Mark Wahlberg picks Pacquiao over Hatton

MANILA, Philippines – Hollywood celebrity Mark Wahlberg believes Ricky Hatton is in for a tough match when he battles Filipino prized fighter Manny Pacquiao on May 2 (May 3 in Manila).

“You saw what (Pacquiao) did to (Oscar) De La Hoya, he’s going to do the same to (Ricky) Hatton," Wahlberg said in a video interview posted at Los Angeles Times.com.

Wahlberg credits Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer and coach, as the one who helped turn the Filipino boxing icon into the fighter that he is today.

“Freddie is the best and Manny realizes that. Manny listens to Freddie and does exactly what Freddie tells him to do," said Wahlberg, who is a close friend of Roach.

Wahlberg said that fights like this, Paquiao-Hatton, is great for boxing. “It’s pretty big. It’s great for the sport. Boxing is in a bit of trouble but fights like this obviously help the sport."

Wahlberg joined fellow actor Mickey Rourke and hundreds of fight fans in a Hollywood-inspired red carpet promotional event for the Pacquiao-Hatton May 2 fight last Monday at the Roosevelt Hotel.

Wahlberg said he would be at ring side to witness the Pacquiao-Hatton May 2 bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The hype being drummed up prior to the fight shows that the Pacquiao-Hatton bout won’t last for 12 rounds since both boxers are known sluggers. Hatton usually attacks and bullies his opponents while Pacquiao is best known for unleashing a barrage of precise blows.

Last December, Wahlberg also dropped by at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles to watch Pacquiao train for his fight against De La Hoya. - GMANews.TV

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/155162/Mark-Wahlberg-picks-Pacquiao-over-Hatton

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I’ll be 110 percent ready vs Hatton, says Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines – Bring Ricky Hatton on.

So says Manny Pacquiao as he declared his readiness to take on the Hitman from Manchester on May 2 in Las Vegas.

The Filipino pound for pound superstar said his training camp under celebrated trainer Freddie Roach has been great and the all hard work would serve him well on fight night.

“Roach and I are training very hard just like we did against Oscar," he said during the glitzy press con in LA, referring to his buildup for his megafight with De La Hoya, whom he dispatched in nine.

“I am going to be 110% ready (against Hatton). I just pray no one seriously gets hurt," added “Pacman" as quoted by fightnews.com.

Roach attested to this, going to the extent of predicting an early KO for his prized ward.

“It’s gonna be Pacquiao by knockout. He’s 100 percent in great shape for the fight. He’s the hardest fighter in training I’ve ever seen, he’s very disciplined, he’s a machine. He’s ready for Ricky Hatton and we have 4-1/2 weeks to go and I can’t wait for this fight," Roach said in a video interview posted at teampilipinas.info.

The acclaimed trainer said Pacquiao’s ring smarts would propel him to victory against the “Hitman."

“We have a great game plan and Pacquiao knows what to do, he knows how to fight this guy," he said. “The smarter guy’s gonna win this fight and I feel that’s Pacquiao."

Pacquiao will be seeking to wrest Hatton’s Ring Magazine and International Boxing Organization (IBO) junior welterweight belt while defending his mythical P4P throne. –GMANews.TV

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/155083/Ill-be-110-percent-ready-vs-Hatton-says-Pacquiao

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Hatton trainer: Game over for ‘Pacman’ on May 2

MANILA, Philippines –Floyd Mayweather Sr. thinks it’s game over for the Pacman, Manny Pacquiao, on May 2 when he meets his ward, Ricky “Hitman" Hatton at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Reinforcing his earlier claim that Hatton would “whip Pacquiao’s ass," the outspoken trainer boldly proclaimed anew that the end is coming for the reigning pound for pound king from the Philippines.

“Hey Pacman, it’s over!," Mayweather Sr. declared in a video of the glitzy L.A. press conference for the Pacquiao-Hatton megafight posted at teampilipinas.info. “Come May 2nd we’re taking your crown away."

In his usual rapping tirade, Mayweather Sr. boasted that his hard-punching ward would stop the four-division champion. “Pacman hit the floor, you better stay down if you want to stay around."

He said the game plan would be to bring the Filipino star to the ropes and hit him with body shots, noting that Pacquiao has been stopped twice before by body shots.

Mayweather laughed off the prediction of Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach that it would be the fighter from Manchester who would go down within three rounds.

“You know what? That’s why I call Freddie the Joke Coach Roach. He didn’t know smoke from the juice really," he said in reaction to Roach’s forecast.

Asked why Hatton would prevail, Mayweather said: “Hatton is the best man and I’m the best trainer."

Mayweather has been training Hatton for a good two months already and believes the 30-year-old fighter now has the tools necessary to bring down the P4P king.

“For sure he (Hatton) is good, definitely good enough to beat the Pacman," he said. –GMANews.TV

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/155078/Hatton-trainer-Game-over-for-Pacman-on-May-2

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Seer Roach predicts 3rd rnd KO win for Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines – So what does Freddie Roach saw in his own crystal ball? A third round knock out victory for Manny Pacquiao.

Roach, who added predicting how his prized ward’s fights would end to his resume, said Pacquiao’s May 2 (May 3 in Manila) fight against Ricky Hatton would end early when asked by reporters during “The Battle of East vs. West" promotional tour in Hollywood.

“I told Manny that if he doesn’t knock (Hatton) out in three rounds I’ll be disappointed. (Manny’s) training hard always and watching the tapes and dissecting Hatton’s style," said Roach, who correctly predicted Pacquiao’s last two wins.

Roach boldly predicted Pacquiao would beat David Diaz in the ninth round by way of knockout. His ward did not let disappoint his trainer and on June 28, 2008 Diaz went down by KO in the ninth.

He also predicted that Oscar De La Hoya would lose by a ninth round KO against Pacquiao. Prior to the fight, Roach said that De La Hoya could no longer pull the trigger and reiterated that De La Hoya’s height and size advantage against Pacquiao would not be a factor.

Roach’s predictions came true. Although the Filipino boxing superstar won by KO, he missed one round since the match ended after eight rounds with the “Golden Boy" deciding not to continue with the fight failing to catch up with a speedy and elusive Pacquiao.

Roach, in an interview with FightType.com, said Pacquiao knows the game plan to the letter. “We had some really good sparring partners and Manny’s doing well We have the game plan down. Manny knows how to fight this guy."

He added that Hatton would have a hard time using his left hook. “You know what Ricky Hatton does best he throws punches kind of holds you, ties you up and then sinks that left hook into the body, his best punch. We’re not going to be there. He’s not even going to be able to find us. We’re just way too fast for him."

This will be Pacquiao’s first match against a British boxer after testing the caliber of Mexican sluggers in his previous fights. Pacquiao’s last nine wins were against Mexican boxers.

“We’ve been training hard. I’ve been getting the same intensity that I had during my previous fights," Pacquiao said in Filipino. – GMANews.TV

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/155030/Seer-Roach-predicts-3rd-rnd-KO-win-for-Pacquiao

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