Hatton fought Mayweather in 2007 and almost went the distance but Mayweather found his range in the 10th round that sent Hatton reeling down the canvas — but he stood his ground as Mayweather jumped in to finish him for a TKO win.
Hatton did well in the early rounds as he staggered Mayweather with a left jab, but failed to land solid shots for what could have been an unexpected turn of events in the 12-round encounter at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
In the early rounds, Mayweather looked a bit bewildered by Hatton’s unrelenting attack but he succeeded in neutralizing Hatton’s forward assault as he made adjustments in his defense midway to the fight.
Here’s what Hatton had to say about Pacquiao and Mayweather, recalling his memorable engagement with the two elite fighters.
“Manny is a great fighter but when you look at the trouble he had with the counter-punching style of Juan Manuel Marquez, he could be in serious trouble with Floyd Mayweather,” Hatton said.
“With that said, Manny will take a lot of heart from how Marcos Maidana was able to test Floyd and compete with him. For that reason, I give Manny a great shot in the fight because Mayweather has slowed down a touch.” he added.
Hatton recalled how he struggled with both Mayweather and Pacquiao and he gave contrasting views on their individual styles.
“Manny is always on top of you and his hand and foot speed are very hard to read,” said Hatton, who is now a successful boxing promoter.
Hatton thinks that Mayweather will have to come up with a fight plan that is cut out for Pacquiao, knowing his fighting style which relies more on his hand and foot speed.
The Mayweather-Pacquiao super fight is about two months away and the promoters haven’t started accepting payments for tickets to the event but they are overwhelmed by the number of fans who want to watch the fight regardless of the cost.
Reports have it that prices of tickets for the MGM Grand weekend boxing event featuring Mayweather and Pacquiao range from $1,000 to $5,000. But off-counter dealers are quoting over $20.000 for ringside seats.
Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.com writes: Early pricing is through the roof, but it is not clear if it is realistic, as no tickets have been sold yet through SeatGeek, according to Connor Gregoire, an analyst with the company.
“The cheapest seat listed for the fight is $4,116 with a median price of $9,218. Floor seats start at $22,441. This compares to an average secondary price of $2,168 for Mayweather-Alvarez. Gregoire expects tickets for Mayweather-Pacquiao to eventual settle in at least twice as high The One,” he added.
