APPARENTLY realizing that size isn?t everything, Ricky Hatton is now crowing about his technical ability and how it would be a big factor in securing a win over pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in their May 2 showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
After days of boasting about the size discrepancy and his unblemished record at 140 lb, Hatton, again referring to himself in the third person very much like the big, bulky fictional character Hulk, said it is going to be a battle of tactics.
?Ricky Hatton always goes for the knockout but you can?t go in there crash and wallop. You have to show a little more technical ability. I think that?s going to show up bigger than the size aspect,? he said.
?They?re going to see the boxing side of Ricky Hatton.?
?I?ve always said at 140 lb I believe I?m too strong and too big. With the hand speed and punching, the things I?m learning with Floyd and my boxing ability, Manny has got something else to worry about besides the sheer size. He has got some technical ability to worry about come the night,? said Hatton, who puts his International Boxing Organization light-welterweight title on the line.
Although he did not explain in detail the tactics his camp is banking on, the brawler hinted they would try playing counter-attack against the flamboyant Filipino.
?If you can make him miss, he?s very open and off balance,? Hatton said. ?If he misses, he?s going to have some big shots waiting for him.?
?He?s going to get a shock. The technical side and the speed will shock him more than anything.?
?To say I?m confident would be an understatement. Training is going well. I?m feeling really sharp. Me and [trainer] Floyd [Mayweather Sr.] have been doing good work,? Hatton said.
Mayweather, meanwhile, said Pacquiao is facing a fighter vastly different from Oscar de la Hoya, the biggest boxer?both in terms of size and stature?the Filipino has ever fought and beaten.
?This ain?t no dehydrated Oscar de la Hoya Pacquiao is fighting now,? Mayweather said.
?He is fighting with a man that has real strength. A guy that can keep pressure on him, smart pressure, head movement, jabbing on the way in, banging through the body, banging through the head and smothering him at the same time.
?It?s going to be hard for him to deal with,? he said, predicting a knockout victory by Hatton.
?We gonna whup his ass. I am going to be honest with you. I think Ricky has a very, very good chance of knocking Pacquiao out. I think a knockout is going to be more likely than anything. Ricky?s chances are very great at that.
?Because, first of all, I?ve got the best fighter and I am the best trainer. That?s the reason right there. I am the best and he is the best. Everything is mapped out.?
Mayweather also lashed back at Freddie Roach, who had been criticizing the way he trains his wards.
?You see Freddie Roach train, and you see me train, it?s night and day. It doesn?t even compare. ?Doesn?t even come close. I mean, let?s be real. Tell the truth. Freddie Roach is a joke. And that?s what I say. That?s why his name is Freddie ?the joke coach? Roach.?
