Classic viewpoints: Pacquiao/Hatton

I have never been more wrong about how a fight would unfold or more shocked by the outcome.

I saw it as a 50/50 type fight that Paquiao would have to work verry hard to win.

I never in my wildest dreams thought he would destroy Hatton.

As Mr Marvel says I was shocked by the power. Paquiao seems to get more devastating the bigger his oponents get because they cant evade him.

We have seen a future classic fight gentlemen.

 

Roach is the best coach of my life time and will likely forever hold that mantel

he learnt his trade from the great tactician Eddie Futch and he is as good as him IMO

i always listen to what Roach says i think he speaks a heap of sense, i have alot of time for Roach and will never ever go against him in a fight again after the Oscar fight

 

Are you speaking as a fighter, a gambler or neither?

His story is one for Hollywood, as is Manny's, and I'm sure there are already scripts and books being written as we speak. I like both these guys a lot. I think they are good for boxing and for what feeds the soul. Now and then, somebody comes along in boxing, anywhere really, that is state-of-the-art, and I think Roach and Pacquiao are both faith restoring figures. If I wore a hat I take it off. A Salute!

 

im speaking as a fighter and a fight fan

he speaks so much sense tactically and technically i listen as a fighter and a fight fan and his predictions are almost spot on

im too young to gamble

Roach is a great inspiration to anyone

 

He is, and as always with greatness, we only see the tip of the iceberg, the result of the years of struggle, false steps and hard learned lessons. I'm not an expert, at all, on his career, but seems that landing Manny (and Manny landing him) created the perfect storm they both needed. I really hate that a guy like this will have his career cut short due to illness. It was Mickey Rourke that resurrected him, right?

 

yeh he trained Rourke and then Rourke stopped fighting and donated all his stuff to Roach who opened a gym but he was working like 3 jobs before he met rourke

 

That's just what I heard. What a story!

 

definitly best trainer in the sport

 

He strikes me as a guy that would have been smart enough to do anything. Do you train with him?

 

wish i did mate

he sthe best trainer around i watch alot of interviews of him and listen to anything he says and remember it

 

Well, since you called me "mate", I assume you're on the other side of the pond. That would make it pretty tricky to train with Freddie Roach, wouldn't it? I have a son who's just starting out in the game, at the 140 pound mark in fact. He lives in L.A. and he has trained at The Wild Card a few times, but regularly works at a gym in Downtown L.A. He's a tough kid, a smart kid, a hardworking kid in everything he does; but unfortunately I don't think he's got the speed to mimic Manny's style. He's probably gonna have to make himself a stalker, and all that that means.

 

yeh im from Scotland

good luck to your son. Speed isnt everything although it is quite important but look at Monzon or Jim Watt

 

Just wanted to quickly post the two biggest thoughts I had after the fight.

1) Pac is for real at these higher weights.

Even though I'm a fan of Pacquiao, there was a little part of me wondering whether he had been lucky in his opponents since moving up to lightweight and beyond. David Diaz is a tough guy with an iron chin, but as fighters go he rates about a C+ and he barely touched Manny all through their fight, (although he did land one sneaky hard body blow that practically lifted Manny up in the air) so that wasn't exactly much of a test. And then Oscar was about two steps away from being a zombie.

Even though I felt the only advantage Hatton might have is in power, there was still a little part of me worried that he might land a shot like the one that smashed 4 of Castillo's ribs. But he seemed unfazed by anything Hatton had and his power at 140 appears to be legit. And then some. I didn't think Manny would just lay Haton out like that.

2) Pac did a good job fighting inside.

Another surprise for me, because Manny has always loved to launch those long straight punches from mid and long range, (like he did with that massive KO, a possible knockout of the year) and he has those long, thin arms so he's not exactly built for inside work. Yet even after Hatton would manage to get close and get ready to set up shop inside, Pacquiao would still crack him with straight lefts and right hooks in close. Very nice work by Pacman.