One Ricky does not like the other Ricky. As for me, it?s so freaking hot and humid in the Baked Apple this Sunday afternoon, I?d rather have a cold and refreshing Lime Rickey.
I certainly concede Ricky Lois? point that Ricky Hatton will clutch and grab in a Mega-Event bout against our Pinoy idol, Da Pacman.
But who can deny that economics will dictate this mismatch? The Hattonites are boxing?s most loyal fans and are different from the typical Pacmaniac in that they have the time and the financial means to follow their Mancunian idol even to Las Vegas. Any fighter who can lure 15,000 of his adherents to buy an air travel/hotel/fight ticket package and cross the Atlantic merits special treatment.
There were only 8,362 paying customers at Mandalay Bay Saturday night and I hear that four of them were actually David Diaz fans. Point is that in this troubled economy, the charismatic Pacman only drew a half-capacity live audience. For the Brits, with the Euro and the BPS so strong against our dollar, package trips to Vegas are cheap and plentiful.
No doubt Hatton-Pacquiao will be SRO at the MGM Grand, Thomas & Mack or at Mandalay Bay.
I?d love to see Megamanny broaden his horizons and go to Old Blighty to slap Hatton around but our imbedded Team Pacman reporter, Hermie Rivera, said this is a no go, that a neutral site such as Vegas will be the site.
So let real fight guys such as Our Ricky gripe and groan because there is no stopping Pacman-Hatton. Throw in the lucrative UK TV revenue, where the fight will be PPV magic, and it?s an easy fight to put together. For this one, Bob Arum will quickly make a deal with Golden Boy.
Limey Ricky and the Pinoy Picasso? Game, set and mismatch coming soon to a screen near you.
