Roach: Hatton out in three

MANILA, Philippines – Ricky Hatton, be warned.

Multi-awarded trainer Freddie Roach has confidently predicted that the Hitman’s fight with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao won’t last three rounds.

“We’re going to knock him out in three rounds,” Roach said in an interview with maxboxing.com. “I told Manny that if it goes past three rounds, I’d be mad at him.”

Hatton (45-1, 32 KOs) may have a lot of worrying to do — Roach has a history of accurately predicting the exact round Pacquiao finishes the opposition. In fact, the bespectacled trainer hit it right on the nail when he said Pacquiao will knock out lightweight champion David Diaz in nine rounds in June 2008.

Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs) is currently in the thick of training at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. The General Santos-based southpaw is reported to have just completed a tough sparring session with undefeated lightweight Urbano Antillon.

And even before the action-packed session began, Roach has already expressed satisfaction with the way things are going for his prized ward.

“Manny is doing well. He’s sharp. He’s boxing really well. We’ve got the game plan all worked out and I’m really happy with where he is at,” he said.

It was announced earlier today that Roach will be the recipient of the 2008 Trainer of the Year Award from the Boxing Writers Association of America.

The Pacquiao-Hatton fight, dubbed “The Battle of East and West,” will be held on May 2 (May 3 in Manila) in Las Vegas. It will be contested in the junior welterweight division (140 pounds), where Hatton is the lineal champion.

- By Dino Maragay (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)