If Hatton insist on his bull style forward stance that earned him 44 straight wins in this professional boxing career, he is in for a big surprise. If he thinks Pacquiao is an easy target, he is mistaken. Pacquiao knows how to handle Hatton’s predictable style. And if Hatton continues to use his natural fighting stance, there is a very strong possibility that Pacquiao will hit him with his powerful left hook and finish his chances of facing Mayweather again for much fatter purse.
Hatton’s brand of boxing is predictable. And because of his quickness and aggressiveness in bringing his whole arsenal into his opponent’s front yard with his fastest gear, he often forgets about his defenses. And this is very risky and dangerous. Pacquiao’s left hook which had sent Eric Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Marco Antonio Barrera to the canvas many times over, will just find its mark on Hatton’s baby face and he will feel the power of Pacquiao’s left and right combinations in a calculated and rapid fashion. He did the same with David Diaz who is also a brawler like Hatton.
Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s long-time trainer and coach, once commented on Pacquiao’s powerful left hook and he said many times before that he is just amazed at how or where Pacquiao gets that kind of power despite his relatively smaller body frame and built.
Roach knows his man so well and he knows that if Hatton gets careless with his defenses and insist on his forward bull- run-style, Pacquiao may just surprise him with his vaunted left hook that may require the referee to stop the fight without even starting to count. If that happens, boxing fans including those who are hooked to their PPV screens and the audiences inside the MGM Grand garden arena will definitely protest, cry foul and feel shortchanged for watching a short-lived boxing event.
All along, Roach is saying that the Hatton handlers may come up with different strategy to address Pacquiao’s speed and power. He maintains that Hatton will revert midway or even earlier in the rounds to his original fighting style, simply because Hatton is used to it and has been comfortable with that kind of fighting style. It is a natural tendency. Manny Pacquiao was recently quoted to have said. ‘The Hatton that you see today is the same Hatton that I will fight on May 2, 2009’.
Freddie Roach knows so well that it will take years to change every boxer’s natural fighting style. In the case of Pacquiao, it took him many years to develop his right hand and make it as powerful as his left. You just can’t do it overnight or in a little over two months in the case of Hatton.
Leave Your Comments