MANILA, Philippines – Not on his turf.
Ricky Hatton, the pride of Manchester, valiantly held his fort Saturday by beating Manny Pacquiao in a darts contest and declaring before an estimated 6,000 fans that he?s just unbeatable at 140 pounds.
Promoters said tickets to the May 2 encounter at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas are sold out, and the response the two great fighters got at the Trafford Centre in Manchester was a very clear indication.
Hatton and Pacquiao came face to face, the British superstar in casual clothes and the Filipino pound-for-pound champion looking more dapper in his dark suit. They ?looked evenly matched? and smiled most of the time.
?I am unbeaten at 140 pounds and I believe I am unbeatable at that limit,? declared Hatton, who seemed to have stunned Pacquiao by winning their 501 contest in 15 darts and a double two.
Pacquiao was sharp with his darts as he is on the ring, but at 501 he looked a little lost as compared to his favorite darts game of killers. But he took everything in stride as he received a Manchester City football shirt from Hatton.
?This is a fight between two nice men but there is nothing nice about either me or Manny when we get inside the ring. We?re both aggressive but where some other fighters have been worried about him, he certainly won?t worry me,? Hatton told Gareth Davies of The Daily Telegraph.
A horde of Filipino fans showed up to throw their support to Pacquiao who flew 16 hours from Manila to Hong Kong to London Friday, accompanied by Bob Arum of Top Rank, trainer Freddie Roach, lawyer Franklin Gacal and a few friends.
They rode a train from London (Pacquiao is staying at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane) and needed two hours to get to Manchester. Pacquiao, according to Davies, a sports journalist since 1993, was recognized everywhere.
Inside his first-class cabin, Pacquiao had a calk massage, took a call from his family in the Philippines, shared banter with his companions and sharpened his darts. There he also prepared his short speech. Four vehicles picked them up at the station.
?My dream was to come here to England and it has come true. I also have the desire to take the light-welterweight title, and it?s a big honor to be in another fight which the fans want to see. Hatton?s style is very good, he?s strong, and for me it will be a big fight, and a crowd pleaser,? Pacquiao said.
?There is always pressure on me when I fight. I can handle it. Millions of people look to me to win. I have to go out and give everything,? said the Pinoy icon who is eyeing his fifth world title in five different weight classes. Last year he fought at 130, 135 and 147 pounds, and won each bout.
?This fight will be a great challenge because Ricky is a great fighter. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime fight, the kind you only see once in boxing history,? added Pacquiao, who gets to meet Hatton one more time on Monday at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Hatton said he?s out to prove a lot of people wrong.
?When I went on holiday there was a load of Filipino waiters who laughed at me because they think I have no chance. They won?t be laughing next year when I go back on the boat. I won?t be second best again when I challenge for world pound for pound title,? he said.
?For the first time in a long time, Manny is going to fight someone who is fast and will pressurize him. I?m going to put pressure on him and with my better defense, hand speed and longer time training under Floyd Sr. I am confident.
?I?m sure I?ll even perform better with the gloves than the darts. We were so slow I thought Manny might miss his flight back home,? Hatton, who loves to party and drink when outside the ring, added.
The ?bad blood? between Roach and Hatton?s trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr., was evident during the short meeting.
