Hatton to use Pacquiao's status as motivation

MANILA, Philippines – Ricky Hatton will use Manny Pacquiao’s status as the world’s No.1 pound-for-pound fighter as his motivation when he starts training for their May 2 mega-bout next month.

In an interview with British newspaper The Telegraph, Hatton said he would want to challenge Pacquiao’s status as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter and hoped that he would be at the winning end of their junior welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

“I’ve challenged once for it, I’m focused, I’ve got my eye on the prize," said Hatton, who once fought and lost to then pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Hatton, who will start training in the middle of February, thinks Pacquiao is beatable.

"I’ve always said it, but I don’t think anyone in the world can beat me," Hatton said. "Nor can I see this fight going 12 rounds. I’m convinced I will beat Manny."

Hatton said to become one of the best boxers in the world is to fight world class champions.

“He [Pacquiao] is a great champion, and the only way to become a great fighter is to box great champions," he said. "It is an honor and a privilege to be sharing a ring with him."

He also believes that Oscar de la Hoya was not in tip-top condition when he fought Pacquiao in December last year.

"I do think he boxed a shell of Oscar de la Hoya," he said. "But I don’t want to take anything away from Manny."

Hatton said that negotiations in his fight against Pacquiao, which dragged on for weeks, affected him emotionally.

"They were a very difficult few weeks," he said. "Previously we had spoken to Bob Arum [Pacquiao’s promoter] and we’d agreed on the deal. I was delighted. I was jumping through hoops. With the on-off, on-off nature last week, I was devastated. I said to my dad [Ray Hatton, his manager] and my lawyer Gareth Williams that if it was not on by [last] weekend, we would have to call it off."

The fight, which has been set at the super-lightweight (140 lbs) level, almost did not push through after both camps failed to reach an agreement on the revenue split. Both camps, however, finally came to their senses and agreed to save the superfight that could bring in huge profits for both boxers.

Although Pacquiao (48-3-2, win-loss-draw) is tagged as boxing’s most bankable star today, the catch weight has been Hatton’s territory for some time now.

Hatton’s only loss in his career was at the welterweight class (147 lbs) when he lost to Mayweather Jr. in 2007. Otherwise, the super-lightweight campaigner has been spotless in 46 professional career fights. – GMANews.TV

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/146725/Hatton-to-use-Pacquiaos-status-as-motivation

Hatton signs pact to seal super fight

Manny Pacquiao is all set to slug it out with Ricky Hatton on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“I’m ready. Ayos na lahat (Everything is okay now),” said the Filipino pound-for-pound champion last night.

Pacquiao has been shuttling from Manila to Gen. Santos City the past week or so, spending time with his family and friends, and finalizing some business transactions as well.

The fight, pegged at 140 lbs and with the British superstar’s IBO crown at stake, was finalized last night when Hatton signed the contract.

Pacquiao was first to commit himself to the fight, and Hatton, upon receiving a copy of the contract, wasted no time in signing it, too.

Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy, who represents Hatton, yesterday told the LA Times that everything has been finalized.

“When you make a superfight of this magnitude, it’s very exciting,” he said. “These guys have two great styles. They both love to stand in the middle of the ring and slug it out. It’ll be a great night for the fans.” - By Abac Cordero (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

SOURCE: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/star/20090129/tsp-hatton-signs-seal-fight-d685dba.html

Manny Pacquiao vs Ricky Hatton: Three Pacman bouts lined up in 2009

Manny Pacquiao, his promoter Bob Arum hinted, is open to three fights this year.

The Filipino superstar is locked on to face Britain’s Ricky Hatton on May 2 in Las Vegas, and is hoping to land an even bigger fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. later on.

But Arum said if Mayweather, who retired last June as the undefeated pound-for-pound champion, doesn’t come out in the open, Pacquiao might consider two more fights.

Pacquiao said he wants to retire this year, and Arum, the legendary Top Rank chief, wants to make sure that boxing’s biggest draw today makes the most of his chances.

“If Floyd Mayweather is not available after we fight Hatton, then we can fight Edwin Valero,” said Arum, close to finalizing the deal with the Hatton people for the May 2 bout.

“There are a number of people out there although the fight may not be as big as Mayweather,” he added after dropping the name of the Venezuelan knockout artist.

Among the other worthy contenders are Joan Guzman or Zab Judah and, of course, Juan Manuel Marquez, the only fighter who really came close to beating Pacquiao in nearly three years.

Again, none of these fights can match the attention a fight with Mayweather would draw, considering that it will be a fight between two pound-for-pound champions of the same era.

“If Mayweather is not there, we can fight two more fights to make up for it. Manny can fight three times this year,” said Arum over the telephone.

But Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach wants Pacquiao going up against Hatton, and then Mayweather.

“In a perfect world, I would like to see him fight Ricky Hatton and then Floyd Mayweather Jr. and then I would like to see Manny retire, and become President of the Philippines,” he told fighthype.com.

Going back to things on hand, the matchmaking genius said Pacquiao stands to earn a lot, even more than what he earned against Oscar dela Hoya, for facing Hatton.

“There’s a good chance that Manny will earn more in this fight,” said Arum of Pacquiao, who got no less than $10 million despite the smaller 32 percent take against Dela Hoya’s 68 percent.

Arum said there’d be no such disparity in the Pacquiao-Hatton pie.

“Manny may get more but not much, much more because Ricky Hatton brings more to the table than anybody else Manny could fight at the moment,” he said.

“But we are not getting the smaller share if you know what I mean. A tremendous percentage of the money will come from England,” he added in recognizing Hatton’s pay-per-view draw back home.

- By Abac Cordero (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com) - Friday, January 2