Anybody staying "Neutral" for the Hatton vs. Pacquiao fight? very hard to root again

[Benny Leonard]

So?


I think in a way, it's a little easier to root for Pac than Hatton, but I also think Hatton may need this a little more than Pac as far as legacy. People are basically ****ting on him right now and being the underdog, it can possibly make you lean towards rooting for him, however; how do you root against Pac given all he has done in and outside the ring?


I think the only solution for me is to either see a draw or to see a double KO


Let the best Man win. I'm cool with whatever happens.
I hope it is a Gatti-Ward type fight though.

[Benny Leonard]

Manny Pacquiao’s ambitions of power put on hold for tough date with Ricky Hatton
by
Ron Lewis


The streets of the Philippines will be quiet on Sunday morning as a nation sits down to watch its hero. When Manny Pacquiao boxes, nothing else is important. Crime stops, shops close, even the guns fall silent in the continuing insurgency.

Pacquiao has had a remarkable career. A man who began boxing as a light-flyweight has won four world titles and dominated in divisions right up to welterweight, in which he beat Oscar De La Hoya in December. But his life story is even better. As a boy he lived on the streets and he is seemingly destined to be his country’s president one day. In the meantime, he uses his wealth to help his countrymen.

“The Philippines has a great social welfare system and it is called Manny Pacquiao,” Bob Arum, his promoter, said. “He has easily given away $10 million and perhaps $20 million. I can’t put a figure on it, but huge amounts — hospital beds, scholarships. He is a one-man welfare system.

“Telling him to stop is like telling someone they shouldn’t pray as much. This is not p***ing money away. He is doing good with the money. Other people come up from poverty and forget everything, he hasn’t.”

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Pacquiao is hero-worshipped by his countrymen. Everywhere he goes, Filipinos throng to catch a glimpse of the small man with the ever-present smile. On a promotional trip to London in March, hundreds turned out to watch him take Mass at Westminster Cathedral.

When he challenges Ricky Hatton for his Ring ****zine and IBO light-welterweight titles here tomorrow night — Sunday morning in the Philippines— life will stop in his homeland, even the skirmishes between government forces and Islamic insurgents.

“The whole country will watch,” Pacquiao said. “When I fight there is no crime, no traffic, you cannot see a car outside. There is a ceasefire for one day to watch the fight.” His compatriots will see the benefit of the minimum $12 million he will be paid. “Everyone knows what life is in the Philippines,” Pacquiao, 30, added. “There are a lot of poor people and they need help. I want to win this fight for the Filipino people, to inspire them.”

And one day he could lead them. Next year he intends to run for Congress in his country. He ran once before, but his defeat was blamed by most on people fearing he would retire from boxing if elected to office. When asked if one day he will be his country’s president, he giggles. “Step by step,” he said. “I have a few fights more and that’s that.”

Pacquiao has been joined in his preparations this week by Amir Khan, who is also trained by Freddie Roach and who had come to Las Vegas to begin the camp for his challenge for Andreas Kotelnik’s WBA lightwelterweight title in London on June 27.

“Manny is looking strong, he’s in the best shape I’ve seen him,” Khan said. “Sometimes when he was training to fight Oscar, he never used to get up in the morning, he used to miss training. But he knows this is a tough fight and he’s trained a lot harder.

“I saw Ricky training the other day and he looked so strong and so quick, the best I’ve seen him for a long time. I think he can cause an upset.

“I know the odds are against him, but I think he can beat Manny. What he mustn’t do is start off slow and let Manny win the first few rounds. That would leave Ricky chasing the fight and he would then get caught with ****** shots. It’s a 50-50 fight.”

Khan said he is grateful that neither boxer has pressed him to take sides. “I’m sort of in the middle because I’m friends with both fighters, and what’s good is that Ricky hasn’t asked me what Manny’s doing in training and Manny hasn’t asked me anything about what Ricky is doing,” Khan said. “I’ve got a lot respect for them because of that.

“Both fighters are very alike. They’re both funny. They never take things seriously. They are always having a joke. But when they get in that ring, Manny is going to try and knock his head off and Ricky is going to try and do the same to him.”

[Piggu]

It's hard to root against either guy, they're both so likeable. I hope Pacquiao wins though. He seems to have more upside.

[J.B.moneY.]

I like both guys as human beings and fighters......but you can look at the sig for who i'm rooting for.....the "manchester rocky"

[The Gully Gad]

Were bound to get a war! Theres no way this one could'nt be a war

I'd like to see ricky finally get his due..
But i know Pac is winning it...

[Chew BackAtacha]

im neutral if neutral is wanting hatton to rip his head off

[adietheforestfa]

I hope Hatton wins, but have no problems if he looses as i realy like Pac too.

[Ray*]

Am trying hard to stay neutral but am leaning towards wanting pacman to win and do it in style so we could see better intriguing matchups but if hatton wins then he must have fully deserve it and good luck to both fighters.

[MELLY-MEL...]

i'm picking pac, but find it hard to root for either as i am a big fan of both. i just hope it's a great fight.

[Benny Leonard]

It's hard to root against either guy, they're both so likeable. I hope Pacquiao wins though. He seems to have more upside

He does; in and outside the ring.

One thing that I noticed with Hatton that got me thinking was this quick scene from 24/7

Time: 3:00


It's like Hatton is putting his full trust in Floyd Sr. because Sr. is one of the few who actually believes Hatton can not only win this fight, but Hatton has gotten better and is better than people give him credit for...and Hatton really wants it to be true.
He has gone out and put his ego aside and hired Sr. to make him better.

Plus, anybody that likes Kool-Aid is cool with me.

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