Boxing's Little Icons Prep For Duel

Hugely popular pair to duke it out Saturday
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 30, 2009 10:47 AM CDT
Boxing's Little Icons Prep For Duel
British boxer Ricky Hatton trains for the media at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Tuesday, April 28, 2009.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Saturday will see a boxing matchup sure to draw countless diehard fans: Filipino Manny Pacquiao, considered the sport’s “pound-for-pound best,” versus Britiain's Ricky Hatton, the current International Boxing Organization junior welterweight champ. “When Manny fights, everything stops in the Philippines,” a Manila journalist tells the Wall Street Journal. And a million Brits got up at 4am to see a Hatton match in Las Vegas, said a promoter.

“I can't wait for the fight. It doesn't get any better than fighting the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world,” said Hatton. He knows how to pressure an opponent, a key strategy to beating lefties like Pacquaio. Pacquiao predicts “great action.” But neither is great on defense, and the fight will likely hinge on self-control.
(More boxing stories.)

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