Briton champ may nakahandang game plan kontra Pacquiao

Bago pa man sila personal na magkita sa Trafford Centre sa Manchester, England bukas ay may naka-handa nang ‘game plan’ si Briton world light welter weight champion Ricky Hatton laban kay Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao.

Ayon kay Hatton, pipilitin niya si Pacquiao na labanan siya ng harapan mula opening bell hanggang sa katapusan ng kanilang 12-round championship fight sa Mayo 2 sa MGM Grand Garden Arena sa Las Vegas, Nevada. 

 “Cut the ring off and stay in his face,” ani Hatton kay Pacquiao sa panayam kahapon ng Fightfan.com. “I need to draw him into a fight. Manny is an aggressive fighter and he has a lot of pride in the way he fights. I’m hoping to draw him into a fight. Obviously Manny has good footwork and he tries to hurt you with that big left cross so I do have to be careful as I put the pressure on.”

 Sa malaking pagbabago ng boxing skills ng Filipino world four-division titlist, alam na ni Hatton ang kanyang ikikilos sa ibabaw ng boxing ring.

 “I plan to use lots of head movement and jabs to work my way in. I want to pick off shots and hopefully when Manny misses I’ll land some big shots. I think Manny is there to be caught quite a few times in fights,” sabi ni Hatton sa kanyang gagawin kay Pacquiao.

Itataya ng 30-anyos na si Hatton, may 45-10-0 win-kloss-draw ring record kasama ang 32 KOs kumpara sa 48-3-2 (36 KOs) ng ka-edad niyang si Pacquiao, ang kanyang suot na International Boxing Organization (IBO) light welterweight crown at ang Ring Magazine title.

 Mula sa pagiging isang palabang boksingero, natuto na si Pacquiao ng mga footwork at counter-punching, habang nananatili namang agresibo si Hatton.  

 “I think it’s a good clash of styles. Manny is very aggressive and I’m very aggressive. Manny is a southpaw but he’s not necessarily an awkward southpaw. I think when he commits himself with some of his punches he puts all his eggs in one basket. He really tends to commit himself with some punches,” ani Hatton kay Pacquiao. “If he hits you… you’ll feel it because he’s got good balance and shuffles in and out. He tends to go for broke with some punches. With that said, if he throws some of those punches - and misses… I think he sometimes puts himself off balance. I feel I’ve got good balance and good footwork and if he misses I’m going to slip some heavy shots of my own in there.”

 Naging masugid rin sa panonood si Hatton ng mga nakaraang laban ni Pacquiao kina Osar Dela Hoya, David Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera at Eric Morales. (Russell Cadayona)