As the main boxing event of the year approaches, online sports betting handicappers are foaming at the mouth like a group of construction workers watching Meagan Fox walk by.

Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton will take on Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas, Nevada, which will be a true prize fight. Neither fighter will spend too much time dancing around the ring as boxing betting fans know these guys love confrontation.

The real question that a lot of people want to know is whether Pacquiao’s speed is comparable to Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s and if that’s the case, then how will Hatton handle it?

Pacquiao is off a huge win against Oscar De La Hoya but there are some differences between The Golden Boy and The Hitman.

De La Hoya was old, slow and faded by the time he fought Pacquiao and that proved to be the difference. Hatton is younger and faster, and he probably has more power at this point than The Golden Boy had when he fought Pacquiao.

Hatton is a brave fighter but he is more of a brawler. Pacquiao used to be very similar but his ascent from just a good fighter to greatness has been his improved technique. Trainer Freddie Roach has worked with Pacquiao to improve his footwork, defense and he’s improved as a fighter as he’s come up in weight classes.

Pacquiao has the edge in speed, technique and training. Hatton is bigger and stronger. As we’ve come to find out, bigger and stronger doesn’t always lead to victory.

Hatton’s main strategy will be to corner Pacquiao on the ropes and tee off on him. But Pacquiao is too smart to get caught there and he’ll keep the fight in the center of the ring.

De La Hoya also tried to get the fight up on the ropes but his problem was that Pacquiao was faster and beat him to the punch every time. The same might happen again to Hatton, who is not the fighter he once was.

While Pacquiao is peaking heading into this fight, Hatton has some mental hurdles to overcome. Hatton had a devastating loss to Mayweather Jr. last year and he barely beat Juan Lazcano after that. He has changed trainers and is tweaking his philosophy as he approaches the biggest fight of his career.

The two fighters are in different spots right now and Pacquiao is too good to falter in this spot. He understands the magnitude of this fight, he knows what Hatton is capable of and that’s why Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound king of boxing, will add another win to his resume.