By Ronnie Nathanielsz

VETERAN British boxing writer Colin Hart said world?s no. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao will win by knockout over Ricky Hatton when they clash at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 2.

Hart, who writes a regular column in The Sun newspaper and is considered as the ?Voice of Boxing,? predicted a Pacquiao win despite conceding that Hatton had improved under trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr.

He said that after beating Hatton, the Filipino boxing hero would cement his place as one of boxing?s greatest fighters ever.

Hart said the Pacquiao-Hatton showdown titled ?The Battle of East and West? is the biggest fight of the year so far. ?There are many boxing cliches and one of the biggest is that styles make fights. These two have got the styles to make it a war from beginning to end. Pacquiao is not just an icon, he is a national treasure back in the Philippines.?

The noted boxing writer said the Pacquiao-Hatton fight will be decided on speed. ?Pacquiao has got extremely fast hands, he?s faster than Hatton and at 140 pounds, he will be too quick for Hatton.?

Hart said he believes it will be a fascinating fight and a very close one. ?But Pacquiao will assert himself after the halfway stage, as he did against Oscar de la Hoya. Unfortunately, for Hatton?s fans who went to America when he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr., I think they are going to be disappointed again.?

The boxing authority said he wouldn?t be surprised if Pacquiao stops Hatton in the late rounds, ?maybe 9 or 10.?

Pacquiao continued his training at the Wild Card Gym under the supervision of former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer in the absence of trainer Freddie Roach, who is in England preparing lightweight prospect Amir Khan for his battle with Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera on March 14.

There?s still a lot of work to be done for Pacquiao to get into the shape he was for the De la Hoya fight last Dec. 6.

Conditioning expert Alex Ariza told www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that he sat down with Pacquiao and discussed his training program.

?He?ll be going back to the plyometrics-ballistic training program for three to four weeks and we?ll be focusing on speed, sprints and footwork for the last three weeks,? said Ariza. ?Pacquiao was looking forward to doing the plyometrics routine, which is very hard and very taxing.