For trainer Freddie Roach, Ricky Hatton presents an open target for his prized ward, Manny Pacquiao, when they tangle on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Roach, who has been studying Hatton?s fight movements for the last two months in preparation for the megabuck showdown dubbed ?The Battle of East and West,? points at Hatton?s chin as the spot where the Briton is most vulnerable.
?Hatton is not fundamentally sound as a fighter ? he keeps his chin up,? Roach told BraggingRightsCorner.com. He is the perfect opponent for Manny.
?You?re going to hear a lot of glass breaking when Manny starts playing his chin music concerto on Hatton. You?re going to see who has the chops to play this masterpiece on May 2.?
Hatton thinks otherwise.
Kinks in Manny?s armor?
He told BoxingScene.com that he sees a kink on Manny?s armor, saying the Filipino ring icon was ?unable to fight going backwards.?
As Pacquiao retreats, Hatton intends to press him ?by coming forward and throwing punches.?
Unbeaten as a junior welterweight, Hatton also feels that the lighter Pacquiao, fighting at 140 pounds for the first time, won?t be able to stand up to his punches.
?I hope that he?s improved on that body and that chin because he?s going to get hit by the biggest man that he?s ever fought.?
Though Pacquiao fought and beat Oscar De La Hoya in the welterweight division last December, De La Hoya came into the fight at an exact 147 pounds while he checked in at 145 pounds.
In contrast, Hatton plans to be around 154 lb on fight night.
Hatton also pointed out that he?d seen Pacquiao get staggered by smaller boxers and even knocked out by body blows.
Those two knockouts, to Rustico Torrecampo in 1996 and Thai Medgoen Singsurat in 1999, of course, occurred when Pacquiao was still young and his body was still filling out.
Hatton ?easy to hit?
Interviewed by LA Daily News, Roach said Hatton was so easy to hit because his chin?s up in the air and he swings from the outside.
?If Manny just punches down the middle, he?s going to kill Hatton.?
So confident is Roach that from his original prediction of a ninth round knockout for Pacquiao, he?d brought it down to three rounds.
A win by Pacquiao could set him up for a big-money fight by the year?s end.
