by James Slater – Despite being hammered to a brutal and devastating 2nd-round KO by pound-for-pound boxing king Manny Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton is picking Miguel Cotto to win the eagerly awaited fight with Pacquiao tonight in Las Vegas. Hatton hasn’t exactly come out and said with real conviction that he feels the Puerto Rican will win, but he has said his gut feeling tells him Cotto will do it.
Speaking live on Sky Sports last night, with Ricky being the promoter of the Matthew Hatton-Lovemore N’Dou IBO title fight that was televised, Hatton was asked his opinion on the mega-fight.
Looking as out of shape and as overweight as I think I’ve ever seen him, Ricky was nonetheless in fine spirits and quick with a smile last night. “The Hitman” said he feels he was doing well in the second round of his May fight with Pacquiao, before being caught by that blistering left hand to the chin..
“Needless to say, I was knocked down twice in the first round [by Pacquiao], I couldn’t have had a worse start,” Hatton said. “But in the second round, until he caught me with that last punch, I was wining it by a country mile and I think even Manny himself commented on how I hurt him a couple of times. And if I hurt him a couple of times after that appalling start, then I’m sure Miguel Cotto will probably hurt him.”
It’s almost a certainty how a number of fans will raise an eyebrow or two when they read Ricky’s “I was winning it by a country mile” comment on the 2nd-round of the Pacquiao fight, but Hatton did manage to land one good shot in that fateful three minutes. And maybe Ricky’s correct; if he could hurt Pacquiao, even slightly, then perhaps Cotto can do likewise.
One thing looks sure; Cotto will not march in with his hands as low as Hatton’s were when he faced “Pac-Man.” Ricky says he is only just picking Cotto to win, though. He would also like to see his former opponent win tonight.
“I hope Manny wins,” Ricky said. “As a gentleman I’ve got so much respect for him. I wouldn’t say it with any degree of confidence, but I’ve just got a sneaky feeling Cotto might do it.”
A good number of other people also have a feeling Cotto will top the superstar who has recently graced the cover of Time magazine. As close to a 50-50 fight as possible in my opinion, my sneaky feeling tells me Pacquiao will stop Cotto on cuts. We’ll soon see who’s right; in around 15 hours to be more precise!