Pacquiao, Hatton corners trade verbal jabs

MANILA, Philippines – The fighters have shown only respect for each other. So the usual bitter words that accompany a fight were left to the respective trainers of Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton.

During Saturday’s press conference in Manchester for the “East vs. West" megafight, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach and Hatton’s trainer Floyd Mayweather, Sr. did not waste time in throwing verbal jabs at the other.

According to the Manchester Evening News, the “opening bell" rang when promoter Bob Arum introduced Roach as “the greatest trainer in the world."

Mayweather immediately grabbed the mike to say: “If anybody thinks Freddie ‘the Joke’ Roach can out-train me, they have to be sick."

To which Roach, a three-time trainer of the year awardee, retorted: “It’s a shame Floyd senior isn’t in the Hall of Fame."

Mayweather snapped back: “He should be in the Hall of Shame!"

Through all these, Pacquaio and Hatton could only look on and laugh.

The two celebrated trainers/ strategists have had a history of bad blood, which started when Roach replaced Mayweather to whip Oscar de la Hoya into winning shape for his super-fight with the latter’s son, Floyd Jr. in 2007. The Golden Boy eventually lost via split decision.

In the same presser, Mayweather belittled Pacquiao’s dominant performance against The Golden Boy last December, saying: “When he beat the world legend Oscar de la Hoya, he was over the hill, now it’s time for you to swallow the same old pill."

Mayweather even waxed poetic in predicting the downfall of Pacquiao to his ward Hatton.

“When it comes, Manny, then you had better be ready, because I don’t want you to blame it on Freddie," he told the Filipino phenom.

Pacquiao, the reigning world pound-for-pound king, and Hatton, the defending International Boxing Organization lightwelterweight champion, will duke it out on May 2 in Las Vegas. -GMANews.TV

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/150879/Pacquiao-Hatton-corners-trade-verbal-jabs

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