Pacquiao Targets 'the Hit Man'

In the wake of his destruction of Oscar De La Hoya in December, Manny Pacquiao faces Ricky Hatton this Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in what is the biggest fight of 2009 thus far. By defeating 'the Golden Boy' the way he did - and hastening De La Hoya’s retirement from the ring - Pacquiao's profile grew exponentially across the globe. No longer just a Filipino icon, he is now among the best known athletes in the world.

His stock has never been higher and the adulation he receives is at an unfathomably high level. So can he possibly have the mental focus needed to defeat Hatton?

"My motivation of this fight," explained Pacquiao to Maxboxing last Thursday afternoon after one of his last sparring sessions at the Wild Card Boxing Club, "is that I want to prove to everybody that not only Mexican fighters I can beat, but I can also beat different fighters. Especially this fight, I'm fighting an English boxer. This is my first time fighting an English fighter. I have to focus to do everything in the ring."

Nobody has ever accused Pacquiao of discriminatory practices as a prizefighter. He'll beat up anyone that is represented in the United Nations, no matter what color, creed or religion. Regardless, toppling Hatton would be a sizable notch on his belt. With a record of 45-1 (32 knockouts), 'the Hit Man' has never lost as a jr. welterweight, and is the recognized champion of the division.

More importantly, this version of Hatton is a far steeper hurdle to climb than the faded De La Hoya he faced in December, a fact which has been drilled into him by his trainer Freddie Roach.
“I told him this is actually a tougher fight. This guy's younger, more vibrant, he has more energy. He has a lot of heart, he'll come to fight. I don't think his ability is that great to be honest with you," he says bluntly. "I've been studying tapes of him, I think he's a creation of Frank Warren. But he has some good wins though, and he's been champion at 140 for a long time. I know he's never been beaten at 140, but Manny hasn't either."

Of course, 'the Pac Man' has never fought at jr. welterweight. But Pacquiao, himself, says he expects a much more difficult outing this Saturday night.

"Absolutely," said the pride of General Santos City, "I'm expecting Ricky Hatton on that night, May 2nd, he's going to be in 100-percent condition. He's really prepared on this fight. He wants to win too. He's hoping for a victory, so both of us are looking for victory that night. May the best man win."

For the second consecutive contest, Hatton is working under the tutelage of Floyd Mayweather Sr., who is on the opposite end of the spectrum (in more ways than one) in comparison to his former trainer, Billy Graham.

"I don't think it's going to be a changed Ricky Hatton. I think what I've seen in his last fight against Malignaggi, that style, he'll use in that fight," said Pacquiao, referencing Hatton's 11th round stoppage of Malignaggi back in November. "I'm expecting whatever he wants, especially fighting inside, coming forward, fighting toe-to-toe. I know it's going to be a hard fight for me. But I really prepared for this fight."

In other words, he's expecting Hatton to be Hatton. As Cus D'amto once famously uttered: square pegs don't die round. But no matter what happens this upcoming weekend, most likely anything Pacquiao does from here on out will pale in comparison to the thrashing he gave 'the Golden Boy'. And it's not that it's his biggest achievement; you could argue that his victories over the likes of Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera are more significant. But this victory seemed to transcend boxing.

"Well, it's not comparable to the other fights because Oscar is a 10-time world champion, he's a boxing legend. We know Oscar, everybody knows Oscar, he's a great fighter," said Pacquiao, who stopped De La Hoya after eight one-sided innings. "And I'm the one who beat Oscar and I'm the one who sent him to retirement. So you cannot compare it to the other fights."

Pacquiao was thought to be simply too small to defeat the much bigger De La Hoya. It was supposed to be a physical mismatch. And that's exactly what it turned out to be.
"We never thought we'd beat Oscar that easy," admitted Pacquiao, who weighed in at 142-pounds for that welterweight contest. "But it's part of our plan to move like that."

Pacquiao-De La Hoya made David vs. Goliath look like the 'Thrilla in Manila.' Not only did he prove to be elusive in the ring with his darting movement, but his left hand repeatedly hit the mark time and time again, almost at will. The difference between the two combatants was visible from the very onset. "After the second round, I already thought that I can't believe I'm going to beat Oscar like this," said Pacquiao. There have been birthday piñatas in East LA who were not clubbed as many times as De La Hoya was on that fateful night.

And even more surprisingly, from the calves up, Pacquiao was the much stronger, physically imposing fighter.

"On that fight, I felt strong and 100-percent condition, mentally, spiritually and physically, and that's why there was no doubt in my mind to win that night," he says.

Now, he moves on to the last stage of what has not just been a Hall-of-Fame career, but possibly a legendary one. But he will need a few more significant and historic victories. Toppling Hatton would certainly qualify as both. He swears he is every bit as hungry and focused as he was for De La Hoya.

"Yeah, I'm always excited every fight, especially this fight against Ricky Hatton," Pacquiao claims. "Every fight, I don't want to disappoint people in my performance. I want them to be satisfied on my performance. Especially the Filipino people."

Source: maxboxing.com