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Six-division world champion, No. 1 pound for pound kingpin, boxing’s top attraction, the best fighter of his era…call him what you want, but one thing is certain, boxing finally has a super hero and his name is Manny Pacquiao!
Ricky “Hitman” Hatton, 45-2 (32), from Manchester, England, the junior welterweight champion who had never lost a fight at 140 pounds, learned that firsthand Saturday night, enduring two first-round knockdowns before being sent to sleep at 2:59 of round two courtesy of a picture-perfect Pacquiao left cross.
With his third consecutive knockout victory in as many different weight divisions at the expense of David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya and Hatton, Pacquiao, from General Santos City, Philippines, has become the darling of deadline writers!
“Nothing personal, just doing my job”, said the modest Pacquiao, 49-3-2 (37), immediately after the fight. “I was surprised that this was so easy, but I worked hard in training camp since the beginning of March.
‘Freddie Roach and I worked a lot on my right hook because we knew Ricky would be looking for my left. After I knocked him down the first time with the right hook, he was open for everything.
“I had a lot of respect for Ricky’s power and that is why I worked so hard in training camp. Anything less would not have been sufficient to defeat him.
“One of the biggest advantages I have is that every fight is an opportunity to give honor to the Philippines. The Filipino people don’t just give me their support, they also give me their strength, their pride and their love. It’s an awesome power and a big responsibility. I am truly blessed.”
Three-time BWAA trainer of the year Freddie Roach was the least surprised of anyone who watched the fight in the soldout MGM Grand Garden Arena or on pay-per-view.
“I told Manny from the first day of training camp that I would be disappointed in him if he let this fight go past the third round. And if it’s one thing I know about Manny, it’s that he hates to disappoint me,” said Roach
“The scary thing is we still have not seen the best of Manny Pacquiao. I have never trained an athlete like Manny who after more than 50 fights is still willing to learn new techniques and is able to apply them.
“One of the reasons Manny is so hard to fight is because you never see the same Manny two times in a row. He always has a new style making him totally unpredictable and impossible to anticipate. Plus his conditioning is supreme to anyone in the sport. He is an athletic phenomenon.
“I get a lot of credit for his success, but it’s Manny who does the work in the gym and does the fighting in the ring. He’s incredible. His last four fights have been at four different weight divisions. He goes up in weight. He goes down in weight. He fights the best in each division”.
It’s a special edition of World Championship Boxing when HBO Sports presents Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton, the exclusive replay of their junior welterweight showdown, this saturday, May 9 at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT on HBO.
The HBO Sports team, which was ringside for the live event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, will call the action. The replay will be available in HDTV.
The Pacquiao-Hatton replay will be paired with the previously announced live HBO presentation of the light heavyweight title fight featuring Chad Dawson and challenger Antonio Tarver. It’s the second meeting between the two accomplished competitors.
