Hatton questions Mayweather’s training choice

Ricky Hatton has questioned the wisdom of Floyd Mayweather’s decision to once again be trained by his father.

Mayweather senior will train his son for the highly-anticipated fight against Manny Pacquiao on May 2 having reunited after a public falling-out in 2000.

Hatton was trained by Mayweather senior for his victory over Paulie Malignaggi in 2008 but the coach was also in his corner for the Pacquiao bout a year later, in which the Mancunian was knocked out in the second round in a devastating display by the multi-weight world champion.

Mayweather senior is renowned as being an excellent defensive coach but Hatton is unconvinced of his skills beyond that and is left with particularly grim memories of his humbling at the hands of Pacquiao.

“He taught me a lot, he taught me a new side to the game in many ways,” he said. “He taught me a lot of methods that I still use now as a boxing trainer.

“He was a very good defensive coach and when I fought Paul Malignaggi it couldn’t have gone any better, that was probably the best fight I produced since that Kostya Tszyu fight.

“Having said that, the training didn’t go quite as well for the Pacquiao fight. The tactics could have been better, there wasn’t too much method there.

“He’s not the best trainer in the corner I’ve had but he is a very good trainer nonetheless.”

Pacquiao, meanwhile, will be trained by Freddie Roach, the hall of fame trainer for whom British light-welterweight Amir Khan has nothing but high praise.

Roach trained Khan for four years from 2008 to 2012 and was in Khan’s corner when he won the vacant WBA International title against Oisin Fagan with a second-round stoppage.

“He’s been a fighter himself so he knows how it feels to be inside the ring and he reads the fight quite well,” he said.

“When he was with me, he knew I was a quick fighter so he worked on that speed to make me even more precise with my combinations.

“Last time he trained someone who was facing Mayweather, Oscar de la Hoya, he got really close and a lot of people thought he actually won the fight.”