Briton trainer: Hatton will stop Pacman in 6 rounds

CEBU, Philippines - Celebrated American trainer Freddie Roach predicts that Manny Pacquiao will destroy Ricky Hatton in nine rounds. But for his British counterpart Lee Beard, that is not going to happen as he believes that his prized ward Hatton needs only at least six rounds to dispose off the Filipino ring superhero.

In a brazen remarks, Beard said the fighting style of Manny Pacquiao is full of flaws and that Hatton is going to demolish the Pacman in six rounds in their May 2 super fight at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“I have been to Pacquiao’s gym, and watched him train a couple of times and he makes lots of mistakes, mistakes that he also makes in fights. All fighters make mistakes but you have to be able to capitalise on mistakes, for example against Mayweather Ricky couldn’t capitalise on the mistakes Floyd was making,” Beard told telegraph.co.uk.

“In this fight I believe that Manny will make the same mistakes as normal and Ricky will capitalise. If Ricky does get his shots off when these mistakes are made this fight could be a lot easier for Ricky than people think,” he added.

Beard further stated that although Pacquiao is in good shape under the light welterweight division, he is naturally smaller compared to Hatton.

“What I’m saying is that Ricky is a big Light Welter and Manny is in good shape for the weight but he is naturally smaller. In his fight with Marquez, he was hit with a left hook that shook him, now I believe if Ricky were to land that same shot Manny would be knocked out,” said Beard in the same internet report.

Beard showed a certain measure of respect though on Pacquiao’s lightning speed. “Ricky is a big Light Welter and has been in with some huge punchers, people like Kostya Tszyu and Juan Urango, obviously they haven’t got the speed of Manny but Ricky has seen the speed before in Mayweather.”

In terms of power, Beard bragged that Hatton packs an extra stronger punches, even undervaluing Pacquiao’s epic triumph of boxing great Oscar de la Hoya.

“When Ricky hits Manny he is going to be shocked at the power. When Manny fought Oscar, Oscar was dead at the weight and never landed anything. If Ricky had of fought Oscar that night I think he would have stopped him earlier than Manny and I think that Diaz would have also been taken out earlier,” said Beard.

“Manny makes some massive errors and he is very repetitive in some of his movements and with certain punches and the way he throws them,” he added. “I think that Ricky will stop Manny within 6 rounds, I think the first time Ricky gets hold of him and unloads Manny wont know what’s hit him.”

Beard, on the other hand, sees the undefeated world featherweight champion Edwin Valero as the perfect sparring partner that could equip Hatton all the needed equipment to diffuse the highly-explosive bomb that is Pacquiao.

“I think the only one that’s near to Pacquiao in terms of style is Edwin Valero and thats who I’d like to see us get in. I think that if you can adjust to him then its the closest thing you can get to Pacquaio and his record would suggest he hits as hard if not harder than Manny,” said Beard.

Though he’s highly confident of Hatton, Beard, if we read his statements between the lines, seemed to have conceded to the fact that Pacquiao is a very dangerous warrior and that Hatton needs to work doubly hard in the gym to avoid a major ring disaster.

“If Manny is allowed to get into a rhythm in the first few rounds then it will be a very difficult fight for Ricky so he needs to make sure that he works hard in the gym to work on certain things to avoid Manny getting into that rhythm,” said Beard.   (THE FREEMAN)