Pacman not in mood to trade barbs

Manny Pacquiao is not about to be dragged into a verbal war with outspoken members of Ricky Hatton’s team, one of them even reciting poetry predicting Pacquiao’s demise and the other labeling the Filipino pound-for-pound king as a flawed fighter.

"He even asked me for an autograph and posed for a picture with me," Pacquiao, smiling, told the Bulletin yesterday from General Santos City in recalling an incident last year when Hatton training assistant Lee Beard showed up in his suite at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay the day after he knocked out David Diaz of the US.

Pacquiao and Hatton face off on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and with 10 weeks before the bout, there is so much excitement that virtually anything that comes out of each camp sees print.

Beard was widely quoted as saying in an interview that was posted in rickyhitmanhatton.com the other day that Hatton’s power will surprise Pacquiao, who he observes commits too many mistakes, en route to a knockout win inside six rounds by the British bruiser.

Early this week, chief trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., in his usual staccato tone, said Pacquiao will hit the floor as Hatton is the naturally stronger guy between the two.

Despite the avalanche of harsh words from Mayweather and Beard, Pacquiao remains cool and seemingly unaffected as he opted to sidestep questions about his personal views about his highly-touted rival from Manchester and tell his interviewer about what keeps him busy the past few days.

"I am here in GenSan attending to a few business that I am going to put up like this coffee shop that is similar to Starbucks and next week’s baptism of my daughter, Queen Elizabeth (on Feb. 22)," said Pacquiao, who leaves for the US on Feb. 24.

But before the topic shifts to a totally unrelated subject matter, Pacquiao revealed that his weight remains in check and he will be ready for whatever Freddie Roach will put him against once he shows up at the Wild Card in Hollywood in the first week of March.

"I’m a bit heavy right now since I’m not in training but there’ll be no problem going down in weight," said Pacquiao, who squares off with Hatton at super lightweight/junior welterweight (140 lbs).

"Don’t worry," he said, adding that at the moment he is at 155 lbs.

Source: mb.com.ph