Speed, not just power will shock Pacquaio, says Hatton

Briton Ricky Hatton will return to the scene of his only career defeat in May and believes Manny Pacquaio will discover a far superior fighter to the one outclassed by Floyd Mayweather Jnr little more than a year ago.

The light-welterweight fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas offers Hatton, the undisputed king of the 140 pounds division, a chance to claim the title of the world's best pound-for-pound fighter.

To do that, though, he must beat Filipino southpaw Pacquaio, the four-weight world champion who crushed Oscar de la Hoya when he stepped up to welterweight in December.

"I will always go for the knockout but I can't go crash-bang-wallop against a fighter like Manny," Hatton, who has a record of 45-1 with 32 knockouts, told reporters yesterday.

"I strongly believe I will be as fast as Manny. If I'm not as fast as Manny, I'll only be the narrowest of margins behind. He's going to get a shock.

"The technical side and the speed will shock him more than anything."

Hatton believes his decision to begin working with Floyd Mayweather Snr after being defeated by his son in the welterweight title clash in Las Vegas in December 2007, has re-ignited his career.

He retained his IBO light-welterweight belt with ease against Paulie Malignaggi last November with Mayweather in the corner.

"With the technical stuff that me and Floyd have been working on, the hand speed, the combinations punches, my all-round defence and boxing ability, I think Manny has got something else to worry about rather than just my sheer size," the Manchester native said.

While Hatton has spent his career as a light welterweight, Pacquaio has won belts at flyweight, super-bantamweight, super feather-weight and lightweight before destroying de la Hoya in welterweight contest last year.

"It's phenomenal what Manny has achieved," Hatton said.

"But I'm the biggest man he's faced. I've always said at 140 pounds I believe I'm too strong."