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Arum: Hatton up against a better, faster Pacquiao
MANILA, Philippines â When Ricky Hatton climbs the ring on May 2, he will be up against a Manny Pacquiao whoâs a lot better than the pound for pound king who pummeled legend Oscar De La Hoya to submission. Thus said Top Rank boss Bob Arum, very much impressed with the Filipino superstarâs tremendous improvement at his training camp for the Hatton fight. âIâve never seen a better Manny Pacquiao," Arum said Saturday, when he graced the official weigh-in for âThe Flash and the Furious" double championship fight featuring IBF-IBO flyweight king Nonito Donaire, Jr. and lightflyweight contender Brian Viloria. âHe improves from fight to fight which to me demonstrates that we have a fighter whoâs still not yet at his peak. What usually happens is that fighters, they reach a particular peak before they hit a plateau and decline. But Manny hasnât peaked yet so itâs all coming right. Believe me, the Manny Pacquiao that will be in the ring against Ricky Hatton is a better fighter than the one that went in the ring against Oscar De La Hoya," he added. Giving Arum the reasons to be go gaga over Pacquiaoâs improving skills are satisfying reports on how the 30-year-old bomber from General Santos City unleashes his lightning-fast fists and how he tackles younger, aggressive sparmates with so much ease. âHeâs faster, heâs smarter, he has all the adjectives. My guys who watched the training of the De La Hoya fight, watched the training for (Juan Manuel) Marquez fight, they came back and said âmy God, you now canât see his hands. Heâs so fast, heâs throwing so quickly you canât see the punches," Arum reported. The veteran promoter took special notice of Pacquiaoâs performance in sparring against knockout artist Mike Alavarado (25-0-0, 18 KOs), a rugger super-lightweight prospect, and welterweight Raymund Serrano (9-0-0, 5 KOs). âManny is now at the point where he can take on anybody in the world," he said. âAlvarado is gonna be a champion and Serrano is a tough, tough Puerto Rican and yet he (Pacquiao) is handling them like babies!" So against Hatton, Arum expects Pacquiao to capitalize on his advantages, specifically his vaunted speed. âIf he fights according to script, capitalizes on his strength â speed - thereâs no way that Hatton can beat him," he said. Unlike trainer Freddie Roach, though, Arum refused to issue a prediction on how Pacquiao will finish off Hatton, the Ring Magazine and IBO junior welterweight champion. âOlmin R. Leyba, GMANews.TV
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