Hitman Looks Ahead to Hatton Pacquiao
April 22, 2009
With Hatton Pacquiao tickets sold out, the war of words is raging off to the side between both camps. Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao’s trainers are currently entwined in a tit-for-tat negative publicity campaign that at least has something of a funny side. Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer recently sent Floyd Mayweather Sr, Hatton’s trainer, a “gift”, wrapped with a ribbon bearing the words, “second place.” Inside the wrapping paper? A t-shirt from Roach with a picture of himself on it, with a bottle of Roach’s weight-loss supplement, intended to infer that Hatton might not make the weigh-in before the “Battle of east and West” on May 2.
“Just another joke from the (Freddie) Roach. But Roach is the joke,” said Hatton’s trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. “They too late,” added Mayweather. “We’ve been there and done that and we ain’t even done yet. Look at Ricky, he’s got an eight-pack. They don’t want ‘Slick Rick’ to beat up the ‘Pac-Man.’”
Hatton halted his media rope-jumping session to participate in the foolery.
“Does the package say to be gentle?” he asked, with a smile.
The psychological battle has been a long one ahead of this massively important junior welterweight title fight. Much has been made of Pacman’s speed but Hatton shrugged off the idea that Pacquiao would be too fast for him. Hatton’s last fight in which he beat Pauli Malignani saw The Hitman do some damage having trained with a backroom staff he’d only known for 7 weeks. This time, he’ll be even faster, Hatton claims. And as for the baiting between coaches, Hatton loves it, and believes it makes the fight even more exciting.
“It would be a very boring sport if we didn’t have personalities like this,” said Hatton, who is busily honing himself to his ideal fighting weight.
“We’ve got two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world fighting, and arguably two of the best trainers in the world fighting. They just want to get one over on each other. I wouldn’t read too much into it. They’re both excellent coaches.”
Hatton is quick to acknowledge his admiration for Pacman’s boxing style, in contrast to trainer Mayweather, who is content to completely dismiss Pacquiao as overrated, especially on the evidence of his victory over Oscar de la Hoya. One thing is for sure, Ricky Hatton tickets are selling like crazy, and this is gonna be one of the biggest fights in years!
Battle of East and West is Sold Out!
April 22, 2009
The so-called Battle of East and West between Hatton and Pacquiao is utterly sold-out, with adjacent casinos selling TV fight tickets to the unlucky ones who missed out on the ringside seat treat. The fight between “Pac Man” Pacquiao and “Hitman” Hatton on May 2 will have the MGM Grand Garden Arena rocking like never before! Las Vegas is bracing itself for the coming of the Hatton army, with their banners and songs, and 50,000 CCTV tickets have gone onsale for the big event.
With Hatton Pacquiao tickets all gone and television the only remaining option, organisers and promoters are dubbing this fight “the battle of east and west”. It is believed that the gross earnings for the clash could exceed almost all that came before it. Bob Arum, Chairman of Top Rank, said “Given that the live gate for this event is sold out, coupled with the sellout of tonight’s San Francisco Giants baseball game where Manny is the guest of honor, indicates to me that ‘The Battle of East and West’ is on track to break all existing pay-per-view records.” An estimated 15,000 Ricky Hatton fight fans are expected in Sin City the first week of May, with millions mor watching at home on television.