Pacquiao to demolish Hatton, says Moorer

MANILA, Philippines – Michael Moorer was straight to the point. Manny Pacquiao will demolish Ricky Hatton in their upcoming title fight. The two-time world heavyweight champion is saying it not because he’s biased, being chief assistant to Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach. But to the eyes of this former fighter who once beat ring great Evander Holyfield, Hatton is simply not in the caliber of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter. “Ricky? I’ve seen him before and I’m not impressed with him," said the 41-year old Moorer of “The Hitman" from Manchester, England. “With all due respect and what he (Hatton) has accomplished, Manny is still the all-around better fighter," he added. “He’s the pound-for-pound king, and with his accomplishments over the years, Ricky can’t even touch that." He describes the Filipino as a “machine". “He just works and works and works He never gets tired." Moorer, who has a ring record of 52-4, with 40 KOs before retiring in 2004, of course, knows boxing like the palm of his hand. Like Pacquiao, he is also a southpaw and a noted knockout artist, having won all of his first 26 pro fights inside the distance. He was a former World Boxing Organization (WBO) light-heavyweight king (1988), edged out Holyfield by majority decision to annex the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) titles in 1994, and then reigned again as IBF champion in 1996 following a 12-round split decision win over Axel Schultz in Berlin, Germany. A blot in Moorer’s career was his 10th round knockout loss to the legendary George Foreman in their November 1994 title bout that made Foreman the oldest heavyweight champion at 45. He also dropped an eight-round setback in his rematch with Holyfield in 1997 to give up his title. At the time, he already hooked up with Roach with whom he’s been reunited beginning this year as one of his handlers at the famed Wildcard Gym. “I work for Freddie, so I’m Freddie’s assistant," stressed the serious-looking, soft-spoken boxer. As part of his work, he said “I aide in developing Manny and do the things that are supposed to be done." Moorer didn’t personally saw Pacquiao’s eighth-round technical knockout of Oscar De La Hoya last year, but said, “I knew Manny was going to beat him." Moorer said the same thing will going to happen in the Hatton fight. “It is gonna be a short night, with Manny the winner. He’s a different caliber of fighter. – GMANews.TV