Manny Pacquiao: How Would He Do Against Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather Jr?
Like many people, I’m personally not too impressed with all the hoopla surrounding Manny Pacquiao’s (43-3-2, 34 KO’s) recent win over Erik Morales (48-5, 34 KO’s), whom I consider to be completely used up. Sure, Pacquiao did what he had to do to win the fight and look good, yet he seemed totally beatable, at least to me. Now that Morales’ carcass has been cleared out of the way, Pacquiao is talking of wanting to fight Marco Antonio Barrera, followed by Juan Manuel Marquez. In other words, fighting re-treads, opponents that Pacquiao has already fought. I don’t about you, but that seems almost like being stuck in a rut, like he’s afraid to try something different.
For me, I wouldn’t be interested in seeing either of those fighters, particularly a bout against Barrera, whom Pacquiao already badly beat in November 2003, stopping him in the 11th round. Marquez would be interesting, slightly, only because he seemed to outsmart Pacquiao last time around, while in the process of completely dominating Manny in the second half of the fight.
If Pacquiao really wants to impress someone, he needs to take on either Ricky Hatton or Floyd Mayweather Jr, possibly meeting them at 135 lbs, if he wants to be generous to them. Though, I can see them making them starving themselves to make the 130 lb weight limit, it wouldn’t be easy. However, like Pacquiao, they both would immediately gain 15 lbs and the fight would be fought essentially at the 145 lb weight limit. If it were possible, somehow, for Mayweaher and Hatton to make the weight, this could turn out to be almost as big a fight as De La Hoya vs. Mayweather.
Here’s how I see the bout going:
Floyd Mayweather: In the early rounds, Pacquiao would do well due to his speed advantage, which would take a little time for Mayweather to adjust to. However, after realizing that Pacquiao lacks the punishing shots that Mayweather has become accustomed to as Welterweight, he’d start pressing forward, taking the fight to Pacquiao. In most punch exchanges, I see Pacquiao still coming out on top, at least in terms of landing more punches. However, Mayweather would be landing the much harder shots, which would knock Pacquiao off balance due to the force of the blows.
By the 8th round, I see Pacquiao’s face busting up under the stress of Mayweather’s constant punishment. Like in his bout with Morales, once Pacquiao face is cut, he becomes totally vulnerable, as if he’s thinking more about his own safety than in winning the bout. At that point, Mayweather would go all out, raining blows on Pacquiao, while he tries futily to cover up. Ultimately, I see the fight being stopped by the 7th round with Mayweather winning by knockout.
Ricky Hatton: (41-0, 30 KO’s) If there was ever a bad match-up for Pacquiao, this would have to be it. Hatton, while clearly a slower puncher than the lightening fast Paquiao, is much, much tougher, in estimation. While at the same time, Hatton is constant puncher, one that likes to smother his opponents, giving them little room to work. Hatton, also, often wrestles his opponents on the inside, tiring them out with his rough-house tactics. For Pacquiao, he’d find out early on that Hatton is a bit too tough for his tastes, as he’s bullied and pushed around from the opening bell. Again, as mentioned earlier, Pacquiao would be considerable faster than Hatton.
However, the Bulldog-like Hatton, would easily walk through Pacquiao’s fast punches, as if they were feathers, getting quickly inside and pounding away on Pacquiao with vicious body shots and huge uppercuts. I don’t see this fight lasting longer than 4-rounds, with Hatton beating Pacquiao almost senseless in the process, in one of the worse slaughters since George Foreman vs. Joe Frazier.
Related Posts
Posted November 28th, 2006 l 604 views
