Hatton Signs On - Pacquiao Fight Now Official!

LA Times is reporting that the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton is now official. A phone call from Golden Boy CEO, Richard Schaefer, confirmed that Ricky has officially signed the paperworks. Now, the two fighters have now signed on officially.

Schaefer said, "When you make a superfight of this magnitude, it's very exciting. These guys have two great styles. They both love to stand in the middle of the ring and slug it out. It'll be a great night for the fans." Indeed, it would be a great fight to watch for fans.

In another news, Pacquiao has called Hatton "one-dimensional". A fighter who comes right straight to you. Pacquiao only echoed the sentiment of his trainer who had labeled the Manchester puncher as being a mugger. Freddie Roach, the trainer of Manny Pacquiao, even added that his boxer will score a knockout against Hatton. Roach acknowledge the dangers that Ricky poses but thinks that Pacquiao will prevail.

"Hatton's a very good body puncher and is very dangerous. Hatton likes to go to the body and the key for Manny to win is his footwork. Manny should stay away from the rope when he fights Hatton" quoted Roach.

Pacquiao and Hatton will square off on May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Before the mega-fight, they will go on a promotional tour of London and Manchester sometime in late February and there is talk that Pacquiao will leave in the third week of that month so he has enough time to prepare for the tough grind while in training. From England, the two fighters will proceed to the US accompanied by their handlers and promotional outfits and New York will be the first stop followed by Los Angeles.

Pacquiao needs "Respect"

As we know by now, the fight between Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao is now a done deal. An announcement should be anytime soon. It sure is good news. Although I lean more toward Ricky Hatton for this fight, I sure have a high respect on Pacquiao's skills and punching power. In his last two fights, the "Destroyer" has showed that he can also learn how to box. And boy, he showed it well. In the dela Hoya fight, the Golden Boy didn't seem to have hurt him at all. Pacquiao was not his old self as a slugger who just goes in, gets his power punch connected and never mind being hit. The speed is still there but he has become a more intelligent fighter being able to dodge his opponent's shots and connect with his blindingly fast fist.

So, why does it seem that Pacquiao is asking for respect? It seems that there are some ill feelings left against Golden Boy Promotion in his last fight with Oscar. Manny felt that GBP is not giving him the respect that he deserved. I guess it started in the negotiation at the delaHoya fight as I remembered that they haggled over the splitting of the price as well. As delaHoya is the more popular fighter, he got the lion share of the split. I would think Manny Pacquiao felt mistreated and was left with a bad taste against the GBP camp. Now, that he totally destroyed the GBP boss in the ring, for Manny it is payback time. He really wanted to fight Hatton but would like to, in my opinion, mess it up with GBP just to show them who should really call the shots. It seems that GBP was acting bossy and belittling Pacquiao. As a form of rebellion, he just didn't sign it the first time it was presented.

Well, I couldn't really blame Manny. He's the fighter. He's the one who will put his life in the ring and risk physical disabilities during the fight or long after he retired. Just think about Mohammed Ali, I think his body is paying right now for all the beatings that came his way when he was a young boxer. Playing hardball in negotiations like that is good. Gone are the days when fighters are at the mercy of boxing promoters who think that they are demigods who can call the shots for the boxers. As athletes, boxers should think in the same way as star athletes from other sports. Think of Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. They can ask for lots of money from their team so why can't boxers. Why can't Manny ask for millions while Kobe or other Lebron can get multi-million contracts? Do you think it's just fair?

I do apologize to Pacquiao for thinking that he got greedy. Now, I understand. It's his life. He deserves to play hardball in negotiations and get the maximum amount he's worth. Yeah, I do agree with what he said about cutting the middleman. GBP shouldn't be getting that much money in this fight. What are they doing? Nothing really as the lead promoter is Bob Arum's Top Rank. So the extra money that should go to them should be split 50/50 to the two boxers.

I do thank Manny for letting this fight with Ricky Hatton go on. I might just go to Vegas and watch it myself. But, first, tickets, tickets. I got to get a ticket. It's easy enough to get a plane ticket to Las Vegas but the challenge will be the fight ticket as for sure it will evaporate as quickly as it is offered.

Hatton Pacquiao Fight Expected to be Announced Monday

It seems to be a done deal now. The much anticipated fight between two of the most exciting fighters around today is set to be formally announce Monday. Barring any last minute hitches, the boxing match is all set.

Hatton's legal adviser, Atty. Williams, informed the Daily Telegraph that the fight is 99 percent certain to exist as he was assured by Golden Boy Promotion thru its CEO, Richard Schaefer, the current world wide promoter of Ricky Hatton, that they already have a signed contract from Manny Pacquiao in their possession. On the other hand, Franklin "Jeng" Gacal, Pacquiao's legal adviser, said that he sees a formal announcement by Monday as he doesn't foresee any last-minute hitches.

Last friday, Atty. Gacal spoked with Hatton's lawyer, Gareth Williams, and had a good conversation and everything was OK. After this, a signed contract was forwarded to Top Rank honcho, Bob Arum.

In the meantime, Daniel "Tex" Cohen at Ringside Report doesn't see it good for Hatton and has given him the advice below in his fight with Manny.

"If Hatton changes his game plan to include movement and become a drastically better ring general, he might have a shot against Pacquiao. On the other hand, there are few boxing fans alive that can not see the extreme gap in speed between the two fighters. Hatton can move all he wants, but Pacquiao’s hands are probably faster than Hatton’s face. This suggests that the young Brit will need a flawless fight to out box and out fox his Filipino opponent."

Formal Fight Announcement on Monday
It's a great way to start the week if as everything move on and the fight gets formally announced this Monday.

On a side note, regarding the brouhaha that happened when the fight seems to have been scuttled. It is coming to light now that the reason Manny Pacquiao initially rejected the deal and didn't sign it is because of Hatton's US promoter, Golden Boy. There seems to be some bad blood between Team Pacquiao and the Golden Boy Promotions. I would think it stemmed from the fight between Oscar dela Hoya and Manny Pacquiao where Manny got the lower end of the deal. I think Pacquiao has a point on this one.

Oh well, good that's the fight is going to happen now for sure! May 2 at Las Vegas.

Hatton Pacquiao Fight is On Again!

Just off the press, the much anticipated fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton is back on track.

It was reported that Manny Pacquiao has already signed on the papers agreeing to the fight. There are still no official announcement yet but from all indications it's a done deal. I wish it is! I'm sure a lot of boxing fans are enthusiastic as well. The melodrama between the "deal or no deal" since Christmas where the fight between the two great fighters has been hype is really tiring and turned sickening when Pacquiao refused to sign the contract and the fight was called off.

Now, it seems everyone is on board. Some good adviser has talked the Pacman into his senses. In the kind of economy that we are in right now, the deal he got which is for sure bigger than what he got with the Dela Hoya beating is a great great deal. A funny side story that emerged regarding the Manny Pacquiao signing is related to an adviser, who is a non-drinker but was forced to drink three bottles of beer as a dare by Pacquiao so that he'd sign the fight contract. It just shows you how many boxing enthusiast will really go to hell and high water just to see this fight materialize. Kudos to the gentleman, Rex "Wakee" Salud for drinking the beer. As a fellow boxing enthusiast, you did well as this fight has to happen.

Fight of 2009?
It remains to be seen if this fight is going to beat the just concluded fight between Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley. Shane has knocked out the usually iron-chinned Margarito in the 8th and 9th and won as a very clear underdog. Throughout the fight, Mosley has shown he's the better fighter. It seems to be a fight that is somehow a reminiscent of the last Pacquiao fight with Oscar dela Hoya (aka the Golden Boy). Everybody thought that dela Hoya will win but it was actually his opponent who totally dominated the fight.

Pacquiao Hatton Fight Tickets
As we all know, the fight will take place in May 2 at Las Vegas. This early, I'm trying to see if I can book a flight to the Sin City. I'd like to go there to see the fight for myself. But, early news seems to suggest that tickets will be very scarce. Only about 2K to 3K will be available to ordinary fight fans like me. I believe the rest are bought in bulk. And, would probably resold. I know that both fighters are allotted certain amount of seats so they can invite fans and family. I think even Pacquiao both around half a million worth of ticket in his last fight with dela Hoya just to give away to friends and family. That's really a huge amount.

All's Well that Ends Well
Good thing that the fight was still salvaged. I thought everything is just gonna go to waste and fight fans like me won't really get a chance to see this very good matchup. But, as fate would put it the Hatton Pacquiao Fight is destined to happen. It's now just a matter of time. Actually, May 2 is a great time to hold a fight and to go to Vegas. I just wish I can get a ticket to the fight.

Anybody there who can get me a ticket for this fight? Free, perhaps :)

Manny Pacquiao is Getting Greedy?

The first question that comes to my mind is: Is this fight going to happen? Apparently a done deal before Christmas, it's becoming "undone" because Manny Pacquiao is becoming too greedy. In a word of mouth deal between him, his promoter Bob Arum and the side of Ricky Hatton, Manny Pacquiao has agreed upon a 50-50 split of purse. Now, that's a fair deal in my opinion. It is also the opinion of a lot of boxing fanatics. Even Freddy Roach, Pacquiao's trainer agrees that a 50-50 is a fair deal.

Apparently, Manny Pacquiao thinks that he's the king of the world now after beating the Golden Boy. Although it was quite an impressive victory, the fact still remain that he's not an American and the reality is Americans like American boxers .. period. Can Manny Pacquiao really get a lot of American viewers? Can he become a household name just like Oscar dela Hoya? I don't think so!

Manny might have gained a lot more following because of his victory against dela Hoya but for Christ's sake, does he really think that he's that popular already? I always thought he was one of those fighters who are humble and who likes to fight a good fight no matter what the purse. Is fame getting into his head now? Words are out that people around him are whispering advice that he's worth more than what he brings to his game in boxing. The fact is this fight with Hatton will bring in more British fans than American or Filipino boxing fans combined.

Or, is Manny probably chickening out? Thinking that he'll probably lose in a fight with a better puncher and a faster opponent. Who knows? It might just be a ploy as Manny's camp is seeing a possible loss to Hatton therefore they are looking for a less stellar opponent.

To Manny:
Please, stop the nonsense and agree to the 50-50 split. If you'll win against Hatton, then you'll probably be able to get the 60-40 and even 70-30 you want in your future fights. Ricky Hatton brings in a lot of fans. You have to credit him that. And as fans, all we want is a good fight. Give us this fight. Don't hide around some unbelievable valuation of your worth. You will never be the crowd drawer that was Oscar dela Hoya. It's due to the fact that you're not an American. It's just the truth.

We want this fight. Fight Hatton !!! It will surely be a great fight to watch. I hope you wake up from your dream.