The fight in Las Vegas eight days away, between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Richard Hatton has everyone in the sports media from America and Europe talking.
To start both of these men have a nice number of undefeated fights- Mayweather has 38 (24 KOs) since his pro debut in October 1996, while the Mancunian has a career record 43-0 (31 by KOs). But the fact Hatton has a larger record of undefeated fights doesn't have much to do with the fact Floyd has been rated by the American magazine The Ring the number one pound-for-pound boxer of the world since November 4th, 2006, while "The Hitman" carries the number eight position in their ranking as of this November.
Ricky at his 29-years is considered by some people one of the best British boxer in history, as well as his 30-year-old rival considered by some on this site of the pond; one of the best boxers ever; even compared to the great Ali by his current trainer, his uncle Roger Mayweather -something a lot of people, including me, considers out of line, but then again you know what they say...the trash talking runs in the family.
But the reality is this: the 5 ft 8 (1.73) Afro-American has built around him a pretty good career, winning six world boxing championships in five different weight classes between super-featherweight and light-middleweight; on one of which he defeated Oscar De La Hoya, who by the way had commented that he believes Hatton has the "intelligent pressure" to dethrone "Pretty Boy" Floyd of the number 1 pound-for-pound position.
To what the number 1 boxer answered: "Everyone is entitled of their opinion". "De La Hoya is Ricky Hatton's promoter - even if he doesn't want to say it that is what he is supposed to say".
"He said he was going to win [against me] on May 5. Did he win? There's your answer right there".
The "bad guy" as he says the media has tagged him for most of his fights, including this one, declares he is ready for the battle and that he is confident Hatton's style will give him a thrilling fight. By December 8th, Mayweather will be training for the fight for nine weeks and as he says his body is in better shape than ever.
"I have tried to approach it like I do every fight. I'm the hardest worker in the gym. Everyone says my body looks better than ever. I feel good, and that is why we'll get a great outcome," declared the boxer from Michigan. "I am always pushing my body to the limit to get the most out of myself. I am disciplined. You don't see me after my fight in no pub, drinking beer. Just being around the sport, you know that's unhealthy for you."
Bookmakers estimate him at around 1-2 on to beat Ricky, but Floyd is used to performing under the load of expectation. "Hatton is one hell of a fighter. He is going to bring his 'A' game. But what you have to realize is that all the pressure is on me every time I fight", said the hot favorite.
"When you fight Floyd Mayweather, you fight the best. If I win, I'm supposed to win. So in boxing, I'm always in a no-win situation. After I win, there's always an excuse. But I do say, judge me for what I do in the ring, not on hearsay or on what they write."
So we'll be waiting for the Floyd and Hatton's show that hopefully will be as exciting as expected. And I have to say this; it's not normal for me to take a site on my articles, but I would like to see Mayweather knock down the Manchester boxer; maybe he can use on Hatton one of those moves Karina Smirnoff (his partner in the program) taught him during his participation on "Dancing with the Stars".
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Claudy_Beckford
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