TRAINER Freddie Roach said the showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Britain?s Ricky Hatton will be a very good fight for the Filipino ring icon.

Roach, who spoke to www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports from his Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, conceded that Hatton is a tough guy who never lost at 140 pounds.

?But there?s always a first time for everyone,? said Roach, who noted that Hatton has a different style from Oscar de la Hoya, who Pacquiao pulverized over eight rounds at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Dec. 6. ?He [Hatton] is more aggressive.?

The celebrated trainer, who honed the skills of Pacquiao and turned him into the no. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, revealed that Hatton ?likes to hold a lot. He throws one or two punches, then holds.?

But Roach indicated he?s figured a way to get out of that situation.

Roach said training camp will open on March 1 and from then on, it will be the same rigorous routine, which was followed for the De la Hoya fight following a historic press tour.

This time around, it would be a first for Pacquiao since it will kickoff in London and Manchester (hometown of Hatton) later this month, followed by a swing through key cities in the US in the last week of February.

?Then, we?ll start training right after the press tour,? added Roach. ?I?ve been thinking about sparring partners and have a couple of guys in mind.?

In an overseas telephone conversation with www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said the US press tour stops will be in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Arum said he met with Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer in Las Vegas after which they met separately with the representatives of MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood and Wynn.

?We will weigh all the offers and pick the one that?s best for the promotion and the fighters and so forth. But right now, I don?t know exactly where it?s going to be.?

Arum said he was glad to have Roach in their corner. ?There is no trainer around better than Freddie Roach. He knows what he?s doing.?

The Top Rank promoter also expressed his disappointment over world flyweight champion Nonito Donaire?s decision to train in Baguio City with World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion Gerry Pe?alosa and his brothers, former world champion Dodie Boy and Jonathan Pe?alosa. Ronnie Nathanielsz