Its becoming increasingly clear that Britain ’s Rickly “The Hitman” Hatton is going to concentrate on working to the body in his “East Battles West” showdown against Filipino ring hero Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 2.
Speaking to BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports from the gym where Hatton works out in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lee Beard who is the IBO light welterweight champions British trainer said that “Ricky is known for being a body puncher and a lot of wins have come with shots to the body.”
Accentuating what is regarded as the strongest facet of Hatton’s offensive arsenal, Beard said it “doesn’t take a lot for Ricky to hurt somebody. He doesn’t need to unleash an accumulation of punches” to the body to take an opponent out.
He conceded that while Hatton “may not be the biggest puncher in the world, but he is a really, really heavy-handed, strong puncher. The one thing is he finds an opening to the body and he sets up his shots well so he doesn’t need to hit you nine or ten times to the body.”
Beard stressed “Ricky only needs to hit you once or twice before it starts to take effect.”
Although he conceded that Hatton’s “hand-speed is not as fast as Manny obviously, because Manny is extremely quick with his hands” Beard noted that Hatton “is also a fast-handed fighter and both fighters are very fast on their feet.”
Beard said Hatton had been working out in the gym prior to taking a family vacation on a Caribbean cruise and on his return “came up to the gym on Monday. This is the first stage of the training so he’s just settling himself into it, running and just warming his body back into it.”
Beard downplayed concern over Hatton’s tendency to bloat in-between fights because of his penchant for an excessive intake of junk food . This time around he said Hatton had “kept an eye on his junk food and kept on top of his weight because Ricky knows this is a massive fight for him.”
He said that Hatton “looks a bit lighter this time” when he reported to the gym compared to when he did prior to his last fight against Paulie Malignaggi. Beard said “I am not sure of his exact weight but Ricky looks good.”
Beard disclosed that he would continue to handle Hatton’s preparation until trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr’s scheduled arrival in Manchester on March 8 when the American trainer will take over. He said they would leave for Las Vegas five weeks before the fight.
The trainer noted that at the training c amp for Malignaggi “everything went really well. It was a really happy camp” and the result was a smashing victory for Hatton. He says they hope to duplicate the training camp environment for the Pacquiao fight which he predicted would be “an action-packed fight because Manny and Ricky both like to out on a show for the fans.”
Source: boxingscene.com
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