Why do people think that size is an issue in Pacquiao vs Hatton.

To quote eastsideboxing.com's Ted Sares

"With Pinoy boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao apparently in firm talks to fight Ricky Hatton in May, he may be biting off more than he can chew, particularly if the .the match takes place at Hatton's natural weight of 140. Moreover, Ricky’s demolition job on Paulie Malignaggi signals he is back on track. As fellow writer James Slater says, “the mid-ring explosion figures to be spectacular.” Of course, the winner could/should fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a super mega fight of monstrous financial proportions. How do you feel about all of this?"

I don't understand why the weight is being made to be that big a deal, yet again by most people. You'd think that they had learned a lesson from Pacquiao/ODLH. People forget that Pacquiao made a legitimate 147 pounds in his fight against Oscar; he came in at 148 and a half. Hatton couldn't even do that in his fight against Mayweather; he came in at 145 (Edit, it seems like there is a possibility that that might have been what he weighed in at the day before the fight. HBO doesn't clarify. Either way, maybe a better comparison is Hatton's fight with Castillo where it is definite that he weighed in at 149 on fight night, which would be a half pound difference between him and Pacquiao's weighin against Oscar, still very negligible. I'd prefer to use this fight as comparison because I felt he looked very slow against Collazo.). There is no size disadvantage in this fight. Pacquiao really does seem to have a unique body that has adapted stunningly well to muscle training.

People also forget that reach is more important than height. Pacquiao might give up a couple inches in height, but he makes it up in reach. Pacquiao's armlength is 25", Hatton's is 20". That is very important because it means that Pacquiao is going to be very effective with both hiss hooks, jabs, and that lethal straight left that was catching Oscar consistently. Ricky Hatton has never had good defense, and Floyd landed his straight right on his chin ALL night long.

Considering that they both have the same come forward style, I give the advantage to the boxer, and that is definitely Pacquiao. He has improved tremendously in his last few fights. It's one of the most stunning transformations in boxing styles that I've seen quite frankly, and I suspect that it's because he hasn't had to outspeed his opponents as much as he's moved up in weight. People write Diaz off as a bum, but the guy was a solid fighter and belt holder that had never been even knocked down I believe. Pacquiao outclassed and then KO'd him.

Pacquiao has been moving very effectively recently, and if he does so against Hatton, and I don't see any reason why he won't, he's going to give Hatton a lot of problems. Remember that despite how good Hatton looked against Malignaggi, he eventually resorted to jumping in on Malignaggi and outtoughing him, instead of boxing because of Paulie's movement.

Hatton is almost certainly the biggest challenge of Pacquiao's career, but people are making a mistake in thinking that size is an issue in this fight. I expect that 140 might possibly be a weight class where he might be at his best considering that it is the general midway point between 130 and 147, and he has looked fast and strong at all of them. In the end though, Hatton has excellent body punches and he is quite a strong puncher and tough as nails. This is 100% guaranteed to be a great fight. You can't often say that about a fight, but really is there anyway that this won't be a great fight. Just keep Joe Cortez away from this one

What about you guys, do you think size is an issue in this fight? Or does Pacquiao's speed, energy, stamina, movement, skill, and reach advantage make up for it?

 

I'm not twisting anything. I have the fight right here on my computer, and made sure to double check what Hatton came in at, and it was exactly 145, just like I remembered. I think it's your post that loses credibility, so maybe you might actually consider reading the rest of mine. If the weight listed on the fight wasn't the unnofficial weight like it usually is on HBO's broadcasts, then you might be correct, but I was going by what it said on the broadcast. Either way, Hatton officially did weigh in at 149 in the Castillo fight, half a pound larger than Pacquiao vs Oscar, so it's still a marginal difference when you consider the points I made in my thread. Lastly, you forget that Pacquiao probably moved far more effectively at 147, than Hatton did. He didn't seem to lose speed or power. That's the main point in my opinion.

 

I have the fight on my computer. The HBO broadcast. I was going by what it said on the prefight boxer comparison where the boxers are analyzed side by side before Letterman explains his "Rules of the bout". Usually HBO, posts unofficial weights, but they only have one box in this one, so it's a possibility, but I have to acquiesce that considering Hatton made 149 in his fight with Castillo, it's more probable that you're correct. Still though, my point is about the marginality of the weight difference because these weight differences just aren't that much.