Ricky Hatton vs Manny Pacquiao preview part 4

All the training and sparring finished on Monday, now the game plan and tactics will be played through his head until that opening bell rings.

Four Weight world champion and pound-for-pound king, Manny Pacquiao, seems physically and mentally ready for his showdown with Ricky Hatton.

But what tactics will we see? And how confident is Manny and his trainer Freddy Roach about beating Hatton who is undefeated at light-welterweight?

To conclude our preview of the big fight, we will take a closer look at the ‘Pac-Man’ and try to predict  what tactics he will apply.

In his previous fights Pacquiao has always fought with an extremely high guard.

Expect this to be slightly lower come fight night, in a bid to offer more protection to the body.

While Team Roach may rubbish claims they are concerned about Hatton’s body shots, they will be cautious and prepared.

As the saying goes, ‘a straight punch always beats the hook’, and expect to see Manny use a majority of straight punches down the pipe against Hatton, a natural hooker.

Contrary to what you may have heard, Pacquiao will not shy away from fighting on the inside, and he may surprise Hatton with his speed and willingness to carry out ambushes with deadly pin point precision.

In close, Manny will rely heavily on the defensive roll as he looks to counter effectively by rolling and stepping inside.

This will also help rob Hatton of the chance of leaning on his opponent and spoiling his work.

We may even see the ‘Pac-Man’ resort to countering in small bursts as was seen in the Mayweather - Hatton fight.

Floyd Mayweather waited for Hatton to lunge forward before he attacked successfully with his left hook.

This will be effective for Manny as he fights out of a southpaw stance, and this will ensure Hatton’s head is closer.

Pacquiao will look to use a lot of lateral movement rather than in and out, as he tries to keep off the track.

Expect to see him move continually to his left, as Team Roach see Hatton’s right hand as less inferior than his left.

This could give Manny the opportunity to line up his opponent with his back hand.

However, there will be movement to his right but it will be exercised carefully in case he walks into a Hatton left hook.

‘Keep off the ropes’, is an instruction that will be ringing loud and clear in his ears and it is the only place in the ring where he may lose the fight, so for that reason Manny will do everything he can to stay in the centre.

Don’t be surprised to see Hatton pushed back, not by Pacquiao’s physical presence but, by a barrage of fast accurate punches, as Freddy Roach points out – “speed kills.”

All in all, what you will witness in the early hours of Sunday morning is the same ferocity that Manny shows in all his fights, controlled and executed in such a manner that has become accustom to his world-wide legion of fans.