Hitman - Pacman, Which Man Will Win?

Photo Courtesy of boxnews.com.ua

On May 2nd the biggest fight of the year takes place in Las Vegas, NV. By this I mean, Manny Pacquiao against Ricky Hatton. ESPN's Internet poll had 57% saying Pacquiao will win by knockout, this couldn't be further from the truth. Don't get me wrong I think Pacquiao will win but not by a knockout. He will grind out a very tough decision win. Just because Pacquiao had a tremendous, and I do mean tremendous victory of Oscar De La Hoya, he is not invincible.

Manny Pacquiao has been almost flawless since working with his trainer Freddie Roach. Before this he was a good fighter but not the great fighter he is today. His history is not to be forgotten, before he beat Eric Morales twice he was beaten badly and he has been knocked down in recent fights. His fight before De La Hoya was against Juan Manuel Marquez and I feel he lost that fight. Oscar De La Hoya showed up for the fight looking tired and heavy, the perfect type of fighter for Pacquiao to defeat. Pacquiao is very fast and has great movement which works for heavier fighters. Ricky Hatton is a Junior Welterweight who is quicker than David Diaz, whom was defeated by Manny Pacquiao. Ricky Hatton will be a tough fight for Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao is a south-paw who loads up his strong left hand. This won't work against Ricky Hatton. Ricky Hatton made the mistake of standing in front of straight shots against Floyd Mayweather and couldn't stand up after getting hit square in his face, Hatton will not make that mistake again. Pacquiao is very quick but so is Ricky Hatton. Pacquiao will outwork "The Hitman" Ricky Hatton.

Ricky Hatton is coming off an extremely dominant victory over Paul Malignaggi. This can be deceiving, Paul Malignaggi did not have a good game plan against Hatton and he paid the price for it. Ricky Hatton's fight before that was a slim ugly victory over Juan Lazcano. Ricky Hattons biggest problem against Floyd Mayweather Jr. was that he abandoned his fight plan. He admits to getting excited and going for the knockout, he will not make that mistake again. Ricky Hatton usual fighting style is to throw one or two punches then grab and get chip shots. Now he is trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr. and looks to have changed his style. Hatton was always strong and quick but Mayweather is getting him to move more and not just brawl. We have not seen much of this new style of Ricky Hatton and I think it has made him a better fighter. I love and have loved Hatton's grit and style ever since I first saw him fight. And even though I love him, I think he will come up a little short and lose the fight.

Both of these fighters have great natural talent and even greater trainers. This will be a very good, close, entertaining fight. It will be very close but Pacquiao will continually edge out Hatton in each round. I know this fight will be closer than an overly dominate Pacquiao win. Both fighter are very tough and have great cardio. This fight really will go down to the wire. In conclusion, I really want Ricky Hatton to win but Manny Pacquiao will get the victory.

P.S. Contracts are almost finished for a July fight where Floyd Mayweather Jr. will come out of retirement to fight Juan Manuel Marquez. I am excited for this fight, it may not be explosive but it will be entertaining to true fight fans. The winner of that fight will most likely fight the winner of Hatton-Pacquiao.