RICKY PIECE - LEAVE

Ricky Hatton fights mean one thing first and foremost... conflict. Not between Britain's favourite fighter and whoever is going to be on the receiving end when the bell finally sounds, that's for them to sort out, but between heart and mind. Our hearts and minds. We've all been here before and Saturday's showdown with Manny Pacquiao is no different. We all want Ricky to win, but judging by the bookmakers odds, feedback our coverage has recieved and the facts in front of us, we don't all think he will. As fight night draws ever closer, we try and fathom out what will happen. In our hearts we want one of us, a guy that lives the most normal of lives in between fights to triumph. Yet in our heads we cannot escape the fact that the Filipino phenomenon is the pound-for-pound best and has laid waste to plenty of worthy pretenders to that throne. If you're like me, you have changed your mind on this more times than you have changed your underwear. And yes, that does mean once a day... at least. Every time I see Pacquiao pounding the pads I can see him being too quick for the Hitman. Every time I see him floor a sparring partner I fear for Ricky. And every time I read the names, Barrera, Morales, Marquez and De La Hoya on his impressive slate, I see Hatton's second pound-for-poind dream shattered. But then I watch Ricky working out under the admittedly unsettling eye of Floyd Mayweather Sr and I'm starting to sway. Then I see the fighters side-by-side and I remember that strength and size will be on Ricky's side. When I finally hear the Hitman talk, I have turned completely. Fresh boxers? The Hitman strikes me as just that. Listen to Hatton talk and this might well be different. There aren't the nerves we've seen in his recent Vegas ventures, there certainly isn't the excitable agitation that was so evident - yet so overlooked - when he challenged Floyd Mayweather Jr 17 months ago. Hatton is relaxed and assured, clear of what lies ahead. Look at him and there is also a difference. Remember the colds, the air-conditioning problems, the struggles with weight? Remember the poor skin, the pertruding cheekbones and the pale complexion? Not this time. Hatton looks healthier than ever, clean, bright and to use his own word, "buzzing". Of course, actions speak louder than words and there hasn't been a fighter yet who hasn't talked up his chances. Hatton though, has never been one for predictions. He is too polite and respectful of Pacquiao to do it, but this time he is all but promising victory. He feels he let everyone in Britain down when he was beaten by Mayweather - there goes another heart-string - and he wants to put it right. Whether or not he was out-classed or whether or not Joe Cortez was to blame for what was ultimately a boxing lesson doesn't matter. Hatton sounds like he win this one. And Jack the Lad may just have matured. The switch in trainers was a bold move at an uncertain time and only in Sin City on Sunday morning will we see if the gamble has truly paid off. His odds have improved though. For a start even though Mayweather Snr might not believe it, he did watch his weight coming into this. Come to think of it, weight hasn't even been an issue. The only 'w' word from an unusually subdued, yet somehow steelier Team Hatton has been 'win'. They are convinced they have the beating of Pacquiao. They are certain he has the skills to establish superiority and they know they have the size and strength to make it count. Hatton, Mayweather Snr and Lee Beard have watched untold film of Pacquiao in action, like most of us not off to Vegas attempting to stage our own big-fight build-up. They have seen things, like the roll out to his right where a Hatton left will be waiting. They have seen him tagged continuously by decent fighters but not with the sheer aggression Ricky has. And they have seen him stopped by bodyshots. Of course, we have seen Hatton humbled by Pacquiao's pound-for-pound predecessor. But that was at welterweight. If you're swaying, have got one leg in a fresh pair of pants, remember: Ricky has never lost at 140lbs. He has beaten the best, big guys, southpaws and slicksters. At light-welterweight he always finds a way to win. He knows that, we know that and Pacquiao and his people know that. Freddie Roach could tell me the sky is green and I'd probably believe him. When he predicted another Hagler-Hearns our hearts skipped a beat. First with anticipation, then with apprehension, for Ricky. Now Roach, who called Khan-Barrera and Pacqiuao-De La Hoya spot on, has stood down and is looking at a points win. Starting to sway yet? Forget De La Hoya. He was, as Roach predicted, shot, an empty shell. Or if you can't get Pacquiao's performance out of your mind - and why would you not remember a riveting display? - then try and imagine what a fit and firing Hatton would have done to the same weight-drained Golden Boy. Maybe I am trying to convince myself. I have never been the best at predicting fights and have more or less given up. For every Cook-to-beat-Arthur cash-in there is a wasted quickfire tenner on Khan-Earl, so I've given up trying to be clever. But when Ricky Hatton hits the radar, it's different. It's impossible not to care and it's impossible not to call. It's also impossible not to change my mind. Yesterday it was Pac Man, today it is the Hitman. Come Sunday morning though, I think Ricky Hatton will, by hook or by crook, become pound-for-pound champion. There will no doubt be the odd doubt or 24 knocking about, but I have seen and heard enough to tell me there will be no change of underwear, not this time. And that could, of course, stink...