Hatton-Pacquiao bout set for May 2

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By Dan Rafael

The month-long saga of the Ricky Hatton-Manny Pacquiao deal is finally over.

The much-anticipated fight, pitting junior welterweight champ Hatton and pound-for-pound king Pacquiao, is signed, sealed and delivered, promoters Top Rank and Golden Boy announced Wednesday.

They’ll fight May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The fight will be on pay-per-view, but the promoters have not decided whether they will accept an offer from HBO or rival Showtime to produce and distribute the pay-per-view telecast. If they accept the Showtime offer, sister network CBS will have some involvement in the marketing and promotion of the bout, according to Top Rank’s Bob Arum. read more

Filed under: Battle of East and West, edwin valero, HBO, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, Pacquiao, PPV, Ricky Hatton

Hatton trainer sees KO end for Pacquiao

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– Dennis Principe

MANILA, Philippines—For Floyd Mayweather Sr., Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao faces certain defeat against British icon Ricky Hatton when they tangle on May 2 in Las Vegas.

The colorful American trainer even guaranteed a knockout win for Hatton, especially if Pacquiao decides to engage the popular Mancunian fighter in a brawl.read more

Filed under: Battle of East and West, edwin valero, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton

It’s official: Ricky Hatton signs and fight with Manny Pacquiao is on

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— Lance Pugmire

Richard Schaefer, chief negotiator for Ricky Hatton, just called to say that the boxer has signed the paperwork, making it official that his fight with Manny Pacquiao is on. read more

Filed under: Battle of East and West, edwin valero, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton

Hatton will praise Pacquiao skill not respond to Filipino fighter’s jibe

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By Gareth A. Davies

Manny Pacquiao’s assertion that Ricky Hatton is “one-dimensional” has got the juices flowing on the eve of Hatton’s first public comments on the great Filipino fighter. The debate is raging after Manny wasted no time in throwing the first verbal jab out into the ether. From experience, it should be a different story from ‘the little lad from a Manchester council estate’ as Hatton has often self-deprecatingly referred to himself, before mocking his father’s height and revealing the fear of God his own mother puts into him at home. As a sit-com, The Osbournes and the Hattons are equally entertaining. read more

Filed under: Battle of East and West, edwin valero, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton

Boxing experts favor Pacquiao over Hatton

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– GMANews.TV

MANILA, Philippines – Two boxing analysts believe Manny Pacquiao has enough in his arsenal to bring down Ricky Hatton in their May 2 superfight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s Top Rank coordinator, and Matchroom Sports Ltd. Managing director Eddie Hearn said in a 24 Oras report that they chose Pacquiao based on the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight champion’s skills. read more

Filed under: Battle of East and West, edwin valero, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton

The Hurt Business: Ricky Hatton’s Slim Chances Against Manny Pacquiao

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By Daniel “Tex” Cohen

Obnoxious, overly loyal boxing fanatics with favorite fighters located in the center of their pupils often bother boxing journalists with insane, silly declarations and off the cuff insults. Whenever I write that Juan Manuel Marquez should have at least one victory over Manny Pacquiao, some Pacman fan takes an hour and a half to bang out some stupid, misspelled e-mail lambasting me for my opinion. I take it as a sign of why Pacquiao is a popular fighter and a pitiful politician. When your biggest supporters are emotionally driven and have trouble stringing together sentences, your socio-political movement is bound to suffer.

These fans are hardly unique. Mayweather supporters will never admit that he simply should have lost against Jose Luis Castillo and has avoided some of the best welterweights of the last five years. Oscar De La Hoya lovers never point to their man as overrated, and certainly never admit that he should have lost against a talented but non-commercial Felix Sturm. read more

Filed under: Battle of East and West, edwin valero, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton

HATTON’S PACQUIAO FIGHT CONFIRMED

By Phil Barnett, PA Sport

Ricky Hatton has finally secured his second shot at becoming the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter after his Las Vegas showdown with Manny Pacquiao was confirmed.

The Mancunian, currently the world’s top light-welterweight, will face pound-for-pound king Pacquiao on May 2, a year and a half after losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr at the same MGM Grand venue. read more

Filed under: Battle of East and West, edwin valero, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton

Sugar Shane Mosley Delivers His Sweetest Performance (Knocks out antonio margarito)

By Jake Donovan

Fighter A beats Fighter B, who previously beat Fighter C. Therefore, A beats C, right?

Wrong. Very wrong.

That’s what much of the boxing public was once again, as “Sugar” Shane Mosley, amidst a sea of pre-fight distractions and scandal, turned back the clock in delivering by far the best performance of his 15-year career. A 4-1 underdog coming in, Mosley made Antonio Margarito and the oddsmakers look damn foolish for eight-plus rounds before knocking out the steel-chinned Mexican in the ninth round of their 12-round welterweight title fight.

The bout took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, in front of an announced crowd of 20,820, the largest ever for a boxing event held at the venue. read more

Filed under: Battle of East and West, edwin valero, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton

Mosley Wins KO9 Shocker At Staples

By Michael Woods

It’s why we love boxing, the theater of the unexpected. Shane Mosley had a megacluster of storm clouds, including steroids allegations, a split with his trainer/father Jack and a divorce from wife Jin, hanging over his head as he got ready to face off with the real life Terminator, Antonio Margarito. But Mosley, at age 37, stayed focused on his in-ring task, and scored the most monumental win of his career as he stopped Margarito in the ninth round at a jam-packed Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday evening. Mosley used his legs, and his brain, and his super-speedy right hand to dominate Margarito, who looked like the man who didn’t have his head in the game. The end for Margarito came at 43 seconds of the ninth, and with it Mosley took the WBA weltwerweight crown. read more

Filed under: Battle of East and West, edwin valero, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton

Interview with Larry Merchant on Pacquiao, Hatton, Mayweather and Much More – PART 1

by Mike Cassell

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Larry Merchant about all things boxing. In usual Merchant style, he gave his honest hit on the mind of the modern fighter, and the possible comeback of Floyd Mayweather Jr. He also touched on the state of the Heavyweight division and what can be done to salvage a weight class that is taking a standing eight count.

Mike Cassell: Larry, I have to ask you about the Pacquiao – De La Hoya fight. You looked a bit like the cat that swallowed the canary after that fight. What did you know that nobody else seemed to know?

Larry Merchant: Well, I don’t think I knew that Pacquiao would virtually shut De La Hoya out and make him quit on the stool, because nothing like that has ever remotely happened to Oscar before. I did however know that Pacquiao could compete with Oscar, and the original intent of mine when I came up with the idea was that it would be a big event and boxing needs these big events, both to attract people that are not everyday viewers of boxing, and to show the business world that you can make a lot of money in the boxing arena. And secondly, my feeling was that I didn’t want to see a rematch between Floyd Mayweather and Oscar, as big of an event as that was, because I just didn’t see it turning out any different. Manny Pacquiao since he was fighting at 130lbs. had been weighing in at 140 by the evenings of his fights. I thought that if they met at welterweight, Manny could compete. But little did I think, or even realize, how complete a fighter Manny has become. When he originally came to America from the Philippines, he was this Typhoon that just over ran people his size. But in the interim years to his credit, under the guise of Freddie Roach, he has become a really complete aggressive boxer, puncher. He showed amazing poise and discipline in that fight, never getting reckless or careless, and we saw what we saw. read more

Filed under: Battle of East and West, edwin valero, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton