By Ronnie Nathanielsz

WHILE Ricky Hatton may be in better shape than he was prior to his previous fights, he still doesn?t look anywhere near as fit as Manny Pacquiao.

That?s the assessment of Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who was with Pacquiao in their incredibly successful and high-profile promotional tour in Hatton?s hometown of Manchester and London.

Shortly after his arrival from London, Arum told www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that Hatton looked in better shape than before. ?But he is still very heavy. My guess is that he was like 165 pounds while Manny looked very trim and around 150 pounds.?

But in their final media conference at the historic Imperial War Museum, Hatton claimed he was in fantastic condition already. ?This shows you how much I am up for this fight.?

Arum was completely enamored with Pacquiao and the way he handled himself.

?Manny really captured England. It was unbelievable. The English media went nuts about him. He was humble, down-to-earth and very exotic. So unlike a normal fighter. His is a great story,? said Arum.

Arum praised Philippine Ambassador to Britain Edgardo Espiritu, who he said was very helpful.

?I didn?t realize there were so many Filipinos in England. Everywhere we went, Manny was besieged by them and it was a tremendous buildup to the fight,? the Top Rank promoter said.

Arum revealed that when Pacquiao heard Mass last Sunday at Westminster Cathedral, ?he set an attendance record. Every seat was filled. They reserved a pew for him in the first row and the priest acknowledged Manny.

?The priest said ?we have a distinguished visitor with us.? There were hundreds and hundreds of people outside. It was unbelievable,? said Arum.

The promoter, who is considered an icon in boxing, predicted the fight will be a classic because Hatton as a fighter, is an attraction. ?As a fight. It?s got to be a great fight because of the styles of these two fighters which is very exciting. As a box-office attraction, it has a huge dimension because of the tremendous number of pay-per-view buys in England.?