MMA Linker

[batangastig]

Pacquiao-Hatton already building up
By Robert Morales

Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and Ricky Hatton of England have the two best sets of fans in boxing today. To say they go into a frenzy when their fighters are in the ring is a massive understatement.

But Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, said the May 2 fight between the 140-pound superstars at MGM Grand in Las Vegas is drawing attention unlike any he has seen in some time.

"Let me tell you, this fight has attracted more worldwide interest than any fight that I've been involved with in the last 25 years," Arum said Friday from his offices in Las Vegas.

Arum said the International Herald Tribune, a popular international newspaper, has already done a big piece on this fight two months out. For boxing, this is very rare.

"It is all over the world," Arum said. "I've never seen anything like this. Yeah, years ago when (Muhammad) Ali was fighting, we used to have coverage like this when Ali was in a big fight.

"But in the last 25 years, I haven't seen anything like this. So the Filipino fans and the British fans are just a portion of the interest that is being stirred up."

The fight will be on HBO pay-per-view.

The United Kingdom portion of the promotional tour began last Saturday in Hatton's hometown of Manchester. The news conference was open to the public.

"We had easily 6,000 people," Arum said. "But the interesting thing about it is, half the people were Filipinos living in England.

[Stand-up_Philosopher]

"We had easily 6,000 people," Arum said. "But the interesting thing about it is, half the people were Filipinos living in England."

Pac lead the way !!!!!

[Troy Paulamalu]

Am I the only one who thinks Hatton doesn't have a chance? I just can't see how Ricky can beat Manny.