Manny Pacquiao ring savvy decisive

Ricky Hatton insists he’s a lot stronger than Manny Pacquiao.

The British superstar also boasts he is the biggest fighter the Filipino ring icon Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao will ever face when they tangle on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Both claims are disputable, according to Freddie Roach, a three-time trainer of the year working Pacquiao’s corner, but he chose not to make a big fuss about them.

Instead, the 49-year-old Roach, already enshrined in boxing’s Hall of Fame, said there’s another reason why Pacquiao will prevail and snare Hatton’s International Boxing Organization’s light welterweight title.

The much-awaited megabuck bout, according to Roach, won’t be decided by power but ring savvy.

“Strength doesn’t win this fight; smart does,” Roach said in a recent interview by The Sun. “My guy’s the smarter guy.”

Roach also scoffed at insinuations that Floyd Mayweather Sr. will be able to transform Hatton into a technical fighter on fight night.

“Once he feels Manny’s punches, he will revert to what he does best—and that’s fight,” said Roach, adding the moment Hatton becomes a brawler, it will spell his downfall.

Though Roach does not see the fight going the distance, he predicts it is going to end in the later stages owing to the toughness of the protagonists.

Meanwhile, Conor Ward of BritishBoxingnet, said Hatton has all the tools to topple Pacquiao. In his March 8 report, Ward contended that the Briton’s brawny physique, the tactical know-how of Mayweather Sr., and Hatton’s boxing wisdom will power him past Pacquiao.

source: sports.inquirer.net