Hatton picks Floyd over Pacman

In the eyes of British bad boy Ricky Hatton, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has what it takes to spoil Manny Pacquiao.

Hatton, whose two losses were dealt by Mayweather and Pacquiao, talked to boxingscene and expressed the belief that Mayweather will be better than the Filipino in the event they square off next year.

“I’ve always thought that Floyd would win,” said Hatton, who has retired from the sport after absorbing a second-round knockout at the hands of Pacquiao in May, 2009.

“I love Manny Pacquiao. I have more in common with Manny Pacquiao than with Mayweather but I have to give credit where credit is due. He’s (Mayweather) not on my Christmas card list but I think he’ll win,” said Hatton.

Hatton said his belief was not affected by Pacquiao’s struggle with Juan Manuel Marquez last month.

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Pacquiao is 80% Ready

Manny Pacquiao feels he is already in fighting form a little over a month before he collides with Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas.

"Eighty percent," Pacquiao told Top Rank TV moments after his arrival in Los Angeles on Saturday night (late Sunday morning in Manila).

The remaining 20 percent will be added when he kicks off his training at the Wild Card Boxing Club starting Monday.

Pacquiao spent three weeks in Baguio City under Freddie Roach’s watch and in the remaining weeks, the Filipino will be made to double or even triple his efforts as Roach will field a fresher batch of sparmates.

In Baguio City, the 32-year-old Pacquiao sparred mainly with Venezuelan Jorge Linares and Roach told the on-line edition of The Ring magazine that their styles were made for each other.

Roach said Linares is “smart” like Marquez and “every punch that he throws has a meaning with it.”

While Linares’s style is not really a copy-cat of Marquez’s counter-punching ways, the 26-year-old puncher remains “very, very formidable,” noted Roach.

Marquez, meanwhile, is also in the thick of preparations in Mexico City under Nacho Beristain and a team of other experts from the fields of nutrition and conditioning.

Marquez, 38, said he was forced to tap these experts owing to the magnitude of the Pacquiao rubber match.

News source: Manila Bulletin