PACQUIAO POWER

PACQUIAO POWER: SCORES 2ND ROUND KO OF RICKY HATTON
LAS VEGAS - With heavy artillery in both hands, Manny Pacquiao showed why he was the heavy favorite Saturday night in delivering a devastating second-round knockout victory against Ricky Hatton.

May 2, 2009 - by Chuck Johnson | Photos by Will Hart | Ed Mulholland

A sellout crowd of 16,262 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and an HBO Pay-Per-View audience saw Pacquiao's latest ring masterpiece, even though it was over almost from the start.

From their first exchange of punches, Pacquiao hit Hatton with right hands at will to score two knockdowns in the first round. It was a wonder that Hatton got up and survived that round. Barely.

But after the second round started with more of the same lopsided punishment, Pacquiao struck with lightning speed to finish off his prey. His crushing left hook found its mark on Hatton's jaw, sending the British fighter to the canvas sprawled on his back in a state of unconsciousness. The official stoppage came at 2:59 of the second round as referee Kenny Bayless didn't even bother to finish the 10-count.



In the end, Pacquiao was too quick, too skilled and totally too much for Hatton.

"I didn't think it would be so easy, but I worked hard since the beginning of March in training camp,'' said Pacquiao. "He was open for the right hook. I knew he'd be looking for the left. This was nothing personal. I was just doing my job. This was as big for me as the (Oscar) De La Hoya victory."

Pacquiao, who stopped De La Hoya on his stool in December, joined the now retired Golden Boy as the only fighters in history to win world titles in six different weight classes. In claiming Hatton's junior welterweight crown, Pacquiao also strengthened his ranking as the sport's No. 1 pound-for-pound champion.

Hatton was unavailable for comment immediately after the fitght, but Gareth Williams, CEO of Hatton Promotions, spoke on his fighter's behalf.

"Ricky's desperately sorry to all of his fans,'' Williams said. "He got caught with a good shot. We want to congratulate Manny Pacquiao for a great fight. He demonstrated why he's the best pound for pound in the world. There;'s no shame in losing to a fighter like that."

It was the first time Hatton (45-2) has lost at 140 pounds. His other defeat came at 147, also by KO, at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. An unbeaten five-time world c hampion, Mayweather was recognized as the No. 1 pound for pound champion when he "retired" after the victory against Hatton in December, 2007. On Saturday, Mayweather announced that he's coming back to claim his pound for pound title with a July 18 bout against Juan Manuel Marquez.

Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) , in demolishing Hatton, looked clearly capable of waging the pound-for-pound debate.

On the undercard, Humberto Soto defended his WBC super featherweight title in emphatic fashion by stopping Benoit Gaudet at 2:25 of the ninth round. Soto, from Los Mochis, Mexico, knocked down his Quebec, Canada opponent twice in the ninth round before referee Jay Nady halted the bout. Soto (48-7-2, 31 KOs) also scored a knockdown in the first round but needed to fight off the effects of Gaudet's inadvertent low blow in the seventh to claim the victory. Gaudet dropped to 20-2 with seven KOs.

In another fight, Brooklyn's Daniel Jacobs won a unanimous decision against Chicago's Michael Walker in an eight-round middleweight bout. Jacobs kicked off the televised portion of the show as the replacement for top prospect James Kirkland, who was recently jailed on weapons charges. Jacobs, who fought just eight days earlier, showed why he's also considered one of the middleweight division's hottest prospects, running his record to 16-0 with 15 KOs. He averaged 39 jabs per round, connecting on 225 of 767 total punches. Walker fell to 19-2-2 with 12 KOs.

Pacquaio Vs Hatton Fight is Locked and Loaded

Floyd Mayweather Sr. words for Team Pacquiao: We are the best

Floyd Mayweather Sr. can not and will never stop talking. He attacks Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach in the most blatant way. One thing good about it is that, he makes the fight more interesting. More people will get hook not only the boxing fans worldwide. Floyd Mayweather Sr. message to Pacquiao’s team is simple - KO to the Pacman.

Mayweather said: “I’ve got the best fighter and I am the best trainer. That’s the reason (he’ll win) right there. I am the best and he is the best.

“Everything is mapped out. Ricky is trying to be nice, but it’s a simple fact that we gonna bust him up. Simple as that. We gonna whup him.

“I am going to be honest with you. I think Ricky has a very, very good chance of knocking Pacquiao out.

“I think a knockout is going to be more likely than anything. Ricky’s chances are very great at that.”

Pacquiao sees very tough fight ahead

Manny Pacquiao has admitted that facing “bull strong” Ricky Hatton will be a tough ride.

That is why he said that he can’t afford to underestimate Manchester’s favorite son when they both enter the ring on May 2.

“Mabigat ito, dahil si Ricky Hatton suntok ng suntok na boksingero at sugod ng sugod. Malakas din at hindi natin pwedeng i-underestimate,” he said during the press launch of their “Battle of East versus West”.

Thongs of fight fans attended the press launch which marked the first time Pacquiao and Hatton faced each other since their fight contract was finalized.

Before leaving for England over the weekend, Pacquiao said that there will be a slight change in terms of strategy when facing the likes of Hatton.

“Pag-aaralan kong mabuti ang style ni Hatton. Pag-aaralan kong mabuti kung anong mga strategy ang mga gagawin,” said Pacquiao.

‘I know Pacquiao’s weakness’
Hatton, for his part, said the Filipino boxer is bound to absorb a lot of punishment when they tangle at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

He cited that Pacquiao’s weakness is that he couldn’t absorb body punches very well.

“Manny gets hurt with body shots, I seen him get shaken a few times. And I'm a bit a handful on you all the time,” said Hatton. “Manny's gonna absorb a lot more punishes in this fight.”

The British brawler added that come fight night, fans will see a different Hatton as opposed to the “one dimensional” fighter they used to see.

“You're gonna see a fighter with great defense, usually jabs, lots of head movements, lots of footwork and follow up,” he said.

Roach vs Mayweather Sr.
As both fighters started discussing their possible strategies, trainers Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Freddie Roach made no effort to hide their hatred for each other as they began trading barbs during the match’s initial presser.

According to a report posted on www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk, Mayweather Sr. grabbed the mike during the press conference and said: “If anybody thinks Freddie ‘the Joke’ Roach can out-train me, they have to be sick.”

Roach, however, shot back: “It’s a shame Floyd senior isn’t in the Hall of Fame.”

Mayweather Sr. later turned his warning to Pacquiao as he dished out a rhymed prediction predicting Hatton would dethrone Pacquiao: “When he beat the world legend Oscar de la Hoya, he was over the hill, now it’s time for you to swallow the same old pill.

“When it comes Manny, then you had better be ready, because I don’t want you to blame it on Freddie.”

Pacquiao officially signs contract of May 2 fight vs Hatton

Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao officially signed the contract Friday night for his most-anticipated battle against England's most famous boxer, Ricky Hatton.

Pacquiao confirmed the news to ABS-CBN correspondent Dyan Castillejo at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, where he fetched his wife, Jinky, and fourth child, Baby Queenie, on Saturday morning.

Castillejo said that according to Pacquiao, the contract has been passed on to Bob Arum of Top Rank. The contract was expected to reach England on Saturday.

Castillejo also reported over radio dzMM that the latest agreement was to hold the action packed face-off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 2.

She said Pacquiao will train for eight weeks for the big fight starting March. Before the rigorous training in the United States, she said Pacquiao and Hatton will hold separate press conferences in February in England and US.

According to Castillejo, Pacquiao will train harder for the equally aggressive Hatton. She said Pacquiao told her that he would have to watch out for Hatton's deadly left hook.

Pacquiao will be entering a new territory when he faces Hatton, who is considered the king of the 140-lbs division. He will have to go down to Hatton's turf from 147 lbs.

Pacquiao was the first Filipino to win in three divisions in a single year. He defeated Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez at 130 lbs and then David Diaz at 135 lbs.

The Filipino boxer's last victory, and according to him the sweetest in his career, was the historic fight against boxing legend Oscar dela Hoya. He beat the Golden Boy at 147 lbs.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Times' online edition reported that Arum has confirmed that he has in his possession the Pacquiao-signed contract.

The report said Arum had confirmed Pacquiao agreed to a 52-48 split in his favor and a $12 million guaranteed purse.

Three bottles of beer

A PhilBoxing.com report said Friday that Pacquiao was convinced by long-time buddy Rex Salud to sign the contract after a dare over three bottles of beer.

The report said that according to Salud, Pacquiao told him he will agree to sign the contract only after he downed three bottles of beer.

Salud, who is not a drinker, downed the three bottles of beer because he is one of the millions of Filipino boxing enthusiasts who want to see Pacquiao slug it out with Hatton.

On Wednesday, Pacquiao failed to meet the 6 p.m. deadline set by Hatton's camp. Pacquiao reportedly wanted a bigger guaranteed purse.

Franklin "Jeng" Gacal, Pacquiao's lawyer, said the decision was not about money, but principle. He said Pacquiao wanted a little respect from Hatton's camp in the negotiating table.

Mayweather Sr. underestimated Manny Pacquiao

RICKY “The Hitman” Hatton’s trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. is confident that pound-for-pound king Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao will be beaten by his ward when they face off in a mega battle on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Mayweather Sr., the father of former pound-for-pound No.1 Floyd Mayweather Jr., believes that Pacquiao will suffer the fate that he handed de la Hoya when Pacquiao squares off with Hatton in the ring.
“Hatton could stop Pacquiao. I’m telling you what I know. Hatton is going to beat Pacquiao like Pacquiao beat a dehydrated de la Hoya because that’s what he was. A lot of people got blinded by that performance from Pacquiao, but de la Hoya couldn’t have looked any worse if he wanted to,” Mayweather Sr. said in an interview by FightHype.com.

“Wait till you see this Ricky Hatton. He is going to be a different fighter. Mark my words,” said de la Hoya’s former trainer.
Hatton won his last fight against the speedy Paul Malignaggi last Nov. 22 via an 11th round technical knockout. The famed trainer isn’t convinced that Pacquiao has enough skills to defeat Hatton.

“Pacquiao is going to be in trouble. Don’t be surprised if Hatton stops him. Pacquiao still is not that skilled,” said Mayweather Sr.

These statements which Mayweather Sr. gave should be actually directed to his very own self centered son, Floyd Mayweather Jr. Everything he said summed all up to the junior. His son just got lucky when Ricky Hatton fights while disgusted and pissed off with the referee. It’s obvious, the Hatton vs Mayweather jr. is a crap.

Should Floyd Mayweather Jr. come back in the ring?

Shane Mosley defeated the most feared boxer Antonio Margarito pretty easily. The question is should Floyd Mayweather jr. fight Shane Mosley or the winner between the Pacquiao vs Hatton fight on May 2.

Shane Mosley’s surprise annihilation of Antonio Margarito was a vivid reminder of how much star power can be found at 147 pounds. Miguel Cotto still does his business here, as do Andre Berto, Kermit Cintron and Josh Clottey. But what separate the welters from the other divisions are the part-timers, including Paul Williams, Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather. All of those pound-for-pound stars have fought at welterweight sometime within the past 18 months. - ESPN

I was wondering why some boxing fanatics want Mayweather jr. to come back in the ring? Is it because he is the undisputed pound for pound boxer? Or, they just want to see him get annihilated by the real pound for pound fighters out there today. Man, we all know that he is not the boxer that we’d like to watch, he is not the boxer that would fight ‘mano a mano’, this is the boxer that would hit and run up to the 12 round.
His technique is pretty much for the win only and not for the kill. If you know Zahir Raheem who fought Erik Morales - he has the same boxing skills as of money Floyd. I’m not taking away anything from they, they are smart fighters, but the skills and techniques they have is pretty much in to me. Anyway, my question is should Floyd Mayweather jr. come back to ring after all the odds around him?