Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach is convinced that if Pacquiao fights a smart fight in his showdown against Britain’s Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 2 he should win easily.
In a wide-ranging conversation with insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports, Roach said Pacquiao needs to “get back into the gym and get back to where we were for the Oscar De La Hoya fight” last December 6 where Pacquiao pulverized “The Golden Boy” to win by an eighth round TKO.
Roach cautioned Pacquiao that Hatton is “a very durable buy” but added that “if Manny fights the correct fight, fights a smart fight I think he’ll win and win easily.”
The renowned trainer who has crafted the career of Pacquiao through the years and turned him into the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and the most exciting fighter in boxing today admitted that IBO light welterweight champion Hatton punches with power and said “his body punches are his best. He is a very good body puncher.”
However, Roach was confident that Pacquiao who trains relentlessly once he steps into the Wild Card Gym will prove too much in the end for the game Briton and should eventually take him out in the late rounds.
Hatton who returns to Manchester in the middle of February after a vacation cruise with his family will join Pacquiao in a kickoff promotional stop in London and his hometown of Manchester in the last week of this month.
Hatton’s father, Ray Hatton told us he would start training in Britain for a couple of weeks before leaving for an eight week training stint before the fight in Las Vegas. Hatton himself has said he was driven by a desire to dislodge Pacquiao as the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
The Daily Telegraph quoted Hatton as s aying “ I’ve challenged once for it. I’m focused, I’ve got my eye on the prize” and said he was sure the fight wouldn’t go the distance and he was “convinced, I will beat Manny.” Hatton also maintained that nobody in the world could beat him at 140 pounds. But as Roach has said in the past, ”there’s always a first time.”
Source: boxingscene.com
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