Pacquiao vs Mosley Online Live Streaming
Showing posts with label 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3. Show all posts
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Hatton vs. Pacquiao - Can Mayweather be the Difference?
WHAT CAN THE "GURU" REALLY DO FOR HATTON?
I want to say a few words about this fight because many people who are somewhat neophyte when it comes to boxing betting place too much of an emphasis on trainers. For this fight against Manny Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton hired Floyd Mayweather Sr. to be his trainer, and brought him over to Coventry to head up the camp. There’s a lot of talk about “transformation” and how this is what is going to somehow elevate Hatton to the point where he can score the upset of the guy considered by most to be the sport’s #1 pound-for-pound competitor.
In this sport, you really need a scorecard to keep up with who is training who, perhaps more than ever before, at least during the time I have been around this business. It is a constantly revolving door in which a "celebrity" trainer as piggy-backed onto an already established fighter, bringing the hope of that magic pill that provides a missing ingredient meant to propel that fighter to victory, often as an underdog.
I have rarely seen this kind of thing work, except for the trainer who gets a nice payday out of the whole thing. I don't want to put down trainers in general, because I think the ones that have worked with a fighter from the beginning, taught them how to box, and really KNOW their fighter deserve all the credit in the world. As far as the "piggy-backers" are concerned, some of them taught someone how to box, some didn't. I know that Floyd Sr. taught Floyd Jr. the finer points.
Look - when a guy has risen to world-class status, he has gotten there by being a certain kind of fighter. In a sense, after a while, he trains himself. What is someone just coming into the picture really going to tell the fighter about his own style that he doesn't already know? And for those trainers who figure they are going to perform miracles by changing a fighter around, like one of these johnny-come-lately coaching "gurus" in football, that often brings negative results. Because when a fighter gets in trouble, he is going to revert back to that which he's been successful with in the past. Either that, or he implements change to the point where he is very conscious about it, and that takes away that which can be gained by instinct.
What I'm saying is that at the very outside there is no real effect, even psychological, by the switch to a piggy-backing trainer (if that's what the fighter needed to motivate him, he wouldn't have gotten there in the first place), and the downside is potentially big, especially when the style the trainer likes to teach is opposite that which the fighter is used to employing. That may be the case with Mayweather, who like to train guys to jab, move and be defensive-minded. That's fine, if you have an exceptional talent who is athletic enough to fight in a number of different ways, but Hatton is here for only one reason - he is aggressive, charges hard and outworks his opponent. Trying to tinker with that kind of thing is going to be a mistake, no matter what the claptrap you hear in the hype leading up to the fight.
Like I said, lots of trainers, including Mayweather Sr., deserve plenty of credit for what they've done with some fighters, and certainly there are certain guys who need a little push to get into the gym. What some trainers are best at, however, are selling themselves. In the wrong situation, whether intentionally or not, they're selling a bill of goods.
Source: http://www.betus.com/sports-betting/boxing/articles/hatton-vs-pacquiao-can-mayweather-be-the-difference/
Social Bookmarking
I want to say a few words about this fight because many people who are somewhat neophyte when it comes to boxing betting place too much of an emphasis on trainers. For this fight against Manny Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton hired Floyd Mayweather Sr. to be his trainer, and brought him over to Coventry to head up the camp. There’s a lot of talk about “transformation” and how this is what is going to somehow elevate Hatton to the point where he can score the upset of the guy considered by most to be the sport’s #1 pound-for-pound competitor.
In this sport, you really need a scorecard to keep up with who is training who, perhaps more than ever before, at least during the time I have been around this business. It is a constantly revolving door in which a "celebrity" trainer as piggy-backed onto an already established fighter, bringing the hope of that magic pill that provides a missing ingredient meant to propel that fighter to victory, often as an underdog.
I have rarely seen this kind of thing work, except for the trainer who gets a nice payday out of the whole thing. I don't want to put down trainers in general, because I think the ones that have worked with a fighter from the beginning, taught them how to box, and really KNOW their fighter deserve all the credit in the world. As far as the "piggy-backers" are concerned, some of them taught someone how to box, some didn't. I know that Floyd Sr. taught Floyd Jr. the finer points.
Look - when a guy has risen to world-class status, he has gotten there by being a certain kind of fighter. In a sense, after a while, he trains himself. What is someone just coming into the picture really going to tell the fighter about his own style that he doesn't already know? And for those trainers who figure they are going to perform miracles by changing a fighter around, like one of these johnny-come-lately coaching "gurus" in football, that often brings negative results. Because when a fighter gets in trouble, he is going to revert back to that which he's been successful with in the past. Either that, or he implements change to the point where he is very conscious about it, and that takes away that which can be gained by instinct.
What I'm saying is that at the very outside there is no real effect, even psychological, by the switch to a piggy-backing trainer (if that's what the fighter needed to motivate him, he wouldn't have gotten there in the first place), and the downside is potentially big, especially when the style the trainer likes to teach is opposite that which the fighter is used to employing. That may be the case with Mayweather, who like to train guys to jab, move and be defensive-minded. That's fine, if you have an exceptional talent who is athletic enough to fight in a number of different ways, but Hatton is here for only one reason - he is aggressive, charges hard and outworks his opponent. Trying to tinker with that kind of thing is going to be a mistake, no matter what the claptrap you hear in the hype leading up to the fight.
Like I said, lots of trainers, including Mayweather Sr., deserve plenty of credit for what they've done with some fighters, and certainly there are certain guys who need a little push to get into the gym. What some trainers are best at, however, are selling themselves. In the wrong situation, whether intentionally or not, they're selling a bill of goods.
Source: http://www.betus.com/sports-betting/boxing/articles/hatton-vs-pacquiao-can-mayweather-be-the-difference/
Social Bookmarking
Pacquiao camp checks out Cotto for possible fight
MANILA, Philippines – There’s a new entry in the Manny Pacquiao sweepstakes: Welterweight champ Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico.
According to Top Rank boss Bob Arum, the Filipino superstar himself has expressed interest in possibly duking it out with Cotto (33-1, 27 KOs) after he’s done with his business with Ricky Hatton on May 2 in Las Vegas.
But to get himself in the running for a coveted lucrative fight with the world’s top pound for pound fighter, WBO 147-lb kingpin Cotto would first have to dispose of Joshua Clottey of Ghana in their June 13 title fight at the Madison Square Garden.
Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach will be at the Big Apple at that time to receive their awards as Fighter and Trainer of the Year, respectively, from the Boxing Writers Association of America and they will take the opportunity to look at Cotto.
“Manny Pacquiao said he wants to watch that fight. If Cotto wins that fight, Manny wants to check out Cotto’s style and then we’ll argue about a catch-weight underneath 147 and maybe make that fight," said Arum, in Manila for “The Flash & The Furious" card at the Araneta Coliseum.
Cotto is the latest among the names floated as possible opponent for the 30-year-old ring sensation, apparently aimed as a dig at comebacking Floyd Mayweather, Jr. who’s reportedly asking for the moon should he fight Pacquiao. Arum had maintained that given the big superstar that he is now, the Pacman deserves the lion’s share of the pie against anybody.
It’s also seen as Top Rank’s a way of cornering sole promotional rights and earnings as Cotto belongs to the same stable as Pacquiao, just like another Top Rank fighter earlier floated, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
For before he could think about Cotto, Mayweather, Chavez, Sugar Shane Mosley or even Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao still has an important business at hand – Hatton. – Olmin R. Leyba, GMANews.TV
Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/157691/Pacquiao-camp-checks-out-Cotto-for-possible-fight
Social Bookmarking
According to Top Rank boss Bob Arum, the Filipino superstar himself has expressed interest in possibly duking it out with Cotto (33-1, 27 KOs) after he’s done with his business with Ricky Hatton on May 2 in Las Vegas.
But to get himself in the running for a coveted lucrative fight with the world’s top pound for pound fighter, WBO 147-lb kingpin Cotto would first have to dispose of Joshua Clottey of Ghana in their June 13 title fight at the Madison Square Garden.
Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach will be at the Big Apple at that time to receive their awards as Fighter and Trainer of the Year, respectively, from the Boxing Writers Association of America and they will take the opportunity to look at Cotto.
“Manny Pacquiao said he wants to watch that fight. If Cotto wins that fight, Manny wants to check out Cotto’s style and then we’ll argue about a catch-weight underneath 147 and maybe make that fight," said Arum, in Manila for “The Flash & The Furious" card at the Araneta Coliseum.
Cotto is the latest among the names floated as possible opponent for the 30-year-old ring sensation, apparently aimed as a dig at comebacking Floyd Mayweather, Jr. who’s reportedly asking for the moon should he fight Pacquiao. Arum had maintained that given the big superstar that he is now, the Pacman deserves the lion’s share of the pie against anybody.
It’s also seen as Top Rank’s a way of cornering sole promotional rights and earnings as Cotto belongs to the same stable as Pacquiao, just like another Top Rank fighter earlier floated, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
For before he could think about Cotto, Mayweather, Chavez, Sugar Shane Mosley or even Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao still has an important business at hand – Hatton. – Olmin R. Leyba, GMANews.TV
Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/157691/Pacquiao-camp-checks-out-Cotto-for-possible-fight
Social Bookmarking
Hatton not afraid to reinvent himself
Ricky Hatton has a plan. Doesn't everyone?
He believes. Doesn't everyone?
He trusts that come the evening of May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden, he will beat the world's best pound-for-pound fighter in Manny Pacquiao.
Doesn't everyone?
Well, no.
Does anyone?
Pacquiao is a strong favorite in the 140-pound junior welterweight title fight, and you would be pressed to find any viewpoint outside those members of the Hatton camp and streets of Manchester, England, who don't agree that thousands of disappointed Brits will be strolling the Strip a few weeks from now.
The local economy still should earn a boost at all drinking establishments that night. There just won't be many smiles with all those pints of Guinness.
"There is nothing to worry about," Hatton's trainer said. "The only thing I'm worried about is if there will be an ambulance to take (Pacquiao's) ass to the hospital.
"He's a southpaw. We're going to be the northpaw. We are going to beat him. We are the northpaw. He's the southpaw. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
No one does.
They are the always amusing and rambling thoughts of Floyd Mayweather Sr., the man Hatton turned to when his career seemed at that point of either advancing to more memorable heights or crashing like the 5-year-old from sugar overload.
This is why Hatton can win May 2. He is unlike most fighters. He admits weakness. He is not stubborn enough to think 45-1 with 36 knockouts can't be improved.
He was roughed up and knocked out by Mayweather's son in December 2007, followed that by looking pedestrian in winning a 12-round unanimous decision against Juan Lazcano and promptly fired longtime trainer Billy Graham.
Fighters boot trainers all the time. But in showing Graham the door, Hatton parted ways with his mentor, his close friend, the man he partnered with to form one of the most successful duos in British boxing history. Hatton is 30 and worked with Graham since age 18.
This was as personal as you get in this business.
"I needed to get beat by Floyd Jr. to know what I had to do," Hatton said. "If I had kept getting away with it, getting away with it, getting away with it, I would have stayed with my friend.
"Nobody can take away what Billy and I did together, but for years he showed signs of slowing down. Consequently, it slowed me down and showed in my performances. Not his fault. Father Time. It will happen to all of us. Billy was having needles in his hands for his pain and saying, 'You're punching hard, Rick.' I'd think, 'You can't feel your hands, Billy.'
"As hard as it was, it was the right decision to part with Billy."
He wanted and needed to become a more technical fighter. A better defensive one. Someone who would not sprint from his corner on a straight line with a head that didn't move and feet that seemed stuck in concrete and merely brawl his way to wins. He hired Mayweather Sr. with the hopes of changing it all.
The partnership was alive for just seven weeks when Hatton in November punished Paulie Malignaggi to the point his corner threw in the towel 28 seconds into the 11th round. This is what gives Hatton and his brazen trainer such confidence about the Pacquiao fight, that the passing months have created an even quicker and smarter version of Hatton.
They see a Pacquiao who while extraordinarily fast and powerful, counts his greatest win against an aging Oscar De La Hoya who many believed had one foot in the ring that evening in December and the other in retirement. They are convinced that if Hatton gets into trouble early, he won't revert back into his old, statuesque self. That he will choose, even when prodded, to be a boxer over a brawler.
They have a plan.
They believe.
"Ricky is still learning," Mayweather said. "Nobody is going to erase everything from before in one day or two fights. But he's coming along. He could win this fight without me. I feel that good about it.
"Manny has a good left jab, but when I see the way he throws punches, I see an amateur. When you beat De La Hoya with that, it means De La Hoya quit, forget, end of story.
"Ricky is going to beat his ass. I'm not looking for a beat down. I'm looking for a stop down."
I can't see it. Can't see Hatton successfully controlling Pacquiao's quickness and skill. Can't see anything but what the odds suggest. Can't envision anything but thousands of Brits boosting our economy by drowning their sorrows.
But the chance is there for Hatton because he showed the wisdom to embrace change and not look back. Because after losing for the first time as a professional following 43 wins, he wasn't afraid to reinvent himself.
Source: http://www.lvrj.com/sports/43243127.html
Social Bookmarking
He believes. Doesn't everyone?
He trusts that come the evening of May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden, he will beat the world's best pound-for-pound fighter in Manny Pacquiao.
Doesn't everyone?
Well, no.
Does anyone?
Pacquiao is a strong favorite in the 140-pound junior welterweight title fight, and you would be pressed to find any viewpoint outside those members of the Hatton camp and streets of Manchester, England, who don't agree that thousands of disappointed Brits will be strolling the Strip a few weeks from now.
The local economy still should earn a boost at all drinking establishments that night. There just won't be many smiles with all those pints of Guinness.
"There is nothing to worry about," Hatton's trainer said. "The only thing I'm worried about is if there will be an ambulance to take (Pacquiao's) ass to the hospital.
"He's a southpaw. We're going to be the northpaw. We are going to beat him. We are the northpaw. He's the southpaw. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
No one does.
They are the always amusing and rambling thoughts of Floyd Mayweather Sr., the man Hatton turned to when his career seemed at that point of either advancing to more memorable heights or crashing like the 5-year-old from sugar overload.
This is why Hatton can win May 2. He is unlike most fighters. He admits weakness. He is not stubborn enough to think 45-1 with 36 knockouts can't be improved.
He was roughed up and knocked out by Mayweather's son in December 2007, followed that by looking pedestrian in winning a 12-round unanimous decision against Juan Lazcano and promptly fired longtime trainer Billy Graham.
Fighters boot trainers all the time. But in showing Graham the door, Hatton parted ways with his mentor, his close friend, the man he partnered with to form one of the most successful duos in British boxing history. Hatton is 30 and worked with Graham since age 18.
This was as personal as you get in this business.
"I needed to get beat by Floyd Jr. to know what I had to do," Hatton said. "If I had kept getting away with it, getting away with it, getting away with it, I would have stayed with my friend.
"Nobody can take away what Billy and I did together, but for years he showed signs of slowing down. Consequently, it slowed me down and showed in my performances. Not his fault. Father Time. It will happen to all of us. Billy was having needles in his hands for his pain and saying, 'You're punching hard, Rick.' I'd think, 'You can't feel your hands, Billy.'
"As hard as it was, it was the right decision to part with Billy."
He wanted and needed to become a more technical fighter. A better defensive one. Someone who would not sprint from his corner on a straight line with a head that didn't move and feet that seemed stuck in concrete and merely brawl his way to wins. He hired Mayweather Sr. with the hopes of changing it all.
The partnership was alive for just seven weeks when Hatton in November punished Paulie Malignaggi to the point his corner threw in the towel 28 seconds into the 11th round. This is what gives Hatton and his brazen trainer such confidence about the Pacquiao fight, that the passing months have created an even quicker and smarter version of Hatton.
They see a Pacquiao who while extraordinarily fast and powerful, counts his greatest win against an aging Oscar De La Hoya who many believed had one foot in the ring that evening in December and the other in retirement. They are convinced that if Hatton gets into trouble early, he won't revert back into his old, statuesque self. That he will choose, even when prodded, to be a boxer over a brawler.
They have a plan.
They believe.
"Ricky is still learning," Mayweather said. "Nobody is going to erase everything from before in one day or two fights. But he's coming along. He could win this fight without me. I feel that good about it.
"Manny has a good left jab, but when I see the way he throws punches, I see an amateur. When you beat De La Hoya with that, it means De La Hoya quit, forget, end of story.
"Ricky is going to beat his ass. I'm not looking for a beat down. I'm looking for a stop down."
I can't see it. Can't see Hatton successfully controlling Pacquiao's quickness and skill. Can't see anything but what the odds suggest. Can't envision anything but thousands of Brits boosting our economy by drowning their sorrows.
But the chance is there for Hatton because he showed the wisdom to embrace change and not look back. Because after losing for the first time as a professional following 43 wins, he wasn't afraid to reinvent himself.
Source: http://www.lvrj.com/sports/43243127.html
Social Bookmarking
Nothing Posh: Ricky Hatton is 'charming little chappie'
.jpg)
There’s nothing Posh about this blue collar, Mancunian pug named Ricky Hatton. But I can truthfully say that the working class fighter wouldn’t know me from one or any of the Spice Girls.
Hint, hint, Ricky. ( I might be a little slimmer than some of the girls, maybe Sporty, I am not the same, old whale who literally sat AROUND ringside at some of your bouts.)
I’ve been wondering, as the runup to Hatton’s May 2 Vegas fight against Pound For Pound titan Manny Pacquiao inchles closer, what makes Hatton tick? When TV cameras roll, he likes to play the practical joker. He’s twice paraded for HBO wearing a decidedly unsexy thong.
But, when the cameras are down, what is Megamanny’s foe really like? I decided to go to my favorite British sporting source, the decorated Daily Mail sports columnist (since 1966) and my bosom buddy, Lord Jeff Powell.
Oh, by the way, “Lord Powell” is no upper class twit. He’s like UK promoter Frank Warren in that he rose out of the hardscrabble East End—perhaps born within the sound of the bells of St. Mary’s, I’m not sure—and his father was a professional boxer who lived a hale and hearty life well into his 80s.
I just gave Powell the “Lord” handle as a lark. I should mention that he’s a four-time British Sports Reporter of the year so that gives you an idea of his lofty standing among his peers. (You can locate the Powell Archives of delicious columns, here.)
'There is something desperate about Paul Collingwood's demeanour on the cricket field - sweaty, paranoid, staring, self-obsessed. Whatever the short-term results, the sooner England find a man capable of captaining both test and one-day teams the better. Born leaders transmit confidence through their teams, not fear of failure.'
Speaking of Spice Girls, Powell has also taken on football icon David Beckham, who is married to Posh Spice. As the biographer and close friend of UK football legend Bobby Moore, Powell felt Becks and fans were overrating his sporting status.
Here’s Powell’s zinging prose on Beckham:
“It is not my intention to belittle Beckham, only to cast him in his proper place behind the absurd ballyhoo. I have praised and chastised him in turn, commending his singlehanded rescuing of England's place in the 2002 World Cup finals with his stand-out game against Greece, but lamenting the betrayal of his most saving grace, his work ethic, when he turned up overweight for Euro 2004.
He has been a very good but not great player, limited as he is by his one-footedness and lack of pace...
Beckham has flattered to deceive since his peak seasons at Old Trafford. Now, on his transatlantic jaunts between the dollar and the euro, he is even more brand than substance.
In the improbable event that they erect his statue, the wording should go something like this: Celebrity husband of fashion icon. Symbol of the Me Generation. Treasure hunter. Milker of Wembley crowd. Pampered princeling. Captain who won nothing for England. Most overpaid footballer of all time.”
Lest I give the impression that Powell is a literary snake, a vicious viper whose pen is always dipped in arsenic, consider his praise of late colleague Ian Wooldridge.
"I joined the Mail full time in 1966 and we worked together for a hell of a long time. I was younger than him and he was very helpful to me.
"He was an inspiration… no one who asked for help from him ever lacked it.
If you've got talent like that you can afford to give it away.
"He was great fun — you had to have a good liver to be his friend. But it was always ‘job first' with him. He was not driven by any false ego… and of course he was a beautiful writer. Irony was his great strength. He could fillet people without them even knowing. It was almost a privilege to be taken apart by him."
So that gives you a snapshot of Powell’s considerable talent. Now let’s get boxing pertinent. Does the scribe think Hatton really is the proletariat, salt of the Manchester eart type he’s generally viewed?
“Oh, yes, indeed he is,” Powell told me by phone from his London office. “Ricky is a charming little chappie.
“He makes fun of drinking, eating to excess…all that Ricky Fatton stuff,” Powell said. “He doesn’t have to try to be ‘one of the boys’ down at the local. He is one of the boys, cut from the same solid stock as the rest of the lads.
“He’s a crazed football fan and fervent supporter of Manchester City, the big rival of course to higher profile Manchester United. Ricky backs the Blue of Man City and that’s where his fans get the ‘Blue Moon’ song from.”
Powell said he thinks Hatton’s grounded mentality comes from his mother, father and friends.
“Don’t forget Manchester’s roots come from the Industrial Revolution,” Powell said. “They call it the Second City of England and it is the blue collar, old industry area of Northwest England.
“The Hattons come from a lower middle class background and Ricky acts like someone who has no airs. I’d call him the most popular British fighter since the heyday of Lennox Lewis, popular in a way that Joe Calzaghe never was.”
Powell said Hatton and his loyal fans are of the same stock as past UK champions and their followers.
“There was a bit of Hatton or vice versa in Dave Charnley, the welterweight,” Powell said. “Dave was a working class boy as well and he was what they used to call a ‘Nobbins fighter’ meaning a small hall boxer. The fans used to throw coins or ‘Nobbins’ into the ring to show their appreciation for great scraps and scrappers like that.
“I think you can also classify the Scotsmen, Ken Buchanan and Jim Watt, as the same types. Watt is a bit more articulate than most and it’s helped him as a TV commentator on boxing. But all of these boxers were feisty guys who got their start in the milieu of the workingman’s clubs and pubs.”
What of relatively new fistic face, WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch who hails from Nottingham?
(“Frochie” makes his first title defense next Saturday night at Foxwoods in Connecticut against ex-champ Jermain Taylor.)
“Froch is just coming on to our national radar,” Powell said. “But he’s in the mold of industrial Nottingham, the city of Trent water and famous Nottingham Lace. Their famous football manager and hero is Brian Clough.
“It would’ve been great fun if Carl and Calzaghe had fought but that appears very unlikely.”
Even though I won’t be wearing an MP Pinoy beanie or waving a Pacman pennant at the MGM Grand two weeks hence, I’ve already copped out to rooting (silently) for the Little Guy from Gensan.
But, based on what insiders like Powell say, I won’t be rooting against Ricky Hatton.
I make it a strict practice to never, ever root against a “charming little chappie.”
Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-5699-NY-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m4d18-Nothing-Posh-Ricky-Hatton-is-charming-little-chappie
Social Bookmarking
EA Sports: Pacquiao vs Hatton
While the fight doesn't go down until May 2nd, EA Sports is going to give us a chance to replay the fight using Fight Night Round 4 demo. So even if your favorite fighter loses the bout, you will be given the chance to virtually redeem him and beat the other guy like he stole something. From the history of the two fighters, this is guaranteed to be a slugfest and should start the game off in the right direction. Look for the demo to be released in mid-May, with the full game release on June 30th. Fight Night Round 4 will feature 45+ fighters including one of my favorites Arturo "Thunder" Gatti. If you have never heard of the man, just pull up a Google tab and prepare to be amazed. Locations will be highlighted in the game, with the possible choices of venues being Las Vegas, London, the Philippines, Mexico, New York, and Chicago. Check out the trailer of the actual fight below.
Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-2069-Hartford-Video-Games-Examiner~y2009m4d18-EA-Sports-Pacquiao-vs-Hatton
Social Bookmarking
Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-2069-Hartford-Video-Games-Examiner~y2009m4d18-EA-Sports-Pacquiao-vs-Hatton
Social Bookmarking
Exclusive: Hatton and Pacquiao interviews and Roach three round KO prediction a ruse
From now until Hatton-Pacquiao Battle if The East and The West fight night at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas on May 2, Telegraph sport will be publishing at least one daily video and newsline on this blog building up to the biggest fan's fight of the year.
This late April, May and June are three major months for British fighters...Carl Froch fights Jermain Taylor in the United States next weekend, defending his WBC supermiddleweight title, and David Haye pits his heavyweight wits against Wladimir Klitschko and his two world title belts in Germany on June 20.
Between times, the two most popular fighters in the world face off, a fight riven firstly by hype, but now by myriad opinions in a rich tapestry of claim and counter-claim about which of the two fearsome men (both fear-less in the ring) will win, why, and how.
Not only do the national media in both countries have strong opinions, the fans are trading on the forums, too. There are plenty of keyboard KOs around. Indeed, it appears that Pacquiao is highly representative of the machismo of the young Filipino male. It has made for great reading.
My only sadness is that so many of Manny's fans do not have the funds to travel to Vegas (many Hatton fans saved for a year to go to see him fight Mayweather) and I believe if all the respective fans could afford to go to Las Vegas, there would be an invasion upwards of 100,000, the like of which has never been seen before...
Back to the fight. The issues under discussion are numerous.
Weight advantage, cute movement, lateral movement, upper body and head, commitment early in the rounds of the fight, body punches, the lifestyles of the two fighters, their physical engines, the ability to feint, the ring nous of miniscule, subtle movements to bring the opponent onto the punch, Hatton unbeaten at 140lbs, Pacquiao untested at 140lbs, hand speed...I could go on and on.
I have already nailed my colours to the mast. My gut instinct is that Pacquiao will be more clinical and could have an advantage as the fight wears on and he catches Hatton more. He could stop the Pride of Manchester in the third section of the fight. Hatton, though, will be very dangerous early on, and will unleash his ferocious hooks to head and body from the off.
I don't believe Freddie Roach's assessment that Pacquiao will win in three rounds. Nor do I believe they are setting their stall out to win that way. I believe it is a ruse. Pacquiao will be assessing Hatton early on, avoiding the bigger man until he sees openings (rather like he did in the first 2-3 rounds with Oscar De La Hoya). Reading between the lines, hearing Roach talk about Manny's "growing maturity" as a fighter, I expect he will wait. And wait.
Click on the Ricky Hatton audio below. When I spoke to him in Las Vegas, Ricky was convinced - 100 pc - that technically he has improved in droves since taking up with Floyd Mayweather Snr. Hatton has an eye on a re-match with young Floyd and from what he told me, the defeat gnaws at him, and he wants to have a re-match with the American to prove his tactics were so wrong that night.
"You have to jab, use your defence, feint, be clever. I should not be relying on my strength. There was no method to my madness. It makes no sense at this level. You've got to set them up, move your head. I got used to relying on power and strength." It is good to hear Ricky saying such things. No doubt had he looked at another strategist, rather than long time trainer Billy Graham, there may have been a more gratifying outcome against Mayweather on Dec 8 2007.
I believe that if Hatton had got through the 12 rounds with Mayweather, lost on points, and not been knocked out, it would not have irked him so. Nor would he want the re-match. It was all about being knocked out.
On Manny, Ricky believes he has the skills to master him. (Enter legions of Manny fans to disagree vehemently)
Click here to listen to Ricky Hatton talking from his Las Vegas apartment
If you missed the video of my visit to Manny's apartment in LA, and an interview with him...here it is again. The highlights ? Pacquiao a total gent; the three darts boards in preparation for the Pacmania darts tournament, and his smiling friends.
I was told there was a 9pm curfew for Manny at the apartment, with all friends out.
Looked to me like Manny was happy to have his mates there. It was great to meet Pacman the dog, too, who has some engine. That dog can run.
On the same day Telegraph Sport visited Pacquiao at his apartment, I had an intriguing interview with Granville Ampong, an LA-based journalist from the Phlippines, who is editor and publisher of The Maharlikan Times. Ampong also writes for several Filipino news agencies and newspaper titles. He knew the intimate, and intricate details of the culture from which Pacquiao hails, and offered a detailed insight into just why Pacquiao is so revered in his homeland. More on that on Monday...it makes for an intruiguing read, and shows just how much pressure Manny faces from all quarters. Perhaps too much.
Source: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/gareth_a._davies/blog/2009/04/18/exclusive_hatton_and_pacquiao_interviews_and_roach_three_round_ko_prediction_a_ruse_
Social Bookmarking
This late April, May and June are three major months for British fighters...Carl Froch fights Jermain Taylor in the United States next weekend, defending his WBC supermiddleweight title, and David Haye pits his heavyweight wits against Wladimir Klitschko and his two world title belts in Germany on June 20.
Between times, the two most popular fighters in the world face off, a fight riven firstly by hype, but now by myriad opinions in a rich tapestry of claim and counter-claim about which of the two fearsome men (both fear-less in the ring) will win, why, and how.
Not only do the national media in both countries have strong opinions, the fans are trading on the forums, too. There are plenty of keyboard KOs around. Indeed, it appears that Pacquiao is highly representative of the machismo of the young Filipino male. It has made for great reading.
My only sadness is that so many of Manny's fans do not have the funds to travel to Vegas (many Hatton fans saved for a year to go to see him fight Mayweather) and I believe if all the respective fans could afford to go to Las Vegas, there would be an invasion upwards of 100,000, the like of which has never been seen before...
Back to the fight. The issues under discussion are numerous.
Weight advantage, cute movement, lateral movement, upper body and head, commitment early in the rounds of the fight, body punches, the lifestyles of the two fighters, their physical engines, the ability to feint, the ring nous of miniscule, subtle movements to bring the opponent onto the punch, Hatton unbeaten at 140lbs, Pacquiao untested at 140lbs, hand speed...I could go on and on.
I have already nailed my colours to the mast. My gut instinct is that Pacquiao will be more clinical and could have an advantage as the fight wears on and he catches Hatton more. He could stop the Pride of Manchester in the third section of the fight. Hatton, though, will be very dangerous early on, and will unleash his ferocious hooks to head and body from the off.
I don't believe Freddie Roach's assessment that Pacquiao will win in three rounds. Nor do I believe they are setting their stall out to win that way. I believe it is a ruse. Pacquiao will be assessing Hatton early on, avoiding the bigger man until he sees openings (rather like he did in the first 2-3 rounds with Oscar De La Hoya). Reading between the lines, hearing Roach talk about Manny's "growing maturity" as a fighter, I expect he will wait. And wait.
Click on the Ricky Hatton audio below. When I spoke to him in Las Vegas, Ricky was convinced - 100 pc - that technically he has improved in droves since taking up with Floyd Mayweather Snr. Hatton has an eye on a re-match with young Floyd and from what he told me, the defeat gnaws at him, and he wants to have a re-match with the American to prove his tactics were so wrong that night.
"You have to jab, use your defence, feint, be clever. I should not be relying on my strength. There was no method to my madness. It makes no sense at this level. You've got to set them up, move your head. I got used to relying on power and strength." It is good to hear Ricky saying such things. No doubt had he looked at another strategist, rather than long time trainer Billy Graham, there may have been a more gratifying outcome against Mayweather on Dec 8 2007.
I believe that if Hatton had got through the 12 rounds with Mayweather, lost on points, and not been knocked out, it would not have irked him so. Nor would he want the re-match. It was all about being knocked out.
On Manny, Ricky believes he has the skills to master him. (Enter legions of Manny fans to disagree vehemently)
Click here to listen to Ricky Hatton talking from his Las Vegas apartment
If you missed the video of my visit to Manny's apartment in LA, and an interview with him...here it is again. The highlights ? Pacquiao a total gent; the three darts boards in preparation for the Pacmania darts tournament, and his smiling friends.
I was told there was a 9pm curfew for Manny at the apartment, with all friends out.
Looked to me like Manny was happy to have his mates there. It was great to meet Pacman the dog, too, who has some engine. That dog can run.
On the same day Telegraph Sport visited Pacquiao at his apartment, I had an intriguing interview with Granville Ampong, an LA-based journalist from the Phlippines, who is editor and publisher of The Maharlikan Times. Ampong also writes for several Filipino news agencies and newspaper titles. He knew the intimate, and intricate details of the culture from which Pacquiao hails, and offered a detailed insight into just why Pacquiao is so revered in his homeland. More on that on Monday...it makes for an intruiguing read, and shows just how much pressure Manny faces from all quarters. Perhaps too much.
Source: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/gareth_a._davies/blog/2009/04/18/exclusive_hatton_and_pacquiao_interviews_and_roach_three_round_ko_prediction_a_ruse_
Social Bookmarking
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
