Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton preview
Who knows what the rest of 2009 holds in the world of boxing, but any fight will be hard-pressed to match the hype of Saturday night’s Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton bout in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao, the biggest star in the Philippines, is regarded as boxing’s pound-for-pound champion, but he will be giving up an inch or two to Hatton in this light-heavyweight bout. That may be irrelevant, however, as Pacquiao looked great against a bigger fighter in Oscar De La Hoya in December and is the -250 favorite on WagerWeb.com.
But Hatton (45-1-0, 32 Kos) is much younger and quicker than De La Hoya at this point in his career. And he looks energized under new trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. In his first fight under Mayweather Sr., Hatton scored an impressive TKO of Paulie Malignaggi in November. Hatton is +185 on WagerWeb.com for this bout, but that line has moved toward him.
Hatton is basically a straight-ahead fighter who gets hit too much. But he has 46 bouts in his pro career, and that style has failed him only once, when Floyd Mayweather Jr. knocked him against the corner ring buckle and out Dec. 8, 2007.
Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs) fought as low as 106 pounds early in his career and was seldom thought of as a big-punching, dangerous brawler until he fought David Diaz at 135 pounds last June and knocked him out in the 9th round, following by his domination of De La Hoya.
“This will be a quick fight,” said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer. “Ricky’s a tough guy, but we’ll knock him out. I’ll bet my house on it.”
The over/under on WagerWeb.com is 9.5 rounds.
No matter what, this fight might be one of the last chances for fight fans and bettors on WagerWeb.com to see these 30-year-olds. Both have expressed a desire to leave boxing at or near the top of their game, likely within a couple of fights of Saturday’s bout.
Pacquiao, who has already run for Philippine public office once, losing a bid for a congressional seat in 2007, figures to pursue politics in his homeland. Hatton plans to devote his energy to his fledgling boxing promotion company in his native England.
“I would like to see Manny fight two more times after Hatton,” Roach said. “I’d like to see him fight Juan Marquel Marquez one more time because everybody wants to see that fight. That would be a great fight. And of course Floyd Jr. is talking about coming back. That’s definitely a possibility. If Shane Mosley wants to come down a little bit in weight, that’s a possibility.”
Boxing Betting at WagerWeb.com
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
