Like so many other people in the boxing world, former world champion and British legend Ricky Hatton is shocked to see that the great Manny Pacquiao is coming back, this at the age of 46. Hatton, like the rest of us, was also stunned to hear that Pac-Man has been reinstated in the WBC welterweight rankings, this despite the fact that he has not won a fight since 2019.
Hatton, speaking with TalkSport, asked how it’s “allowed or possible” for Manny to have been put back in at number 5. Hatton was also asked the question, who is the greater overall fighter, Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather; Hatton of course having fought both men.
“How is that allowed?” – Hatton baffled by Pacquiao’s return ranking
“It’s boxing today, isn’t it? You know, if you can let a 58 year old Mike Tyson box a Jake Paul, then Manny Pacquiao coming back at 46, it doesn’t look too bad,” Hatton said. “But Manny’s coming back to fight for a world title. And I say this with love, but how has Manny got his world title shot when he’s been retired six years! He’s got that [ranking] on previous successes, hasn’t he? To have been retired for so long and then go straight into a world title fight……how is that allowed or possible? Only boxing can answer that. How can he be placed back in the top 10? He was a helluva fighter a few years back but we don’t know what he’s gonna be like today.”
Pacquiao was indeed a special fighter in his prime, as Hatton knows only too well. It was in May of 2009 when Pacquiao scored a chilling KO in his fight with the British star. Hatton today says the KO Pacquiao inflicted on him ranks in the top 10 most destructive of all time.
Pacquiao or Mayweather? Hatton says “Floyd was the better man”
Hatton continued the conversation when he was asked the inevitable question: who is the overall greater fighter – Pacquiao or Mayweather?
“I think Floyd Mayweather [was the better of the two]. I know it sounds rich, because it was probably one of the most brutal knockouts in boxing history when Manny knocked me out,” Hatton said. “But I was a little bit past my sell-by date [when I fought Pacquiao]. I wasn’t a master of defence like Floyd Mayweather…..I’d sometimes take four to land one. When I fought Floyd, I was still something like [at my best] but by the time I fought Manny I think the light had burnt out.”
Hatton – despite his surprise and shock at Manny’s upcoming challenge of WBC welterweight champ Mario Barrios, and his shock at that new ranking his old foe has been given – will be hoping Pacquiao can somehow roll back the clock and win on July 19.
