There is every sign that Manny Pacquiao could fight Rick Hatton next year. Having met Manny at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles last month on a press trip to see Amir Khan at work, I have the feeling that if he came to the UK, he would become hugely popular with British fight fans. Maybe even as popular as Hatton.
What’s not to admire about Pacquiao ?
I somehow doubt there would be the same insulting, football-fan style chants aimed at Pacquiao, which are often aimed at other ‘away’ fighters, as we have seen recently with Ricky Hatton against Floyd Mayweather, Joe Calzaghe against Bernard Hopkins, and even on Saturday night in Nottingham when Carl Froch fought Canadian Jean Pascal for the WBC super-middleweight title.
There is something very special about the man – a humility which always strikes a chord with British fans.
Pacquiao returned to a hero’s welcome in The Philippines after beating Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas. He even shared a cake in the shape of a boxing glove with the president. “My victory is a victory for all of us,” the 29-year-old Pacquiao said in a television talk show, shortly after meeting Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at her official residence.
Even the President was moved to excitement, throwing punches in the air while talking to Pacquiao, as he described the fight. She called him an inspiration for the entire country. Let’s add to that – an inspiration for the entire boxing community, and the sporting world.
Other overseas fighters popular with British fans:
Muhammad Ali
Sugar Ray Leonard
Marvin Hagler
George Foreman
