Boxing Betting / The Betfair Contrarian / 23 April 2009 / 2 Comments

The Betfair Contrarian explains why he is backing the Hitman at [3.2] to overcome Manny Pacquiao in their May 2nd bout...

As far as boxing goes, Ricky Hatton has a hint of the Contrarian about him. The Mancunian shows no interest in preparing for bouts in the meticulous manner that his fellow fighters adopt and he isn't afraid of piling on the pounds. While fellow Brit David Haye has prepared for his fight with Wladimir Klitschko by sporting a shirt depicting him holding the severed heads of the Klitschko brothers, Hatton doesnt take himself quite so seriously; he preferred to fill a void between fights last year with a stand-up comedy tour...

Hatton has a better overall record

The Hitman has won 45 of his 46 career fights, only ever suffering defeat against Floyd Mayweather Jr, who won all 39 of his bouts. Pacquiao on the other hand has been beaten three times in his 53 fight career, as well as being involved in two draws. That gives the Filipino an overall win percentage of 91%, which pales in comparison to Hatton's 98%.

The MGM Grand holds bad memories for Pacquiao

Hatton's only career loss occurred at the MGM Grand but Pacquiao has had an even worse time there. He has won just one of his last three fights in the famous venue, tying on points with Juan Manuel Marquez in 2004 and suffering defeat against Erik Morales there in 2005. Pacquiao went on to knock out Marquez twice after that at the Thomas & Mack Center and beat Marquez last year at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, which suggests that while he likes Vegas generally, he often underperforms at the MGM.

Hatton's not bothered by southpaws

When Pacquiao defeated Oscar De La Hoya in December, his trainer Freddy Roach pointed out that De La Hoya, with whom he used to work, had always struggled against southpaws.

Pacquiao wont be able to exploit that weakness this time, however, as two of Hatton's last six opponents Luis Collazo and Juan Orango were southpaws, and the Hitman beat them both on American soil. Collazo had won 12 straight fights before being conquered by Hatton while Urango had never tasted defeat in his 18 bouts.

Pac-Man's win over De La Hoya won't count for much

In December, Pacquiao beat Oscar De La Hoya by a technical knockout and it was that triumph over a taller opponent which established him as favourite [1.5] against Hatton. However, the then 35-year-old De La Hoya went into that fight well past his best, having lost three of his previous six fights, and was drained by struggling to make his lightest weight in almost twelve years. Pacquiao's speed allowed him to dominate, but Hatton will be quicker than De La Hoya. They are also both the same age and the Hitman, fighting at junior welterweight level, won't be weight-drained.

The Hitman is unbeaten at junior welterweight

When the prospect of Hatton/Pacquiao was first mooted, the Brit hinted that he would be willing to move down a weight, but the fight will instead be taking place at his preferred junior welterweight. He has fought 34 times at between 136lbs and 140lbs and has won every time. After beating Paul Malignaggi back in November, Hatton said: "Nobody will ever beat me at junior welterweight, I really believe that." This will be Pacquiao's first fight in this weight class.