HBO Boxing: BILLY GRAHAM ON RICKY HATTON'S CHANCES
by Richard Fletcher
During our many conversations in that time, Graham never missed a chance to remind me that Hatton would end up being remembered as the best fighter ever to come out of Britain. It was a bold conviction from which Graham never shrank. He repeated it again on December 5, 2007, minutes before the final press conference for Hatton's superfight with Floyd Mayweather Jr - a bout Graham was convinced Hatton would win.
For once, Graham got it wrong. He is, though, still unstinting in his admiration for the fighter from whom he has been estranged for nearly a year, with unresolved issues still in the hands of lawyers.
Hatton, Graham says, will go down as a great even if he loses to the Filipino star Manny Pacquiao in their 12-round junior welterweight championship fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, to be shown live on PPV May 2.
If he wins, the 30-year-old Hatton will become the first Briton to be recognized as the world's leading pound-for-pound fighter, an honor he failed to wrest from the imperious Mayweather, who subsequently retired.
"There's not really many comparisons with the Mayweather fight, to be honest with you," Graham told me. "It's a totally different fight. That was at welterweight, this is at 140.
This is at Ricky's natural weight. I see Ricky winning big, pretty spectacularly."
Graham never says anything he doesn't mean. He knows what Pacquiao has achieved and only sees one winner, even as a neutral observer, "I think Pacquiao's a great fighter," Graham emphasised. "I think he's got a great coach in Freddie Roach as well. I'm surprised Freddie took the fight, to be honest with you, but I don't think it was his call.
"Ricky's got all the tools to beat Pacquiao. He's a got a wicked straight right hand, if he gets it at the right distance and doesn't overreach himself. He's got a pulverizing right cross. He's a got a massive left hook to the head, and obviously to the body, and with Pacquiao being a southpaw he's closer to Ricky's left hook. I see it being a great fight for Ricky."
Bookmakers in Britain are less convinced. Most have installed Pacquiao, who has already won world titles in five divisions from flyweight to lightweight, as a narrow odds-on favorite. In December, Pacquiao defied many experts by upsetting the much-bigger Oscar De La Hoya in their welterweight non-title fight at the MGM. Although Pacquiao made light of the natural weight difference, the one-sided nature of his victory seemed to owe as much to De La Hoya's declining power and weight struggles.
It is not something Graham expects Pacquiao to be able to repeat against a strong, rejuvenated Hatton, who improved to 45-1 (32) by outclassing the New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi at the MGM in November in his first fight under the tutelage of Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr.
"Ricky's gonna have ten pounds on Pacquiao on the night they get in the ring," Graham said. "You can't give that can't kind of weight away to Ricky Hatton. He's too good. I'm not knocking Pacquiao. Yes, he's fast. Yes, he's got great footwork - but Ricky Hatton's fast and Ricky Hatton's got great footwork. He's got great balance as well. No one can keep Ricky Hatton out.
"I don't think Manny's gonna be as good at tieing him [Hatton] up inside as Mayweather. My fear for the Mayweather fight wasn't the fact that we could catch him, it was what we had to do when we got there. I don't see Pacquiao giving him [Hatton] them kind of problems. The only chance of him winning is possibly [on] cuts before Ricky gets adjusted to the southpaw stance." The fight brings together arguably the two best-supported boxers in the world, but Graham expects Hatton's travelling army of fans to be the most vocal among the anticipated sell-out crowd of just over 17,000.
"Ricky's an idol in Britain, but what Manny Pacquiao's got over there [the Philipinnes] is even bigger than what Ricky's got over here [in the UK]," Graham admitted. "But all those people can't afford to come to Las Vegas, so I think it's still gonna be massively pro-Hatton. But trust me, even if it wasn't, it wouldn't bother Ricky."
During our many conversations in that time, Graham never missed a chance to remind me that Hatton would end up being remembered as the best fighter ever to come out of Britain. It was a bold conviction from which Graham never shrank. He repeated it again on December 5, 2007, minutes before the final press conference for Hatton's superfight with Floyd Mayweather Jr - a bout Graham was convinced Hatton would win.
For once, Graham got it wrong. He is, though, still unstinting in his admiration for the fighter from whom he has been estranged for nearly a year, with unresolved issues still in the hands of lawyers.
Hatton, Graham says, will go down as a great even if he loses to the Filipino star Manny Pacquiao in their 12-round junior welterweight championship fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, to be shown live on PPV May 2.
If he wins, the 30-year-old Hatton will become the first Briton to be recognized as the world's leading pound-for-pound fighter, an honor he failed to wrest from the imperious Mayweather, who subsequently retired.
"There's not really many comparisons with the Mayweather fight, to be honest with you," Graham told me. "It's a totally different fight. That was at welterweight, this is at 140.
This is at Ricky's natural weight. I see Ricky winning big, pretty spectacularly."
Graham never says anything he doesn't mean. He knows what Pacquiao has achieved and only sees one winner, even as a neutral observer, "I think Pacquiao's a great fighter," Graham emphasised. "I think he's got a great coach in Freddie Roach as well. I'm surprised Freddie took the fight, to be honest with you, but I don't think it was his call.
"Ricky's got all the tools to beat Pacquiao. He's a got a wicked straight right hand, if he gets it at the right distance and doesn't overreach himself. He's got a pulverizing right cross. He's a got a massive left hook to the head, and obviously to the body, and with Pacquiao being a southpaw he's closer to Ricky's left hook. I see it being a great fight for Ricky."
Bookmakers in Britain are less convinced. Most have installed Pacquiao, who has already won world titles in five divisions from flyweight to lightweight, as a narrow odds-on favorite. In December, Pacquiao defied many experts by upsetting the much-bigger Oscar De La Hoya in their welterweight non-title fight at the MGM. Although Pacquiao made light of the natural weight difference, the one-sided nature of his victory seemed to owe as much to De La Hoya's declining power and weight struggles.
It is not something Graham expects Pacquiao to be able to repeat against a strong, rejuvenated Hatton, who improved to 45-1 (32) by outclassing the New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi at the MGM in November in his first fight under the tutelage of Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr.
"Ricky's gonna have ten pounds on Pacquiao on the night they get in the ring," Graham said. "You can't give that can't kind of weight away to Ricky Hatton. He's too good. I'm not knocking Pacquiao. Yes, he's fast. Yes, he's got great footwork - but Ricky Hatton's fast and Ricky Hatton's got great footwork. He's got great balance as well. No one can keep Ricky Hatton out.
"I don't think Manny's gonna be as good at tieing him [Hatton] up inside as Mayweather. My fear for the Mayweather fight wasn't the fact that we could catch him, it was what we had to do when we got there. I don't see Pacquiao giving him [Hatton] them kind of problems. The only chance of him winning is possibly [on] cuts before Ricky gets adjusted to the southpaw stance." The fight brings together arguably the two best-supported boxers in the world, but Graham expects Hatton's travelling army of fans to be the most vocal among the anticipated sell-out crowd of just over 17,000.
"Ricky's an idol in Britain, but what Manny Pacquiao's got over there [the Philipinnes] is even bigger than what Ricky's got over here [in the UK]," Graham admitted. "But all those people can't afford to come to Las Vegas, so I think it's still gonna be massively pro-Hatton. But trust me, even if it wasn't, it wouldn't bother Ricky."
Comment