Manny Pacquiao Blasts out Ricky Hatton in Two Rounds
It only took two rounds. Two rounds was all that Manny Pacquiao needed in order to completely obliterate Ricky Hatton and his hopes at conquering the pound for pound champion.
Nothing can be taken away from Pacquiao’s performance this time. There was no old legend that had to cut more weight than he was accustomed to. What stood in Pacquiao’s way was the reigning junior welterweight champion; a fighter renowned for his strength and his power. And he was completely outmatched against the pound for pound king.
Both men were oozing confidence prior to the match. As Hatton strutted out to the ring, the look of pure concentration and focus, Pacquiao followed as happily and cheerfully as one could be. That demeanor quickly changed when the opening bell sounded.
While Pacquiao was supposed to have a hand and foot speed advantage, it was much more overwhelming than anyone could have imagined. Hatton got a hold of the quick Pacquiao a few times to try to rough him up on the inside. But Pacquiao was by and large able to dart in and out and launch his own combinations.
The trouble started for Hatton when Pacquiao launched a lead right hook. The punch met a completely unguarded and open Hatton, who spun around to the canvas. Hatton composed himself and got up to continue the fight. However, he was now facing the whirlwind storm of a full force Manny Pacquiao attack. This time it was his signature punch, a straight left hand, that sent him down. The lighting quick straight left burst through Hatton’s guard and landed on his forehead, sending him down for the second time in the round.
In between the first and second rounds, Hatton sat in his corner with a look of complete astonishment. Who could blame him? He was just hit by a truck and didn’t even see it coming, and he had to go back out there to get hit by the truck again.
Hatton only lasted until the end of that second stanza. Pacquiao leveled him this time with a left hook that left Hatton straightened and belly up on the canvas. There would be no count necessary, the semi-conscious Hatton would lay there on the canvas for several minutes.
It was a fantastic performance for Pacquiao, and now boxing fans can await an even larger event. Floyd Mayweather has made his return to the ring official, and his stated purpose is to prove that he’s still the pound for pound best.
In July he will face off against Juan Manuel Marquez, the fighter who has given Pacquiao so much trouble in the past. It is no coincidence that Mayweather chose Marquez, he’s looking to gage his skills in preparation for a massive fight against the Filipino icon.
Pacquiao did his part by besting Hatton, and doing it in a fashion to belittle the accomplishment of Mayweather, who needed ten rounds to do the same job. Now Mayweather must take care of Marquez so that boxing fans can have the match of their dreams, the last two pound for pound kings, as different in the ring and out of the ring as they can be, putting it all on the line to finally settle the question of who is better.
