Manny Pacquiao - Ricky Hatton Bout Tale of the Tape

Even though Ricky Hatton had not signed the contract yet, his bout with Manny Pacquiao is already considered set as Manny already accepted a 52-48 split of the fight revenue in his favor. This is considerably lower than the 60-40 share he is originally asking. The fight is set on May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Texas, USA.

Here’s the tale of the tape for the two fighters courtesy of fightfan.com

Manny Pacquiao has a slight height and reach advantage over Ricky Hatton. Their body builts are almost the same.

In terms of fight records, the “Pacman” has fought in 53 bouts with 48 wins (36 by KO), 3 losses and 2 draws. On the other hand, the “Hitman” has fought in 46 bouts with 45 wins (32 by KO) and 1 loss. Hatton has a slight advantage over Pacquiao here with Floyd Mayweather giving him his only loss. Nevertheless, their records are both sterling.

I think the big difference between the two fighters lies in the quality of opponents they have faced over the years. While Ricky Hatton had faced the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Paulie Malignaggi, José Luis Castillo and Kostya Tszyu, Manny Pacquiao had faced AND defeated the best there is. He had conquered famous boxers and future Hall of Famers in the likes of Oscar dela Hoya, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manual Marquez, David Diaz, Oscar Larios and Jorge Solis. He not only fought once but at least twice with the biggest names in that list.

Boxing is an unpredictable sport though. One “lucky” punch could turn the tide in one’s favor. Also, what’s on paper may not automatically translate into the real bout. Proof? The “Dream Match” turned out to be a “mismatch” in Manny Pacquiao’s favor.

Let’s just wait and see.

UPDATE 5/4/09:  It’s a hammer, not a lucky punch that sent Ricky Hatton to dream land. Check it out here:

Pacquiao vs Hatton 2nd Round KO