Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao vs. Ricky “the Hitman” Hatton
By: Mark Thorpe
April 30, 2009
MUSCLEANDFITNESS.COM
The Battle of East and West When: Saturday, May 2 Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas Live on Pay-Per-View at 9 p.m. ET
A lot has been said ad nauseam about the deteriorating state of professional boxing. Without a fierce and partially feral heavyweight to anchor the sport with viscous knockouts and public displays of breathtaking moral contempt, more and more fight fans have turned to the cage of MMA to satisfy their bloodlust.
But where the heavyweights lack a wrecking ball of magnetism, the lighter-weight divisions serve up one ferocious fight after another, and this weekend promises to be yet another potential “fight of the year” when light welterweights Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton go knuckles up in the high desert.
Both fighters are coming off convincing victories – Pac-Man retired Oscar De La Hoya with a relentless attack that seemed to affect the The Golden Boy with rigor mortis and Hatton beat down Paulie Malignaggi as if the guy threatened to spit on his blood sausage.
Come May 2, The Battle of East and West promises to be nothing less than a head-on collision between two kinetic forces that only go backward when they fall. For behind-the-scenes footage and press coverage, click on the provided links.
