RICKY Hatton’s British trainer Lee Beard is full of praise for Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao, with whom the International Boxing Organization light welterweight champion squares off in the “Battle of East and West” in Las Vegas on May 2.

Beard, in a lengthy overseas telephone conversation with www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports, said he had met Pacquiao before at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym in Los Angeles and described the Filipino champ as a great person. “Like Roach, Pacquiao is a very humble guy. They both welcomed me to the gym, where I watched Manny sparring.”

Beard recalled that he went up to Pacquiao’s suite after the David Diaz fight. “He gave me a signed pair of shorts and I gave him a black T-shirt. He is truly a nice guy and one of my favorite fighters.”

He said he was looking forward to meeting Pacquiao and Roach again when they visit London and Manchester on the promotional tour which opens at the end of February.

“Every time you watch Pacquiao fight, it’s a great fight. He is a fun fighter who puts his heart on his sleeve.”

Looking ahead to the Pacquiao-Hatton showdown, Beard described it as “a very difficult fight because of the magnitude of things. But it’s the one fight Ricky wants and I’m glad the fight has been made.” He classified the showdown as a “massive fight” for Hatton. Ronnie Nathanielsz