Diaz-Pacquiao: Shouldn’t Manny Have Fought Marquez Instead?

pacquiao575335.jpgBy Manuel Perez: With only a week to go before super featherweight Manny Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KOs) faces off with WBC lightweight champion David Diaz (34-1-1, 17 KOs) for his lightweight crown at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, it’s difficult for me to get too excited about this fight for a couple of reason. The most important reason is simple, Pacquiao is going into this fight having recently defeated Juan Manuel Marquez by a 12-round split decision in March, a fight that Pacquiao appeared to lose in every which way you can lose the fight except for the final scoring.

For most people, other than his legions of fans from his native country, Pacquiao appeared to lose the fight. Okay, it’s fine that Pacquiao is choosing to ignore the vast public opinion in the boxing world and choosing to move on and fight Diaz rather than giving Marquez an immediate rematch, but it doesn’t mean that I like it or accept it. For me, it’s like a person taking math class, say Algebra, for example, and they then fail the class with a D grade. Then, instead of returning to school to take the class, they then move on to pre-Calculus, even though they never proved that they could handle Algebra, much less Calculus.

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Hatton To Fight Malignaggi In November, Denies Rumor Of Pacquiao Bout

hatton33335.jpgBy Eric Thomas: As much as boxing fans and writers alike would like to see light welterweight Ricky Hatton (44-1, 31 KOs) face pound-for-pound boxing great Manny Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KOs) in November, that idea was quashed yesterday when Hatton came out and said that he won’t be fighting Pacquiao in November, and had never said that he was going to be fighting him. Instead, Hatton will carry as usual with his plans to challenge IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi for his title in November, a bout that has so far has done little to interest most boxing fans.

Earlier in the day on Tuesday, there was a report from the Manilla Bulletin, which stated that Malignaggi would be paid by the Hatton camp to step aside temporarily, and let Hatton take what will likely be the more appealing bout against Pacquiao in November. However, Hatton’s lawyer shot that idea down quickly yesterday, saying in effect that Hatton is under contract for a bout against Malignaggi in November and won’t be veering from that course to fight Pacquiao.

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Hatton vs. Pacquiao For November, Malignaggi To Step Aside?

hatton33353535.jpgBy Eric Thomas: In the latest boxing news, there is talk of former light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton facing Manny Pacquiao in November in Las Vegas. According to the Manilla Bulletin website, Top Rank’s promoter Bob Arum is talks with Bob Schaefer of Golden Boy about the possibility of a November fight between Hatton and Pacquiao. Of course, for this to happen it would mean that Paulie Malignaggi, the IBF light welterweight champion and the one that Hatton is scheduled to fight in November for his title, would have to agree to step aside and let the Hatton-Pacquiao take place.

Even if Malignaggi would agree on such a thing, which is still debatable, it would likely take a substantial feel for him to do such a thing. After all, Hatton, who hasn’t looked good in quite some time with a loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a poor showing in his most recent bout against Juan Lazcano, might very well lose to Pacquiao if they were to actually fight. That would leave Malignaggi with a greatly diminished bout since boxing fans would probably have less interest in seeing Hatton face Malignaggi if he were to lose to Pacquiao, and the cry would likely be for an immediate rematch between Hatton and Pacquiao, thus further causing Malignaggi to even more.

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Pacquiao vs. Hatton: Is This a Sporting Fight?

By Jim Dower: After watching Ricky Hatton struggle against Juan Lazcano, looking good at times and appearing a little washed up as a fighter at other times, I wonder whether Hatton should opt for a fight against super featherweight Manny Pacquiao. First of all, I don’t think it’s a fight that Hatton could win at this point in his career judging by his recent performances against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Lazcano, fights which seemed to indicate that Hatton was on the downside of his career. Most importantly, however, is the question of fairness.

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Pacquaio Interested In Hatton Bout

pacquiao544.jpgBy Scott Gilfoid: In the ultimate in overreach on his part, WBC super featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KOs) is reportedly interested in a bout with light welterweight former champion Ricky Hatton (43-1, 31 KOs) in the near future. First, however, Pacquiao has to deal with WBC lightweight champion David Diaz, with whom Pacquiao is scheduled to fight later this month on June 28th, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. That in itself will be a rather difficult task for the 29 year-old Pacquiao in that he’s moving up five pounds in weight to fight Diaz at the 135 pound lightweight class.

If, however, Pacquiao can get by Diaz, then there’s a chance for to arrange a fight with Hatton, if he’s interested. According to reports, Ricky’s father has said that they’re interested in the idea, though a lot of this also hinges on whether Ricky is successful in his upcoming bout with IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi later on this year. Pacquiao is said to be willing to fight wherever Hatton wants, even if it means having to travel all the way to England and fight in front of Hatton’s often loud Manchester crowd. Pacquiao, it seems, is willing to take the risk in order to get the biggest payday of his career by far.

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Diaz, Katsidis & Pacquiao In The Cards For Hatton?

pacquiao545734.jpgBy Nate Anderson: Whether he likes it or not, Ricky Hatton (44-1, 31 KOs) may have to earn his rematch the hard way by beating a trio of smaller fighters, such as lightweights Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis, and super featherweight Manny Pacquiao, before he can make himself relevant for another fight with the great Floyd Mayweather Jr. Hatton, 29, has done little to warrant a rematch with Mayweather at this point. His last fight, a disappointing points win over veteran Mexican fighter Juan Lazcano, was a mixed bag where Hatton looked good at time, almost seeming to be back to his 2005 form, but then later in the fight Hatton began to get nailed with many of the same punches (short left hooks) that he was hurt with against Mayweather.

Indeed, the most worrisome part of all, however, was that Hatton was hurt badly twice by the relative light-hitting Lazcano, and if not for the assistance from the referee in the 10th round, Hatton may have been knocked out in the fight. To be sure, it wasn’t something that was missed by neither Mayweather nor Hatton’s promoters, Golden Boy, who will likely want him to take on several top fighters in order to rebuild his status as a near invincible punching machine.

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Hatton Interested In A Future Pacquiao Bout

hatton4442.jpgBy Chris Williams: In an indication that light welterweight Ricky Hatton is looking beyond this Saturday’s bout with Juan Lazcano, he recently said in an interview with Craig Watt of fightnews that he’s interested in a fighting WBC super featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KOs), if Hatton’s bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. fails to materialize. Hatton, though, apparently has no interest in moving down in weight to meet Pacquiao at his natural weight class of 130 lbs, meaning that if the fight were to happen Pacquiao would be the one that would have to move beyond his fighting weight in order to make the fight happen.

In this case, it would mean that Pacquiao would have to put on 10 lbs so as to move up to the 140 lb light welterweight limit in order to meet the 29 year-old Hatton. It’s perhaps interesting to see Hatton discussing such a bout, for the fight would be no doubt a highly appealing bout for most fans. Notice how Hatton basically comes right out and says he wouldn’t be moving out of his weight class, perhaps a display of his increased worth as far as fan interest goes.

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Is Gamboa Already Better Than Pacquiao?

gamboa23442241.jpgBy Manuel Perez: 2004 Cuban amateur Gold Medalist super featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa (9-0, 8 KOs) meets up this weekend with Darling Jimenez (23-2, 14 KOs) at the Buffalo Bills Hotel, in Primm, Nevada. After only nine fights, many people, this writer included, feel that Gamboa is already the best super featherweight in the division, even better than champion Manny Pacquiao and former champion Juan Manuel Marquez. While this is only speculation on most people’s part, the evidence seems to suggest that Gamboa is already far better than Pacquiao in terms of talent, and well on his way to being more popular than him, at least in the U.S., if not the Philippines where Pacquiao resides.

If you’re why people feel so strongly about Gamboa, it only takes a couple of views of his fights to figure why. He has knockout power in either hand, and doesn’t waste time in his bouts with all the preliminary feeling out period in the first couple of rounds. Instead he goes right after his opponent like there’s no tomorrow, trying to take him out with every shot. It’s clear that he’s a harder puncher than Pacquiao, though he’s not nearly as fast as him in terms of hand speed.

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Boxing News: Mijares-Munoz, Pacquiao-Diaz, Joel Julio

Styles make fights and the May 17 unification title bout between WBC champion Cristian Mijares and WBA title-holder Alexander “El Explosivio” Munoz has all the makings of an instant classic..

The 12-round Mijares-Munoz main event, marking the first super flyweight unification title bout in more than 10 years, headlines the “Noche de Campeones” pay-per-view event live from the Auditorio Centenario in Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico.

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Boxing News: Hatton-Lazcano, Pacquiao-Diaz, Valuev-Chagaev

Saturday, May 24 sees a record breaking show in the United Kingdom with 55,000 fans packed into the home of Manchester City Football Club to witness the homecoming of their favorite son, Ricky Hatton. Ricky defends his IBO light welterweight crown and the most prestigious title in world boxing, the Ring Magazine belt, against Mexican-American hard man Juan Lazcano.

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