Chat with Teddy Atlas
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Hatton and Pacquiao battle Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for Hatton's Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight title. Besides serving as a boxing commentator, Atlas is also a boxing trainer.
Send your questions now and then come back at 4 p.m. ET on Friday to chat!
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This week's boxing chats: Manny Pacquiao |
Dan Rafael |
Freddie Roach |
Bert Sugar
Previous chat guests | SportsNation index
Buzzmaster (3:53 PM)
Teddy Atlas will be here at the top of the hour to take your questions on the Pacquiao-Hatton fight tomorrow night!
Dustin Mehojevich Slidell, LA
We hear about Manny's footwork. Hatton has good footwork as well. Is Hatton's footwork being underrated in this fight?
Teddy Atlas (4:06 PM)
Obviously, you haven't been watching Friday Night Fights, because I talked about that this past Friday. Hatton doesn't match up from the waist up with Manny. Manny's much quicker. But where Hatton does give himself a good chance and where he is underrated is quickness of feet. He's going to have to use those quick feet to pull the upset. He'll have to use speed into the equation.
Matthew(Quwait)
Hey Teddy am a big fan. Teddy who do ya think is the better trainer Roach or Mayweather.
Teddy Atlas (4:07 PM)
You have to go with Roach. He's developed more fighters, if we're being honest. Mayweather has had his hands on one fighter, his son. Those are special circumstances when a father has his son as a fighter. He gets him into the ring at a really early age.
Steve, Reno, Nevada
I'm concerned that Ricky's lifestyle and eating habits in between fights will catch up with him. Did he balloon up in weight, eat poorly and imbibe a lot since his last fight?
Teddy Atlas (4:09 PM)
You have a reason to be worried, because that has been his track record. I don't know that he is ever going to be sponsored by Jenny Craig for a diet spot or proper eating spot. But from what I understand, in the past it has not been unusual for him to have to cut 40-50 pounds in weight, that hasn't been the case coming into this fight.
Ray (College Park, MD)
If the fight is a bloody war and seemingly dead-even going into the 11th round, who do you think is more likely to close out the deal?
Teddy Atlas (4:10 PM)
If it's a bloody war and it's dead even, the kind of picture you're painting, that means that HAtton is having his way to a great extent. If that's the case and at that late stage, it's that kind of fight, the kind of fight that favors Hatton. You have to go the rest of the way and say that it favors Hatton.
Dan: (Pittsburgh, PA)
do you agree with Sugar that Pacquiao is already an all time great?
Teddy Atlas (4:12 PM)
I think Bert is making sure he stays in good favor to you youngins, you young audience out there. I don't see too many fighters from this era that match up with fighters from past years, when you had so many good fighters. You had the best fighting the best every week. You had careers that spanned 200-300 professional fights.
Sean P. Miller (Philadelphia PA)
In years past we would see the best fighters fight each other. Hearns/Hagler, Hagler/Leonard, and so on. Why do you believe we do not see that often today?
Teddy Atlas (4:13 PM)
First of all, you don't have as many good amateur programs and places to develop good fighters. Secondly, everybody's looking for hte quick dollar. If they can navigage their fighter to a safe place and avoid the top guys, that could make for great fights and could make their fighters develop even greater. They take the easier road, or the safer road.
Shane (Staten Island NY)
Being that the fight is at 140 does that give hatton any significant advantage pacqiao?
Teddy Atlas (4:14 PM)
If you're going to build a case for Hatton to win, it has to be built on something. One place to start building that house is on size advantage. He can get through the risks of the early rounds and with pressure start to wear down a man who started his pro career at 106 pounds.
Teresa Wolfe, TX
Teddy, with none of these two fighters being American or from North American... are you shocked with the mainstream media attention its been getting? Seems only De La Hoya fights have gotten this type of exposure in the last few years.
Teddy Atlas (4:15 PM)
These fighters have fought in front of enough American audiences and PPV audiences for the word to have gotten out in this country that this is a fight of interest.
Teddy Atlas (4:15 PM)
Not to mention fight fans are hungry for a good match.
Tim (Pittsburgh,PA)
Teddy, what do you think Manny has to do to beat Hatton on saturday?
Teddy Atlas (4:16 PM)
He's got to control the center of the ring. Stay away from the ropes. Punch as Hatton tries to close the distance.
Daniel Z. (burbank, CA)
Teddy huge fan here. If pacman wins tomorow do u see mayweather coming back to fight him?
Teddy Atlas (4:17 PM)
Again, Daniel, you should be watching Friday Night Fights on a regular basis. Please do. I said two years ago or so when Mayweather retired that it was a temporary move. He would be waiting for a big fight to come about. Once that big fight came about, Money Mayweather would again join our sport.
E.L. Trujillo (Mile High City)
How is it going Teddy? Will Hatton fighting on the inside be enough to neutralize Manny's speed?
Teddy Atlas (4:19 PM)
That I'm sure is his plan, if he can get there. The problem with Hatton is we have this perception that he's this inside machine. Truth be told, he does as much grabbing as he does punching, when he does get close for the most part.
Tony (Redondo Beach,CA)
Hey Teddy,Who do you think has to make the most adjustments to counter their opponents style and who do you think can make a quicker in fight adjustment?
Teddy Atlas (4:19 PM)
I would say obviously it has to be Hatton. There's a reason why he's the underdog. He also has to make the adjustment of learning new things with a new trainer.
Peter, Edmonton Canada
Like everyone else asking, who wins Saturday night? Hatton or PacMan?
Teddy Atlas (4:21 PM)
The easy pick, the safe pick would be Pacquiao. Too fast. Too confident. But I don't try to make a lot of easy picks. I try to make the unfashionable ones. So, I'm going to make a case at Hatton gets past the danger rounds early and finds a way to put pressure on and starts to be effective and pulls off the upset.
Dave (Villanova)
Hi Teddy, how much of a difference will the change in Hatton's corner actually make? Can a trainer make a big difference this late in a fighters career?
Teddy Atlas (4:22 PM)
It can work both ways. It can be detremental to the fighter, confusing to the fighter. If his new trainer didn't try to evoke too much change, just some subtle adjustments and some tweaking tha tmakes sense, then it could be a positive thing. It's going to need to be that for Hatton to be competitive.
Andrew (Hamilton, On)
Teddy, if you could train any of the top guys today, who would it be and why?
Teddy Atlas (4:24 PM)
It would probably be not one of the developed pros of today, but one of the amatuers coming out of the international or Olympic programs. Something that I might see that's raw or worth developing. Something that I could have a hand in that development.
Will (Melbourne Florida)
Hey Teddy, Is it better for boxing for Pacman to win to fight Mayweather or Hatton to win because of his strong charisma and English following?
Teddy Atlas (4:25 PM)
You said it already. Pacquiao winning sets up the biggest event. Boxing has become an event driven sport. But I also like the idea that somebody who's been toppled can come back. There's something fresh about that and inspiring about that. I think people go towards inspiring stories.
Teddy Atlas (4:26 PM)
As always, good talking to the best fans in the world. Some of you guys, hopefully you'll pass the test better and I'll talk to you and you'll have been watching Friday Night Fights. I just picked Hatton so you'll have something to talk about Teddy getting another one wrong.
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