The boxing world will take center stage once again this Saturday night with the most anticipated fight of 2009 between Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and Ricky “Hitman” Hatton. The battle will take place at the famous MGM Grand Gardens Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The junior welter-weight bout promises to be a contest that displays fast furious punching between two of the top fighters in the world. These two fighters are among the most aggressive and quickest punchers on the planet which is certain to display some great boxing action.

Pacquiao was involved previously in one of the most anticipated fights in recent memory when he battled with the legend Oscar De La Hoya. Pacquiao dominated the fight throwing flurries that were simply too quick for De La Hoya to defend. By the time the 9th round had begun, De La Hoya with a nearly swollen shut eye threw in the towel giving the win by way of technical knockout to Pacquiao. Pacquiao is considered the best pound for pound fighter in the world and rightfully so. Pacman will be competing in his 4th different weight class in the last 4 fights as he won all previous battles. Pacquiao sports tons of speed that never goes away even late in fights. Speed so great that once De La Hoya started tiring the fight turned from bad to worse as Pacquiao was relentless with connects. Pacquiao may be among the most popular fighters in the world for his exciting fast paced style of punches. With a career record of 48-3-2, Pacquiao will be heavy favorite at -275 odds to win the fight this Saturday night.

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Ricky Hatton is another fighter that seems to have it all. The fighter out of Greater Manchester, England is very popular among the British fans. However, Hatton is being overshadowed by the Pacman crazed society. Hatton has lost only once in his 12 year career and that was to the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr who retired last year at the top of his game. In that fight, Hatton actually got off to a great start against the undefeated icon. Hatton landed some early punches that got Mayweather off balance. However, as the fight went on Mayweather was able to adapt and landed some punches that cut the fighter’s eye eventually leading to his defeat the only one of his career. After the fight, Mayweather called the fight “possibly the toughest of his career.” Hatton is very aggressive fighter that comes right at his opponents. On top of his stellar resume which consist of a career record of 45-1 (32 KOs), Hatton has a great asset in his corner in trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr who was also needless to say a great fighter in his day. Hatton will enter the fight as a +190 underdog and will be trying to score the same type upset Pacquiao completed over De La Hoya.

The fight has many interesting tidbits to consider if you plan on putting down a wager. Hatton is turning out to be a sizeable underdog; however he is fighting at a weight class which he has never been defeated. Pacquiao will be fighting at the 5th different weight class of his career which has not seemed to matter considering he has dominated at every division. Pacquiao is generally the smaller and quicker puncher. However, the “Hitman” is known for landing some vicious punches that can change the fight with one blow. Pacquiao should have the advantage out of the gates, but it will be interesting to see how the fight turns out if it makes it to the later rounds. Hatton could really give Pacquiao problems with his relentless in your face style of boxing while Pacman is sure to give the Hitman some issues with his speed. The over/under for the contest has been set at 9.5 rounds which is slightly later than most junior welterweight bouts last. However, this fight could be one for the ages. Major sports books are offering all types of different betting options for the fight including the fight outcome, round betting, round group betting, and if the fight will go the distance. We would definitely like to jump on the -180 side to place a bet the fight will not go the scheduled 12 rounds. With these two quick hard hitting fighters in the ring, 12 rounds seems a bit of a stretch.