GENERAL SANTOS CITY ? If there?s one guy out there who can pull the trigger against Manny Pacquiao, that would be British slugger Ricky Hatton, trainer Freddie Roach said on Thursday.
Hatton appears to be the frontrunner in the race to land a shot at fighting Manny Pacquiao on May 2 possibly at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
“Hatton?s a very good body puncher and is very dangerous,” Roach said at the GenSan airport as he and Top Rank chief Bob Arum waited to board their flight to Manila.
An eleven-year professional, Hatton has fought mainly as a super-lightweight/junior-welter (140 lbs) and has a 45-1-0 win-loss-draw record with 32 knockouts.
Roach is aware of what a rugged puncher like Hatton can do in the ring that he wants Pacquiao to show up for training at the Wild Card in Hollywood, California, “eight weeks before the fight.”
“I want him (Pacquiao) there first week of March,” said Roach in the event the fight pushes through.
He described Hatton as somebody who “is tailor-made for Manny and his style benefits us more.”
“Hatton likes to go to the body and the key (to victory) for Manny is his footwork,” said Roach, who has been training boxing?s pound-for-pound king since mid-2001.
“Manny should stay away from the ropes when he fights Hatton,” Roach said who was scheduled to take a PAL flight to Los Angeles from Manila with Arum yesterday.
Roach and Arum were among the many dignitaries from here and overseas who graced Pacquiao?s lavish 30th birthday bash held Wednesday night at the KCC Mall Convention Center with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo leading the star-studded guest list.
