Oddsmakers and a handful of dreamers gave Hatton a fighting chance against the man now universally recognized as the pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. Hatton's last fight, a TKO11 over feather-fisted Paulie Malignaggi last December, convinced some that the old Hatton was back and had the goods to stop Pacquiao in his tracks. At the same time, these same people reasoned that Pacquiao’s recent win over a faded Oscar De La Hoya didn't count for much, since Oscar was on his last legs (and has since retired).So much for prognostications.
Hatton, having starved himself, as usual, to make weight, (he gained 12 lbs. from the time of the weigh-in to the fight the next day) entered the ring looking like a ghost. Whatever strength he possessed had to have been strength of character, because he appeared severely depleted, despite his chiseled physique, as though he had left what fight he still possessed in the gym; or, perhaps, in the record books.
Pacquiao, by contrast, never looked stronger. He knocked Hatton down twice in round one, always a harbinger of things to come, and continued his assault in the second, before delivering the coup de grace, a picture-perfect left hook at 2:59. Hatton didn’t see the punch coming and crashed to the canvas. Referee Kenny Bayless didn‘t even bother to count. The fight was over.
"This fight was no surprise to me," said Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach after the bout. "I knew him (Hatton) better than my own fighter. Hatton pumps his fist before he throws. We also knew he'd be looking for the left."
"I'm surprised the fight was so easy," Pacquiao said. "I worked hard in training camp and he was open for the right all night. It was nothing personal. I was just doing my job."
And a fine job it was. All that's left now is for Pacquiao to meet, and very likely destroy, Floyd Mayweather Jr.
OT: A Manny Pacquiao Signed Everlast Gloves at the Official Manny Pacquiao website.Is this for real? Looks authentic to me.
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