seeker of the “Holy Grail” of boxing, the pound for pound crown, Englishman Ricky Hatton.

Trainer vs Trainer

It’s probably apparent by now to all but the casual or by the way fan that trainers Freddie Roach and Floyd Mayweather Sr. have been locked in an ongoing battle to see which one of them can out-macho the other.

They’ll each be afforded a new opportunity come May 2nd when their charges go head to head. Roach, who has had a winning formula with Pacquiao over their many years together is confident that East will conquer West and Mayweather Sr. seems just as confident that when the smoke clears it is the West that will emerge victorious.  

This is as much a battle between trainers as it is between boxers. While Pacquiao and Hatton do battle on a physical level on the night of the second, they’ll be the pieces on the board game of Roach and Mayweather: a game which has already commenced play on the training grounds and will conclude when one combatant’s hand is raised and this one is in the books. How will this play out and who will win?

Records and Quality of Opposition

Manny Pacquiao sports a pro record of 48-3 (KO 36) and hasn’t lost since dropping a decision to Mexican legend Erik “El Terrible” Morales in March of 2005, a loss he has twice avenged by stopping Morales in their two follow up battles.

The other two losses on his record came early in his career before he had developed into the unstoppable force that he is today and therefore have no bearing on here and now.

He owns victories over other Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barerra whom he beat twice, and legend in the making Juan Manuel Marquez over whom he holds one draw and one razor thin victory and his drubbing of Oscar De La Hoya last December is still a fresh memory.    

Ricky Hatton has a record of 45-1 (KO 32). He has beaten former 140 pound Monarch Kostya Tszyu, tough Mexican Jose Louis Castillo, slick Welter weight Louis Collazzo, and other top 140 pounders, Juan Urango and Paul Malignagggi.

He is still on the mend following his first and only loss after being knocked out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. (his connection to Hatton’s current trainer should be obvious) in December of 2007.

Both fighters have impressive records and the numbers are close in terms of quantity of bouts fought including victories and stoppages. While Hatton has beaten bigger men than Pacquiao has, his ring rivals have ranged from average to good or just plain tough save Tszyu. 

Pac man has been successful against exceptional fighters in various weight classes. Hatton has only fought North of 140 pounds twice and both times he ended up looking like he’d been exposed even though he did get the nod against Collazo.

Pacquiao also looked great in his destruction of the Golden boy at 147 pounds and while it could be argued that De La Hoya was a drained out shell in that fight it was obvious that Pacquiao’s speed and power are upwardly mobile and that’s bad news for Ricky.

Edge: Pacquiao.

Age and Physical Equipment

Both fighters are 30 years old with Hatton being the senior of the two by a few weeks so they’re pretty even there. Pacquiao is a southpaw with a fast right jab and good power in both hands.

He uses his canvas space well, carried around on sturdy legs as he moves in and out on opponents, while dealing out punishment with speedy combinations. Hatton is naturally the bigger man and should be physically stronger on fight night. He is a pressure fighter who only engages forward gears. His foot speed is underrated, as he is able to close the distance between himself and his opponents quickly and is good at cutting off the ring.

Even the very mobile Floyd Jr. had trouble keeping him at a comfortable distance in the early going of their fight. Ricky has good two-fisted power and does some of the meanest body work in the business.

When they meet however, expect Ricky’s raw aggression and roughhousing to make it a tough fight but Manny has his fleetness of hands and feet to cause problems for Ricky. 

Edge: Even

Strengths and Weaknesses

Both fighters seem to be able to give as well as they get. Ricky Hatton will be the strongest man Manny Pacquiao has had to deal with in the ring.  And Manny will arguably be Ricky’s most Dangerous Opponent to date. Pacquiao is no Floyd Mayweather Jr. Or Sweet Pea Whittaker in the defense department but that does not make him an easy target either.

His constant head movement side-to-side motion and angles can frustrate most fighters. However, he does have a tendency to throw caution to the wind in the heat of battle and is subject to getting hit by timed counters.

Marquez was able to exploit this flaw repeatedly in both fights. Hatton However has displayed a tendency to lunge in behind lead punches while leaving himself wide open to get caught while moving forward as demonstrated when he paid the price for doing so against mayweather.

He can’t afford to walk through the fire against Pac Man either otherwise this will end for him like the Mayweather affair did.  Hatton is also prone to cuts, and bruises easily around the eyes. This also can be a problem against Pacquiao who doesn’t seem to have the same problem.

Edge: Pacquiao

The Intangibles

Pacquiao and Roach are coming into this fight supremely confident following successful leaps to multiple weight classes, which included knockout victories over bigger men like Oscar De La Hoya and David Diaz.

Yes you’ll hear the arguments that Oscar was old and wasted and Diaz has all the mobility of a tree trunk but he still looked spectacular beating two bigger men who were top fighters in their respective weight classes by stoppage no less.

In addition to Roach Pacquiao now has former World Heavyweight champion Michael Moorer as the second voice in his corner. Like Pacquiao, Moorer is also a lefty and who better to give advice than a fellow southpaw who has had success on the highest level in the sport. This can only be a plus for team Pacquiao.

Most of the unknowns going into this fight surround team Hatton. Ricky hasn’t looked quite the same since losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr.  Have no illusions, he fought well against the former pound for pound ruler. Just because he came up short in that outing doesn’t make him a chump, he was in against the man who was regarded as the best in the sport and went 9+ rounds with him. No disgrace there.

It’s his performance in the two fights he’s had since then that may leave questions as to how badly he was affected especially in a mental capacity as a result of that brutal knock out loss. In his first fight back He beat tough Hispanic fighter Juan Lazcano who is far from being in the elite column but had some troubling moments along the way.

For his next fight which was the last one for him until May 2, he jettisoned his former trainer Billy Graham and brought in Floyd Mayweather Sr. who has had an ongoing rivalry with Freddie Roach, his competitor for the I’m-the-best-damn-trainer-in-the-whole-stinkin’-world- so- in-your-face award, hence the sub-plot to this drama. Even though Hatton won by late stoppage the fight with Malignaggi (his most recent opponent) doesn’t tell us much.  

How much did he improve under Mayweather’s care? While Malignaggi is regarded as a good fighter he has no power to speak of (5 KOs in 25 pro fights) and he fought the wrong kind of fight against Hatton. Pac man never fights the wrong kind of fight against anyone unless you count the first Morales fight and he has not made the same mistake since.

My opinion is that Hatton would have won the Malignaggi fight anyway, with or without Mayweather Sr. in his corner.

Also of note is the fact that Malignaggi wanted to continue at the time it was halted. His corner tossed in the towel after they realized it was pointless to let him continue in a fight Paulie wasn’t winning and lacked the power to change anything. 

Much of Hatton’s success will depend on what Mayweather has been able to teach him for this upcoming fight and this fight alone.

Will Ricky’s speed have improved enough to make a difference? Does Mayweather have a game plan that can work against Pacquiao and if so can Ricky, make it work? Will Ricky’ defense have been polished enough to deal with Manny’s best stuff?

Has the demon of Floyd Jr. been exorcised completely enough to not be a factor for Hatton against a fighter that can give him fits? On the other hand, if a new improved model of the Hit man rolls out of the workshop will pacquiao be able to make the needed adjustments? Will Manny be able to avoid taking punishment to the body? Will Hattons size and strength be too much for Pacquiao?

These are all questions that can only be answered on fight night but for now it’s going to come down what kind of Ricky Hatton is unwrapped.

Edge: Pacquiao

Conclusion

This fight is Pacquiao’s to win and he should win it if he continues to do what he’s been doing all along, that is, use his speed and power effectively. Hatton could win this fight if he comes in with improved defense and Heightened speed coupled with his well-known work rate and effective aggressiveness.  

If Mayweayther is able to mold Hatton into the fighting machine that he boast’s he will then he’ll have created a monster that would make Doctor Frankenstein look like a kid with a wind-up toy. However that is a pretty big if especially considering the time frame in which he has had to work on a fighter who is probably set in his ways.

If I had to pick right now under threat of pain or death, (I’m allergic to pain and death) I’d have to go with Pacquiao by late stoppage.  Still Let’s not count Ricky out just yet because he is always extremely dangerous and a serious threat to any fighter who faces him at 140 pounds. Pacquiao included.