Pacquiao vs Hatton

News of Floyd Mayweather Jr's unretirement has been floating around lately. And as much as some boxing fans eagerly await the official announcement of his return and his possible bout with Pacquiao, Manny Pacquiao's camp is not looking beyond his current challenge in Ricky Hatton. Ricky Hatton vs Manny Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao vs Ricky Hatton.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather. However which way you put it, the title alone gives fight fans a chilling tingle to the possible matchup. Mayweather vs Pacquiao. Pound for pound. There can only be one. Now that's one fight boxing fans should never miss.

But let us focus on the current business at hand. Pacquiao vs Mayweather will never happen unless Pacquiao gets by Ricky Hatton who in recent reports have been throwing a lot of bombs towards Pacquiao's camp.

Ricky Hatton has time and again boldly declared that he will shock Manny Pacquiao during their May 2 fight in Las Vegas. Citing ultimately that Pacquiao's team is not preparing him for the new and overhauled Hitman Hatton.

With Floyd Mayweather Sr. in his corner, Ricky Hatton is beaming with confidence. So confident in fact that he believes that not only will he overpower the smaller Pacquiao, he will also match Pacquiao in speed and aggressiveness. Hatton has boldly predicted that he will knock Pacquiao out and claim the Pound-for-pound title.

But let us look at all the fight hype objectively. With Floyd Mayweather Sr. in Ricky Hatton's camp, all the bombs towards the other camp is expected. It is part of Mayweather Sr's tactic of psyching out the opponent. Boxing after all is not just a brute fight in the ring. It is also a mind game. And this is what Floyd Mayweather Sr. is trying to pull off.

But come fight night, will Ricky 'the Hitman' Hatton really overpower the Pacman? Will he be able to neutralize Pacquiao's speed, power and unrelenting attack? Will his size advantage be really that much of a difference? And more importantly, with Floyd Mayweather Sr in his corner, how much of a difference will it really make?

We've seen Ricky Hatton transform into a boxer from a bullying brawler in his fight against Paulie Malignaggi. And fight fans should not forget how Hatton fared in his previous fight. Yes Ricky Hatton has slowly changed his fighting style. He now picks his moments and has added some defensive arsenal in his fighting style. But is this really good for Hatton? When all his life he has fought straight-up, brawling his opponents to submission?

What fight fans should remember is Paulie Malignaggi is a weak boxer who depends so much on scoring points to win fights. He is no Manny Pacquiao, not even close. And although Hatton outscored Malignaggi in their fight, Ricky Hatton cannot do the same against Pacquiao.

When Hatton starts feeling Pacquiao's power, I doubt he will be able to retain composure. This is evident on how Hatton lost his cool against Floyd Mayweather Jr., which eventually led to him kissing the canvass.

Ricky Hatton has declared that he is the king of the 140-pound division and no one can beat him at that weight. Well, THAT is a fact...for now that is. But how long can Hatton hold on to his crown? Until Manny Pacquiao officially fights at 140, we will just have to wait.

May 2. East vs West. Hatton vs Pacquaio. Pacquiao vs Hatton.