By Chris Williams: For what it’s worth, Ricky Hatton’s trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr., feels that Ricky can knock Manny Pacquiao out on May 2nd. Mayweather Sr. had this to say to The Sun: “I believe Ricky can stop Pacquiao.” However, if Hatton is going to be doing this, he’s going to have to look a heck of a lot better than he did in his last three bouts against Mayweather Jr., Juan Lazcano and Paulie Malignaggi.
If there’s one overriding theme in each of these fights, its Hatton getting drilled often in the mug and taking a regular pounding. Hatton, however, a similar fighter to Kelly Pavlik and other fighters that take a lot of abuse and still keep coming forward, seems to thrive when the going gets tough. Whether he’ll be able to withstand the big shots from Pacquiao is another matter altogether. This is a fight that Hatton, fighting under his old brawling style, would probably stand little, if any, chance at winning. That’s where Hatton’s new trainer comes in.
“I can’t take that away from Pacquiao. But if there’s one thing that Ricky will take away from him, it will be his jab,” said Mayweather Sr.
Hatton, who has only recently changed trainers, replacing his long-time trainer Billy Graham with Mayweather Sr, is trying to change his style and learn how to box more so that he can prolong his career and take a little less punishment.
It’ still too early to tell if it’s working or not at this point, having fought only the weak puncher Paulie Malignaggi. For an opponent as good as Pacquiao, Hatton, perhaps, needed a higher grade of a warm-up than someone like Malignaggi, who’s more of a runner than a slugger.
Hatton did, at times, show the ability to throw a jab in his fight with Malignaggi and he seemed to be looking to attack in spurts rather than one constant surge like he typically did pre-Mayweather Sr. But, obviously, Hatton is going to need to be running on all cylinders if he has any chance at winning.
The types of fighters that have given Pacquiao trouble in the past, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez, have much better hand speed than Hatton and appear to be a more advanced fighter than he is on all levels, except for in body punching.
Both fighters picked their spots and attacked Pacquiao hard, getting the better of the Filipino star with combinations. Hatton thus far has shown none of the speed that Marquez and Morales possess, which leaves one to wonder what Hatton can possibly do to improve his chances of beating Pacquiao.
In the speed department, Hatton is no match for Pacquiao, and nor is he as skilled as Pacquiao in throwing combinations or defending against blows. He is a better inside fighter than Pacquiao, but that’s probably not a tool that Hatton will be able to use with regularity against him. Hatton’s ability to take punishment is clearly what may end up saving him in this fight, because in order to get his shots in, he’s going to have to take three or four to get his one in.
At the end of the day, it may work to his benefit with Hatton hurting or stopping Pacquiao, but he’s going to have to take a lot of punishment to make that happen. Forget about the defensive strategies that Mayweather Sr is drumming into his head, if Hatton wants to win he’s going to have to pull a Rocky Balboa and get the eye of the tiger, and walk through the shots that Pacquiao is raining on him.
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