By Michael Lieberman: I find it mildly amusing to listen to the two trainers for Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton go back and forth, both trying to do their best in psyching out the opposing fighter while at the same time trying to drum up support for a fight that needs little help in getting fans on board for it. Which brings me to my main point: Hatton doesn’t stand a chance in hell in winning this fight. That’s not that he won’t get in a few licks before he’s ultimately snowed under by Pacquiao.
There’s nothing in Hatton’s background that would suggest that he will do anything other than get the living crap beaten out of him by Pacquiao on May 2nd at the MGM in Las Vegas. Whereas Hatton has struggled in the past couple of years, losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and having his hands full against journeyman Juan Lazcano, Pacquiao has beaten quality fighters like David Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez and Oscar De La Hoya.
If you do the math, you can see that Hatton just doesn’t measure up in quality opposition or overall talent. For me, it isn’t a question of whether or not Hatton will lose, but rather which round he’ll be deposited to the canvas. And all this talk from him about wanting to possibly take on Marquez or Mayweather will be nothing but a shattered dream for Hatton.
Oh, I imagine a loss to Pacquiao won’t stop Hatton from going ahead and trying to land a big money fight against Mayweather or Marquez, but, come on, who in their right mind would want to see Hatton fight anyone after he get’s torn apart by Pacquiao?
No, the person that will be in demand will be Pacquiao, not Hatton for a fight against Marquez or Mayweather. For Hatton, he needs to consider his options after the fight and consider whether it might be best to move on with his career and seek out retirement. I should note that Hatton has been extremely fortunate in having few real battles against tough opposition in his career.
He was lucky to have fought Kostya Tszyu at the tail end of his career, a rusty, weight drained 36-year-old who had little left by the time he fought Hatton. Besides that fight, there’s the match against Mayweather in which Hatton was taken out in the 10th.
As for the remaining fighters on Hatton’s resume, none are worth mentioning as a fighter good enough to put Hatton in the upper echelon of the light welterweight division. Now, at 30, Hatton is trying to step it up for the 2nd time in his career against a truly quality fighter and it’s predictable what will happen.
Pacquiao’s speed, power and movement will be the telling factor in the fight and he will quickly take the slower, snail-like Hatton apart and leave him on the canvas by the midpoint in the fight. Just like Oscar De La Hoya’s loss to Pacquiao months earlier, Hatton will have to contemplate what to do with his career afterwards.
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