PACQUIAO NOT FEARING HATTON

By Simon Lewis, PA Sport

Manny Pacquiao believes his speed in the ring will be too much for Ricky Hatton when they clash in Las Vegas on May 2.

Hatton defends his IBO and Ring Magazine light-welterweight titles at the MGM Grand Garden Arena next Saturday night against the man from the Philippines widely acknowledged to be the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

Hatton (45-1, 32 KOs) is unbeaten at 140 pounds and in the build-up to this fight has championed his superior size and strength over Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs), for whom victory would bring a world title in a sixth different weight division.

Yet having watched Hatton's fights on video every night for the past month, Pacquiao believes his quick hands and equally agile mind will more than outweigh the Englishman's perceived advantages.

"I don't care if he's bigger or stronger," he said. "Boxing is more than that. It's also mental and about the quickness of your mind and quickness of your body. That's very important.

"Speed is very important."

Pacquiao also pinpointed what he thought was Hatton's greatest threat but was not prepared to reveal how he was going to deal with it.

"Ricky Hatton is a kind of different fighter to what I have been fighting before.

"He's a good and strong fighter

"I know he has a very strong left hand and I have to take care of that and focus on that.

"I've studied a lot of techniques for him. I don't want to tell anyone what. I want to keep it a surprise, what we have been doing in training."

Pacquiao's training camp has altered significantly for this fight with former heavyweight world champion and fellow southpaw Michael Moorer joining long-time trainer Freddie Roach as an assistant at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California.

"It's good to have Michael Moorer in our camp because he was a big southpaw when he was fighting before and I believe he is helping me a lot for this fight." read more