Big British names weigh in on Hatton-Pacquiao

by SC on Apr 28, 2009 6:07 PM EDT in Fight Previews Comment 23 comments

BBC Sport got together quite a set of British boxers (and Frank Warren) for their predictions on Hatton-Pacquiao.

Out of nine picks, Hatton takes five, Pacquiao takes two, and Joe Calzaghe and James DeGale won't actually commit.

Said Calzaghe:

"Ricky definitely has the height advantage against Pacquiao, so if he can close the range and cut him down he has a great chance of winning. He's got to take his chance."

Ricky has one inch of height and is giving up two inches (67" - 65") in reach. Sometimes I get the impression a lot of people think Hatton is bigger than he is and/or Pacquiao is smaller than he is. They're pretty much the same size. When Oscar fought Manny, Manny had bigger arms than Oscar. He's not a big man to be sure, but neither is Ricky. Hatton is a pretty small dude.

DeGale goes out on this massive limb:

"If Pacquiao goes out and boxes Hatton he will win on a points decision but if Hatton can draw Pacquaio into a fight, he is a bigger and stronger man and I believe he will be victorious."

To note: Boxing favors Pacquiao. Brawling favors Hatton. I'm pretty sure the first one is right, not so sure the second one is considering Pacquiao's a pretty nasty brawler himself.

Frank Warren weighs in:

"I have to admit I don't like Hatton's chances. Boxing at light-welterweight will suit Hatton but it will favour Pacquiao more. Pacquiao will be that bit quicker than he was against Oscar de la Hoya at welterweight - and even stronger."

Richie Woodhall goes to the greatest lengths to describe how he sees Ricky winning:

"I think Pacquiao will cause Hatton all sorts of problems but he hasn't got Floyd Mayweather's speed or skills and Hatton's still the best light-welterweight in the world.

"Pacquiao's fast but he's busy and in your face and that should suit Hatton down to the ground. It will be Hatton's hardest fight ever but he'll have too much."

Go to the BBC story linked up at the top of the post to see thoughts from David Haye, Ken Buchanan, Sir Henry Cooper, Carl Froch and Barry McGuigan as well.

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Comments

richie woodall

theres a name just about everyone forgot about.

good analysis by everyone.

pacman is too smart of a fighter to be baited into something that doesn’t favor him and would put him in danger. he’ll bang back and forth a bit i’m sure but nothing crazy.

im seeing a similar fight strategy from the dlh fight. he’ll be in, throw his bombs and get out of dodge and out of hattons range before he can get a punch off.

by sonofapsycho on Apr 28, 2009 6:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

thanks buddy for the other message by the way. will do

by sonofapsycho on Apr 28, 2009 6:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Blah blah blah Hatton is bigger blah blah blah

Hatton is 1 inch taller but Manny has a 2 inch reach advantage. Pac is gonna smoke him like cheap cigar.

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 28, 2009 6:40 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

I don't see how anyone thinks Hatton is going to win this fight.

Even if they are British.

Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion

by The Kittitas Kid on Apr 28, 2009 8:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why?

I think he is going to win. Seems like most of you are going for the Fav.
Hmm lets see weekend.
Hatton TKO 8

"But I was going into Toshi Station to pick up some power converters"-Luke Skywalker

by dinkman on Apr 29, 2009 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just to confirm:

You are British, correct?

by Nick_ on Apr 29, 2009 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dual Nationality. Thats thrown you now aint it?

"But I was going into Toshi Station to pick up some power converters"-Luke Skywalker

by dinkman on Apr 30, 2009 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why?

Faster. Better boxer. Arguably better power.

The only thing Hatton has going for him is that he’s “bigger” (see reach advantage above), and Pacquiao just tore up a guy bigger than Hatton in Oscar.

So … Why not? I guess that’s why he’s the fave. What are the odds as of this morning?

Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion

by The Kittitas Kid on Apr 29, 2009 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Hatton will win and I'm American.

Texan to be exact and come fight night Hatton will be bigger than Oscar. Hatton hits harder then anyone he has fought, even Oscar, and it doesn’t matter how fast you are if Hatton is glued to him. I also think that Hatton body work will slow him down even more.

Hatton TKO-10

by TXroyal on Apr 29, 2009 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So … Why not?

Because Pacquiao doesn’t deal with pressure well (or at least tends to get into firefights when he gets pressured), and he hasn’t had to deal with serious pressure from someone who can walk through his punches since the first Morales fight. Also, Hatton is a better inside boxer than Pacquiao. While I’m leaning Pacquiao at this point, I can see where Hatton might even be able to beat him on points. Hatton isn’t going to just let Pac tee off on him like Pac’s last 5 or so opponents did.

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Apr 29, 2009 6:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Manny has a longer reach than anyone Hatton has faced since Tszyu

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Apr 28, 2009 9:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

my exact thoughts every time i hear hatton/floyd joy open their mouths

The Dude Abides

by battle axe of doom on Apr 29, 2009 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I also think naturally bulking up to the 150s

with the typical .005% body fat for Pacman in his last fight will pay huge dividends for this fight. Ricky as much as I like the guy lives up to the Fatton nickname. Even though Floyd kept him from getting ridiculously huge between fights Ricky doesn’t put on healthy weight and cut water. He burns off millions of carbs and comes into the ring at maybe 155-160. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Manny enter the ring close to 160 and be the larger man just like he was against DLH. Manny’s life is boxing and he trains like a madman as he believes its gods will for him. Hatton works out hard but I don’t think there is a guy that trains harder in professional sports than Pacman and it will show when he absolutely blitzes him.

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 28, 2009 6:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Pac was 148.5 on fight night for DLH

No way does he get anywhere near 160 by fight time for Hatton. Expect mid to high 140s.

by Nick_ on Apr 28, 2009 8:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

er... no. He wasn't.

Manny went in at 155 against Oscar, according to the unofficial fight night scales. Oscar was still 148. That was the first big warning sign I had that all was not well in the De La Hoya camp…….

Boxing is the beginning of all sports. I'm willing to bet that the first sport was a man against another man in a fight. (Omar Epps)

by Chaos100 on Apr 28, 2009 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The unofficial fight scale is a joke.

They weight them and then they sometimes subtract for the clothing that they are wearing and sometimes they don’t. And either way they just estimate what the clothes way.

by TXroyal on Apr 28, 2009 10:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

HBO says Manny was 148.5 in their

fight recap. I’d never heard 155. Anyway, fight night weights are always to be taken with a grain of salt but I don’t see Manny getting near 160 after a 140 weigh in.

by Nick_ on Apr 28, 2009 11:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

mad man is right

I’ve heard Freddie Roach mention in an interview that Manny averages 50 rounds of training per day (combo of mitts, bags, sparring). There are days when Roach forces many to stop training, for fear that he’s over-doing it.

That being said, Hatton has never looked better. I’m still on the fence of whom to put money on.

by steak_knife on Apr 29, 2009 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The best weigh-in not British

Roger Mayweather.

“If you are so big and you’re gonna let yourself get beaten by this little guy… you should give me all of your boxing equipment. I’ll take it set it on the floor spread gasoline on it and set it on fire because yadah yadah yadah I can’t remember the rest.”

"Penelosa is not human." -Max Kellerman on Gerry Penelosa during the Juan Manuel Lopes-Gerry Penelosa bout.

by Sickle on Apr 28, 2009 8:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

British Bias.....

There are a few british fighters that I like, but does anyone else have their stomach turn when they hear how unrealistic the British are when it comes to their boxer vs. a boxer from another country. You cannot even take most of them seriously at all. If Hatton was fighting a prime Mike Tyson they would still pick him to win.

by SkeedTom on Apr 29, 2009 7:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

People are very proud of nationality in boxing, of course. Analysis often goes out the window. As an American I have a hard time identifying with this sometimes because “American” doesn’t mean much to me as a fan, really. Most of my favorite fighters happen to be Mexicans.

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler

by SC on Apr 29, 2009 7:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bias happens everywhere

It’s natural for people to be supportive of one of their own. Plus, often you see a lot more of your countrymen than whoever they are fighting, so you have usually seen them win convincingly many times. Many of the picks in the article are based on what they know hatton can do, rather than what pacquiao might bring.

It’s by no means limited to britain. In fact, i have often found that most americans will underrate all british (and european) boxers unless they have fought extensively in america. Before calzaghe beat lacy, for example, there was a perception that he was a poor champion who had only held a title because he had been protected. It’s true that he hadn’t exactly faced a who’s who of world boxing before 2006, but anyone who had seen him fight much was aware that he was world class.

As far as the hatton fans being unrealistic, they will support him and believe in him no matter who he is facing, because that’s part of what it means to them to be fans. I don’t think the wider public – at least, those who know much about manny – are quite so confident of victory

by thirdslip on Apr 29, 2009 8:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with the above......

I live in Pittsburgh so I see the this bias with the Pittsburgh Steelers every year. As soon as a steeler—for example—Hines Ward, has a good season everyone in the local media want to put him in the same category as Terrell Owens and Randy Moss. LOOK AT THE CAREER NUMBERS OF THESE THREE before trying to compare them and look like an idiot. Most steeler fans over here could not name two or three players from another team except the Patriots………sorry to get off subject, but these guys were not asked who they are rooting for, they were asked who they think will win the fight. If you have not seen a guy enough to get a grasp of his talent, then at least acknowledge that in your pick. On the other hand, I wish these hardcore Hatton fans would put their money where their mouth is so they can make it a profitable fight to pick. 3 or 2.75 to 1 is about where it should be I guess, but I was hoping it would get closer to 2 to 1.

by SkeedTom on Apr 29, 2009 10:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs