Ricky Hatton Vs Manny Pacquiao Preview
April 20th, 2009
By Adam Fillingham: With less than two weeks left until the light welterweight showdown between Ricky ‘The hitman’ Hatton and Manny ‘pacman’ Pacquiao at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, I wanted to take a look at the two fighters attributes.
Power
Winner-Hatton
Speed
After watching both fighters’ recent fights I am leaning towards Pacquiao being the faster fighter. This doesn’t mean Hatton is any slouch, far from it. He has fast hands for a power puncher and can switch from head to body in a blink. Manny though has brought his speed up from the flyweights and upwards and is seriously quick even after bulking up for the De La Hoya fight.
Winner- Pacquiao
Chin
Pacquiao has never been knocked out by a punch to the head although he has never fought anyone with the power and size of Hatton. Hatton has only been knocked out once by the world class Floyd Mayweather but Mayweather hadn’t bulked up for the fight ,which Pacquiao will most likely be doing. Hatton is used to taking punches from fighters at this weight but Pacquiao isn’t really, due to his only experience being against a weight drained De La Hoya.
Winner-Hatton
Body Shots
If Manny Pacquiao had any weakness it would be his body, due to the fact that he was knocked out twice by body blows. These were early in his career and he hasn’t been knocked out in nine years. Freddy Roach has tried to rectify his week body but will it be enough to with stand arguably the best body puncher in boxing? Once again Hatton is used to taking punches from light Welterweights and will likely walk straight though Pacquiao’s shots.
Winner-Hatton
Experience
Pacquiao has fought the more fights, fighting 53 fights to Hatton’s 46. Pacquiao has also been in more world title fights, fighting 11 fights to Hatton’s 9. This could prove the better fighter if Pacquiao can use his higher experience level to his advantage.
Winner- Pacquiao
So Hatton wins 3-2 but does that tell the whole story? Will Pacquiao’s speed just overwhelm Hatton? Or will his experience take over and he just fights to good for Hatton? In my opinion, no. I think Hatton has too much experience at this weight to let this one slip away from him.
Prediction
For me I think Hatton body shots will take there toll and eventually knock him down or even out. They will seriously slow him down which will totally cancel out Pacquiao’s main asset, his speed.
Hatton KO 10-12 rounds.
Tags: 42 Responses to “Ricky Hatton Vs Manny Pacquiao Preview”
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Speed kills. I think pacquiao will dominate the fight.
how can you say hatton is fighting at home in las vegas? youve obviously never been to las vegas. Filipinos are the third largest minority in the city. not to mention all the people coming from california.
Going to this fight!!! cant wait!!! only chances for hatton is if he can land crushing body shots early before rd 5 or so. Pac man’s stamina is far superior and if Hatton tries to go 12 with the p4p king he will get owned… For every one punch hatton lands pac will land 4 or 5. If you cant touch or see your target your power doesnt matter..
I am literally putting my money on the pac man KO by round 9.
Hmmm! Let’s look at your categories. Speed, I assume you’re talking about hand and foot speed. Experience, I assume you’re talking about all the training and fights they’ve been in. Power, I assume you’re speaking of all the power they can exert, from their legs, arms, hips, etc. Body Shots, I assume you’re speaking of everything below the neck down to the midsection. Chin? Hmmm! I believe this category should be Head Shots. I mean, the chin is only a part of the head. It’s like talking about body shots but only speaking of the sides, only of the chest, only of the midsection, etc. If you think about it, Hatton has really only knocked out others by hitting them on the sides of their bodies, not really the midsection nor the chest. When he was knocked out by Mayweather, he was hit on the side of the head, causing him to hit the post. I don’t remember him getting hit on the chin. So, if you think of all the times Hatton and Pacquiao have been knocked down, Pacquiao has only gone down from body shots (twice) and Hatton was knocked down (twice) by head shots from Mayweather. So, if Hatton gets the vote on Body Shots, Pacquiao should get the votes for Head Shots. Whether it’s giving them or taking them, I really don’t think Hatton has the advantage on both. In your comment, the Chin category talks about who can take a harder punch to the chin, not who can give a better punch. Therefore, you said that Hatton has the advantage. As far as body shots, you said that Pacquiao is at a disadvantage because he was knocked down twice with body shots. So, doesn’t that mean Hatton is at a disadvantage when it comes down to the chin because he was knocked down twice with head shots by Mayweather? And yes, it was twice. He was knocked down the first time and knocked down and out the second time. Well, you specifically said that Pacquiao’s weakness is the body because he’s been knocked down by body shots. Then you have to say that Hatton’s weakness is head shots because that’s how he was knocked out. Therefore, it should be 3-2 in favor of Pacquiao. If you don’t agree, then your comment about Pacquiao’s weakness being the body doesn’t count(invalid) because you said, “If Manny Pacquiao had any weakness it would be his body, due to the fact that he was knocked out twice by body blows.” Overall, it was a good analysis but I had to bring up that point. Reading the Chin category really had me thinking.
let’s just see whos gonna win the fight…
mabuhay Pilipinas…
I like this division (light welterweight) unified. Throw in JMM and Bradley in the mix after. Say within 12 months. Then we can all say all hail! the real king of junior welterweight.
I’ll predict that this will gonna be the fight of the year. With manny with a slight edge, this is rumble! I hope manny wins! i can’t wait to see this fight.
Rex Giacomo
He hasnt fought nobody. Remeber before the Hatton fight Mallignaggi was no.2 in the world and the IBF champion. Dosnt that count for something.
I cant wait for the post fight interview on May 2nd, I just wonder what will Ricky use as his excuse and alibis after the surely beat up/whoopp ass’in that he will get against the P4P King.
Malinaggi is practically a dope and all of Hatton’s previous opponents!there’s no juice in his padded record, I think he only beats and swat those TAXI drivers like boxers in his 12 year pro career.
Dont forget Ricky unexpectedly beat Malinaggi from the outside last time out and I think he may do the same here. IF he can get his jab landing from the start this may force Manny to come inside – if he does its a dangerous game with Rickys short hooks. I’d love to see Ricky win but wouldn’t begrudge Pacquiao winning either – I just hope to see a classic fight on the night!
Overall prediction is Hatton within 6 rounds…..
My money is on a Hatton win by knockout in the ninth round. i simply think pacquiao will put up a hell of a fight but the wear and tear from hattons shots are going to wear him out and the pacman will go down, but it is still going to be a great fight, hatton will control the tempo not allowing mannys speed to disrupt his flow and mannys punches will get through but not hard enough to stop ricky.
The consensus here seems to be that Pacquiao will take the early rounds before Hatton wins it in the later stages by KO. Got to say, though, if Ricky does nothing significant in the first 3 rounds, I think Manny will dominate the rest of the fight.
Pacquiao has the greater stamina. Forget 12 rounds, he could fight 24 if needed. If Hatton just walks directly forward, like he’s done in almost every fight, Manny will land shot after shot and the fight will continue that way until Ricky is inevitably stopped.
Hatton can’t match Pacquiao for speed so he’s got to play this smart. He’s got to control his aggression and use the jab to get inside and slow Manny down with body shots – early. Otherwise, it’s going to be a pretty one-sided fight, in my opinion.
I think the fight really is going to be very close indeed! and could easily go either way hatton to me has far more power and still great speed but its just weather he can cut down the ring to hit pacman, on the other hand can he keep out of pacmans barage of super fast blows,i really hope so…
i would love to see hatton win and have a rematch
with mayweather with all the new training under his belt.
I have a lot of respect for hatton. he’s a good fighter. Though his win against malignaggi was not really convincing, pacquiao is no malignaggi and is certainly faster and quicker than floyd mayweather. if pacman stays on the ropes, yes hatton will shine. but if pacman brings the fight in the middle of the ring, body shots are hard to come by as he found out last time he fought the last p4p king mayweather. hatton’s fight with floyd proved that he has problems landing power shots against fighters with fast foot speed. taking into consideration a southpaw.pacquiao showed speed during the dela hoya fight; that’s at 147. after shedding 7 pounds, pacman will be even potentially faster.Hatton can win if he lands the power shots before he gets the middle of the fight say before 4 and 5 round. the last two fighters who fought pacman suffered facial reconstruction in the middle rounds. it will be an interesting fight. a good match. something floyd mayweather should tune in or attend before he unretires.
Hatton practically ran onto PBF’s fist, and was battling a chest infection in the run up to the Lazcono fight and still recovering come fight night. Besides PBF, nobody has really rocked him, and even then, it was his own fault he got KO’d, to gung-ho.
Pacquiao is probably better than the Pretty Boy, but only at 130lbs and under, any higher than that then its a different story. Pac is untested past 130lbs, David Diaz, nice guy but poor boxer. The Golden Boy was a shadow, regardless of what anybody says, Oscar was not right that night. Pacquiao has never really taken a full hit above 130lbs and he is facing a man who will chase him down all night long and is guarenteed to catch him.
When this fight was originally made, i was worried for Hatton because Pacquiao is without a doubt a class act. He has all the tools. But the closer we get to fight night, the more relaxed i feel about Hattons chances. I have always called it 50/50, now i feel more 55/45 in Hattons favour.
Hattons preperations and strong emphasis on defense and jab (in other words, old school Hatton), along with his heart and devastating body punch power mean this will be a tough night for Pac. When Hatton catches Pac flush, this will happen, i can see Pac folding. Hatton doesnt have it all his way, he cuts to easy and isnt great against southpaws (nobody is really!!!! except other southpaws), but hopefully his defensive work and jab will reduce the blows.
All in all it will be a fascinating fight with second to second action, lets just pray Cortez isnt the man in the middle!!!
hatton win. plain and simple, too powerful for pacman, body shots will slow down his speed giving hatton the upperhand in the fight.
Hatton will win this by a KO but there is one thing he seriously has to worry about and i mean seriously. he will be able to take Pacmans power but there are going to be 30-40 punches landed on his boat per round and he is going to cut. he needs to move and slip playing off a jab to land the big shots.
This is going to be a Hitman win within 8-9 or it will be stopped by the Dr on cuts to Pacmans advantage.
If Hatton can box smart and use his jab which floyd snr has been working on, he will have a chance to stop Manny. He drops his hands when jumping in, leaving the straight right over the top, not forgetting the body punches.
Manny will start out quick, high work rate, explosive first few rounds…..Hatton to put the pressure on towards the later stages of the fight and win by KO.
Good Article. Manny will comfortably win the first 3 rounds and i see hatton getting hit alot while trying to figure out a way to get inside (it may even look like an easy fight for pacman up till the 4th) then i see hatton finding his way and a late KO. I think it will need to be a KO as manny will have the first 3 rounds in the bag
before Hatton can land his punch he will first received the gift that Manny has to him and that is BARRAGE of POWERFUL PUNCHES.
Its like Hatton can hit 1 or 2 shots but Manny will counter it with 0 to 15 punches.
Shout Out to Mr. Ricky Hatton “you cannot hit a guy who’s faster and elusive than you”.
Pacman is just too fast for Hatton who will be taking too many punches on his face which will cause his eyes to close during the second half of the fight. Ultimately, Hatton will lose through either surrender by him or his corner, stoppage by the referee, or a KO due to too many punches taken by him from Pacman.
can’t wait. agree -this is good for boxing.
i’m on the fence with this one. i like pacman, but in a close one, most likely a barnburner. hatton’s chances are growing on me. he might jump manny and start pummeling him at the opening bell. that’s what i’d have him do -just go for it, don’t give manny an inch to breathe. but pacman is fast and tough and will get his shots in. delahoya fight was a joke. oscar didn’t fight back. hatton will be much tougher.
my call right now: manny by ud. but i reserve the right to revise.
hatton is in decline while manny is on a roll. hatton will get bloodied by cut and be forced to quit by 6.
How can you lunch your power against your invisible and elusive opponent? and so many people thinks that Hatton has the CHIN?yah right! so what happened to his fight against PBF and Luzcano?his been hit a lot in his Luzcano fight and seemed to be wobbled by juan’s power head shots, the only thing that save him is his adversary’s domination was the lack of boxing smarts and of course the home court advantage.
very good write up … way better than the other writer’s analysis on this site … this fight could swing one way or the other … i hope it will be a classic … i am rooting for Pacman but Hatton is not a gimme … let’s enjoy the fight guys … this match is good for boxing … cheers !!!
GO Canucks GO
Agreed. At some point in the fight Hatton’s gonna get to that body, and after one or two shots Manny will definately be feeling it. People for some bizzare reason are underestimating Ricky’s speed (both hands and feet), couple that with his energy, he’ll be fighting at an equal pace to Manny.
My prediction —-> Manny to start off ok in the first few rounds, but after taking one too many shots to the head and body, he’ll be stopped in the later rounds (10-12)
I think we could be shocked at pacs power aswell he did start at fly but has filled out a bit as he got older pretty naturally aswell and you just need to look at dela hoyas face to know he can do seriouse damage
if roach claims that pq is developing a one punch power with moore’s collaboration (pq power like a heavy weight) is true, which i am inclined to believe then, pq will destroy hatton within rd3.
he will destroy ricky hatton. hatton wont get anywhere near. brutal pacquiao display tko 7-10
Thanks for an objective write up. It is difficult to evaluate fighters that have had different careers like Hatton and Pacquiao have. This was a good attempt to isolate each fighters strengths as consistently seen in their careers. I also give a slight edge to Hatton because of his size and power, but this is a winnable fight for Pacquiao if he can keep the action in the middle of the ring, keep Hatton off him, and use his speed. It will be interesting.
Hatton is not too strong for Pacman, I think people will be surprised by pacman’s power and body strength at 140 and his speed will be devastating for Hatton if he tries to box Pacman. Think alot of people will be shocked at how big Pacman will be when he stands next to Hatton at weigh-in, you lot wait for it.
Hatton has the strength advantage, but will he be able to get inside and land those big body shots? I’m not so sure.
Pacquiao is just too quick, too elusive. He’s going to land punch after punch as Hatton tries to move his way in.
I hate to say it, but I think it’s going to be another bad night in Vegas for Ricky.
I think hattons gonna have to fight in the same way he beat tyzu but be smarter on the outside its gonna be a top fight i cant call it but im going to go with hatton in the 10th
This is Hatton’s division, I think Pacman has not got the power to trouble him but you must get on top of him Ricky!
i think hatton will take it 11 round body shot
If hatton works pacmans body he will destroy him.But if pacmans given lots of room then hattons got problems.Pacman likes to work on the outside look what happened in the first fight with JMM he struggled with the action up close and gave away a six round lead with eleven rounds to go.If he didnt knock JMM down three times in round one he would of been totaly out pointed cos he was completetly outboxed
this is an interesting fight it will go one of two ways either pacquio win or hatton will simple as that really.
i think hatton will overwhelm him. too much power and at end of day hatton will get him eventually dont get me wrong i like pac-man but hatton is a different story to a weight drained starved de la hoya
this will be amazin fight tho
hatton says hes the home fighter this time in vegas, i cant see a clear winner. hattons gonna gve paquiao the fight of his life.
I predict Hatton being to strong for him and bullying him and breaking him and stopping him in the later rounds.
Far from easy and Pacquiao will get plenty of shots in and i expect Hatton to cut up a bit but Hatton will dominate most the rounds till its stopped
Good write up. Will the ref let Hatton fight on the inside? If its Cortez then Hattons gonna have problems. Another thourght Hatton does not like southpaws he always seemed to have to work that little bit harder in the past with them. I hope we see a Hatton win. But if Pacman wins then hes gonna deserve a whole lot of credit and even being a Hatton fan I wont begrudge giving him it.