Manny would win over Mayweather

Let’s face it, the biggest match-up to be made in boxing today would be Manny Pacquiao v Floyd Mayweather – the reigning pound-for-pound king against his unbeaten predecessor, back from retirement!
Ricky Hatton, who fought them both, was in Johannesburg last month and I got a chance to interview him.
Hatton, stopped in 10 rounds by Mayweather and two rounds by Pacman, had this to say when I asked him who would win if Pacquiao and Mayweather were to ever get it on:
“I’d like to think Manny would win. I’d hope he’d win because he’s a gentleman, really nice guy, family man. Everything about him I really admire. But as much as I don’t like Mayweather, he’s one hell of a fighter. Mayweather would probably pip him.”
Of course, Pacquiao must first get past Miguel Cotto.
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What Happens to Pacquiao If He Can’t Stop Cotto?

By Manuel Perez: Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2. 37 KO’s) better hope that he can stop Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KO’s) as early as possible in this fight, because once Cotto gets his train started, Pacquiao is going to be in for a world of hurt on November 14th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. What we’re looking at here is a fighter that has had it easy in his last seven fights (with the exception of Pacquiao’s fight against Juan Manuel Marquez), defeating most of his opponents early on without having to take very much punishment in the process.

Pacquiao has been able to move up in weight recently and still win without getting hit all that much because of his selective match making. Oscar De La Hoya was a light middleweight at the time that Pacquiao fought him and was forced to melt down to 147 to take the fight.

In effect, De La Hoya was a weight drained, older light middleweight. Instead of facing De La Hoya, Pacquiao – if he wanted to prove himself – should have fought either James Kirkland, Sergio Martinez, Paul Williams or Alfredo Angulo instead of a shot De La Hoya. All of these fighters would have been a better test for Pacquiao if he was interested in fighting a light middleweight.

Let’s face it; those guys would have knocked Pacquiao cold if they had fought him even with a weight draining catch weight because they are all in their prime, whereas De La Hoya clearly wasn’t. The same applies to Hatton.

If Pacquiao wanted to fight a light welterweight, why didn’t he fight Timothy Bradley, Kendall Holt or Marcos Maidana instead? All of them were in their prime at the time that Pacquiao fought Hatton and I considered all of them as better fighters than Hatton at this point. For some reason, Pacquiao chose not to fight them. I wonder why?

Now, Pacquiao is going to be fighting Cotto instead of Shane Mosley, Paul Williams and Andre Berto. Although Cotto is still in his prime, there are questions about whether he’s the same fighter he once was after losing to Antonio Margarito by an 11th round TKO last year. Why didn’t Pacquiao fight Mosley, Berto or Williams if he wanted to fight a welterweight?

Cotto may or may not be the same fighter he once was, but I think Pacquiao is in for big trouble if he can’t get Cotto out of there as quickly as possible. Cotto hits much harder than any opponent that Pacquiao has fought before and doesn’t have to load up with his shots to hit really hard. Pacquiao is going to be in for a shock if he can’t score a quick knockout because for once, he won’t be the stronger fighter.

I think Hatton was stronger than Pacquiao but he messed up by getting taken out so quickly and didn’t get much of a chance to show his power in that fight. Cotto has a better chin than Hatton, and will be able to take Pacquiao’s shots early in the fight without folding up. I think Cotto is going to rip Pacquiao apart as the rounds go on after he realizes how much bigger and stronger he is compared to the little Filipino.

This is going to be fun to watch because it will show what would have likely happened had Pacquiao fought a fighter in his prime like Mosley, Williams, Berto, Kirkland, Maidana or Bradley instead of someone on the downside of their careers.

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Would Hatton Have Beaten Pacquaio if Ricky was Better Prepared?

By Liam Santiago: Ricky Hatton was in absolutely no state to be going anywhere near a boxing ring on May 2nd, in Las Vegas to take on Manny Pacquiao. His trainer, Floyd Mayweather Snr, proved to be as much use as a chocolate fireguard. Ricky may as well have had Homer Simpson in his corner. For what it’s worth I honestly believe the result would have been different if the circumstances were. As I have said before, I am a massive Manny Pacquiao fan and admire his abilities. His speed and power is amazing. But a peaked Ricky Hatton is also amazing.
Anyone who knows the slightest thing about boxing understands that if a fighter is over trained and pushed to extreme limits, which brings the boxer past his peak, it can have devastating effects. Was this the case with Ricky Hatton? Yes, probably. However, I do have many reasons to support this claim, which I am sure many people reading this might be rather shocked. Mayweather let Hatton go past his peak.
Hatton should have realised this as well as Floyd, but that’s why Floyd was there. The trainer paid very little attention to Hatton in training, even less as the fight got nearer. In sparring sessions Mayweather would show while Hatton was already in the seventh round. On fight night, Ricky couldn’t find him. He showed up not long before Ricky went out to fight. Tell me if I’m wrong, but, is this any way to prepare a boxer for a fight with the fight voted as pound for pound king? Not only was Hatton physically past his peak, he was mentally destroyed. He had no focus, which showed in the way he boxed.
Also, in his previous fight Hatton looked amazing against no.2 ranked light welterweight champion, Pauli Malignaggi. Of course, Pauli is no Pacquiao, but Hatton dominated that fight. He was superior in every aspect. The difference between this fight and the Pac-Man fight? Hatton was focus and mentally prepared for this fight, also he had not sailed passed his peak. Lets say, for what it’s worth, the Hatton the stopped Malignaggi turned up to fight Pacquiao. I honestly believe that the Hitman would have stopped Pacquiao. You have to understand, at the top level in boxing every single detail can have an affect. A lot of big details had an affect in Vegas and it showed in the result.
I suppose it’s just unfortunate for the Hitman that he chose the wrong trainer. If he stuck with Billy Graham, Hatton might be at the top of boxingnews24’s pound for pound ranking instead of Juan Manuel Marquez, followed by Hopkins, with Cotto in fourth place. Who knows. What I do know is Hatton needs to get back in the gym and train to become the best light welterweight in the world again. Who knows, we might see a Pacquiao-Hatton 2. I doubt we would have the same result though. I very much doubt that indeed.
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