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EVERYTHING is still on the negotiating table, but
American trainer Freddie Roach wants to cut to the chase
and see prized ward Manny Pacquiao rumble with British
superstar Ricky Hatton straight on.
Interviewed by Sports Chat Wednesday morning, Roach said
a bout with Hatton is what the people want to see now
that Pacquiao was able to prove that he belongs to the
elite class of the active lightweight class.
“I’m the
one pushing for the Ricky Hatton fight because I think
it will be the biggest fight for Manny. Their styles
complement each other and it will be a real war, and I
think Manny can win his fifth world title at 140 lb,”
said Roach in the show aired over dzSR 918 kHz.
The
other day, Top Rank Inc. big boss Bob Arum also went on
air and revealed his meeting the same day with Akihiko
Honda, the Japanese promoter of Venezuelan 130-lb
champion Edwin Valero, the top choice of the American
promoter as Pacquiao’s next foe.
“Valero
is a good fighter, a tough and very strong puncher, but
the problem with Valero is nobody knows him in America
or even around the world,” said Roach. “He is only
allowed to fight in one state in America, and that is
Texas. He’s a very good fighter, but is the fight
saleable? Is there a pay-per-view draw there? I don’t
think so.”
Valero
is currently banned to fight in the United States,
particularly in Las Vegas, after he figured in a
motorcycle accident sometime in 2001 that required
surgery to remove blood clots in his brain.
But Arum
said everything is being worked out for Valero to get a
license in Las Vegas, especially because the Venezuelan
was recently granted a license to fight in Texas.
The
26-year-old Valero positioned himself as an acceptable
foe for Pacquiao after winning the World Boxing
Association super-featherweight crown via 10th-round TKO
over Panamanian Vicente Mosquera in August 2006 in
Panama City.
Another
drawback in making the Hatton-Pacquiao dream a reality
is that the British phenom, who fights under Top Rank’s
chief promotional adversary Golden Boy Promotions (GBP),
is contractually obligated to fight International Boxing
Federation superlightweight champion Paulie Malignaggi
this November.
Roach,
however, said Malignaggi may be amenable to a step-aside
fee which has been done many times before.
“Since
Bob Arum and Golden Boy don’t get along that well, and
Ricky Hatton is Golden Boy right now, that’s holding the
fight right now,” added Roach. “But Bob, when he comes
to his senses, he will let that fight happen. They’ve
got to let their egos out of the way between GBP and Top
Rank and let the best fight happen. And that’s the best
fight for Manny Pacquiao, in my opinion.”
The
29-year-old Pacquiao was crowned a four-division world
champion when he stopped a tough but outclassed David
Diaz inside nine rounds last weekend at the Mandalay Bay
Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Roach
added that Pacquiao, who snatched the World Boxing
Council lightweight tiara from Diaz, is set to leave
today from Los Angeles on his way back to Manila. |
