By Ronnie Nathanielsz

BRITAIN’S International Boxing Organization junior welterweight champion Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton will train for 12 weeks for his mega-buck battle with Filipino icon and world’s no. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 2.

The blockbuster showdown will be held either at the sprawling Thomas and Mack Center or the MGM Grand Garden Arena, both in Las Vegas.

Standard Today, www.insidesports.ph and Viva Sports had the opportunity to talk to Hatton’s father, Ricky Hatton, just as he was stepping out of his home to begin celebrating the New Year with friends.

Hatton said his son will have a 12-week training camp. “But he may go over to Vegas a little bit late after training in Florida or he may train over here [in Britain]. However, Hatton said they would discuss the details with Ricky Hatton and his trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. in early January after the New Year.”

Hatton’s father said he expects the Pacquiao-Hatton clash to be “an absolutely super fight and anybody, who likes their style and likes boxing, that’s what they are going to get. There is no way this fight will disappoint anybody. There’s not a chance for that.”

Ray Hatton said he expects Ricky to fight much better than in some of his recent fights, pointing out that with Floyd Mayweather Sr., the fighter went back to basics.

“Mayweather got Ricky to do the things he used to do… moving his head and also moving his feet. In the last couple of years unfortunately, he’s not been doing that.”

Hatton said you could imagine what it will do when Mayweather Sr. picks up where he left off, “doing the same sort of things again.”

Ray Hatton indicated that the financial side is already a done deal. “Obviously, we would have liked for Manny to come and fight over here. We are trying to put a little bit of a package together to see if we can make something agreeable to both sides to try and have it over here. But, as you know, America always has the big bucks so we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Hatton stressed that most of the hard part, the financial side has been agreed on and both fighters want the fight to proceed, although he said they would have liked to have the fight a little bit later than the proposed HBO date. “But unfortunately, when an opportunity comes along, you’ve got to take it.”

Before ending, Ray Hatton said he was going to enjoy one hell of of a new year. “And we’re going to have one helluva fight.”