Pacquiao flattens Hatton
Trainer Freddie Roach predicted Manny Pacquiao would knock out Ricky Hatton in three rounds.
He was wrong.
It took Pacquiao only two rounds to do the job Saturday night, as boxing’s pound-for-pound champion knocked out Hatton with one second remaining in Round 2 of their scheduled 12-round junior welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand Garden.
It was Pacquiao’s first time fighting at 140 pounds and the Filipino’s fourth straight win in a different weight class, having already posted victories at 130 pounds, 135 and 147.
"I’m surprised this fight was so easy but I worked hard since the beginning of training camp in March," Pacquiao said. "Nothing personal, but this is as big a victory for me as when I beat Oscar De La Hoya."
Pacquiao, a minus-280 favorite, used an effective right hook to overwhelm the Englishman Hatton. But it was his trusty left hand that finished the job as Pacquiao unleashed a wicked left hook to the side of the head of Hatton, who never got up.
The end officially came at 2:59, stunning the sellout crowd of 16,262, the vast majority of whom were pulling for Hatton.
"I was just doing my job in the ring and doing my best to make the people happy," Pacquiao said. "I am satisfied."
Roach, who has trained Pacquiao for eight years, said nothing surprised him with his fighter’s performance.
"We were prepared," Roach said. "I knew it was over. Ricky fights the same way over and over. He doesn’t have the ability to adjust.
"I watched every tape of him over and over the last few months. I know him as well as I know my own fighter. We knew he pumps his hands every time before he throws a punch so we were ready for everything Ricky did."
Pacquiao, who improved to 49-3-2 with 37 knockouts, dominated from the opening bell. He established the right hook in the first 30 seconds, hammering away at Hatton, whose only answer was to hold and hit.
But Hatton was unable to hold for very long. Pacquiao set up Hatton for the first of two first-round knockdowns, using his right hand to set up the left and sent Hatton to the canvas for the first time as a junior welterweight.
He dropped Hatton again, this time with the right, with 10 seconds left in the round. Hatton survived, but he was clearly in trouble.
The improved head movement and footwork Hatton claimed to have was not evident. Pacquiao’s speed and power took away any semblance of that.
As round two began, it was clear Pacquiao was in charge. He continued to land the right hook and Hatton was in big trouble. He was getting pummeled and had no response.
The dramatic end came with Pacquiao setting up Hatton with a right, followed by the huge left to the chin.
Hatton went down in a heap, laying motionless on the canvas. Referee Kenny Bayless didn’t even bother counting.
"He just laid there," Bayless said of Hatton, whose record fell to 45-2. "He didn’t even try to get up."
Hatton was taken to Valley Hospital as a precaution. He earned $8 million for the whipping he took, while Pacquiao got $12 million.
The Hatton camp had little to say afterward. Floyd Mayweather Sr., Hatton’s trainer, had no cute poems or pearls of wisdom.
"I really thought Ricky would get him," Mayweather Sr. said. "I don’t really want to get into more than that."
Gaereth Wilkins, chief executive officer for Hatton’s promotion company, was a bit more gracious in defeat.
"Ricky is definitely sorry to all his fans," Wilkins said. "He definitely got caught with a great shot. But losing to Manny Pacquiao is no disgrace. He’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing today and maybe of all time."
Highlighting the undercard was Humberto Soto’s retention of his WBC super featherweight title on a ninth-round TKO of Benoit Gaudet.
Soto (48-7-2) dominated from the outset, knocking down Gaudet (20-2) 30 seconds into the fight. In the ninth he dropped Gaudet twice and Jay Nady called a halt to the fight at the 2:25 mark.
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