The stage is set for the highly anticipated fight between Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton.  The fight is schedule for May 2nd 2009, and it will be held at the MGM Grand Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.  Already, the person setting the tone for the fight is none other than champion trainer Freddie Roach.  He has already predicted a 9th round KO of Hatton from Pacquiao, and who is to dispute his assessment.  Roach is going for three in a row after accurately predicting a 9th round victory from both Diaz and De La Hoya.

Freddie Roach spoke to fightfan.com recently and flat out said “We’ll knock him out,” referring to the outcome if Hatton decides to go toe to toe with Manny Pacquiao.  Roach continued and said, “We’re not going to deal with his strength. We’re not going to fight him on the inside. We’re going to fight smart and box this guy. I don’t think Hatton’s strength will come into play in this fight,” said Roach. Sure, it’s expected for Roach to make such comments but it’s pretty hard to question the hall of fame trainer after seeing what Pacquiao has been able to do to all his opponents since training alongside with Roach.

“If Hatton stands toe-to-toe with us, we’ll knock him out,” said Roach. He told The STAR in a recent chat it could be over inside nine rounds.“Nine is my favorite number,” said Roach, looking back at David Diaz who was knocked out in the ninth round, and Oscar De La Hoya who quit entering the ninth round. Roach described Hatton as a decent puncher who likes to work the body. “He’s a good puncher but we’re not going to stand in front of this guy and exchange with him. We’re going to fight a smart fight like we did with Oscar,” Roach said.  

The key to victory for Pacquiao is simple, just fight a smart fight and wear down Hatton, because once Hatton is tired Manny can exploit his weakness in lacking speed and agility in the ring.  Pacquiao is an around fighter that delivers power, speed, agility, flexibility, and masterful footwork that virtually makes him unstoppable.  Pacman will have to continue to dance around Hatton and finally just knock him out.  I doubt Hatton will attempt to go bulldog on Pacquiao, even though that is his most notable style of fighting.  His aggressive hard punches will work on an opponent with a weak defense, but Pacquiao’s defense is superb under the tutelage of Freddie Roach, therefore Hatton’s power punches onslaught will be his demise against a skill fighter like Pacquiao. Lets also not forget another thing, Pacman is a southpaw fighter, something Hatton has yet shown to be effective fighting against.

Overall, Hatton is a very predictable fighter, that’s why Mayweather Jr. didn’t have a problem defeating Hatton. However, if Hatton decides to change his fighting style at this point, then he will be at the mercy of Manny Pacquiao’s power and speed.  Changing a fighter’s style can take months if not years, and due to the time constraint, it would be in Hatton’s interest to jab, punch, and keep punching until he lands a KO.  This of course is easier said than done when we’re talking about his opponent being the pound for pound best fighter in the world in Manny Pacquiao.

Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao have been blessed to have found each other, because with Pacquiao, Roach has been successful teaching Manny to adapt and adjust to many different fighting styles all the while making full optimal use of Manny’s power and speed. Freddie Roach has even been successful turning Manny Pacquiao’s right hand to be equally as powerful as Manny’s powerful southpaw left hand.  Roach was also successful in developing Pacquiao from a primarily defensive fighter into one of the most offensively explosive boxers that we see today.  We know its going to be a great fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton, but let’s just hope that with all this predictability that we’ll still get some pleasant surprises from both fighters, and of course a KO finish!