It took just 359 seconds to add the latest devastating chapter to a legacy that will last for decades.
Manny Pacquiao’s flurried fists made short work of Ricky Hatton on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and delivered the most emphatic proof yet that boxing has a superstar for the ages operating at his peak.
Pacquiao sent the Englishman crashing to the canvas twice in a frenetic first round, then sealed the contest with a brutal left hook that had Hatton out cold on his back with one tick remaining in the second round.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have announced his comeback from a brief and scarcely-believable retirement on Saturday morning. But there can be no doubt that Pacquiao is boxing’s undisputed king as he continues to ride a remarkable wave of momentum.
“Our strategy was the one punch,” Pacquiao said. “Left hook. Right hook. That was going to be the key to this fight.”
The Filipino fighter is a quiet and reserved man out of the ring, but between the ropes he morphs into an electrifying machine – and Hatton felt his full force.
The Hatton camp had hoped their man’s power would be telling, yet he simply had no response to Pacquiao’s pace and precision. A right hook put Hatton down with 54 seconds remaining in round one and proved to be the beginning of the end.
“I knew it was over,” said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer. “Ricky fights the same way over and over. He doesn’t have the ability to adjust.”
As Pacquiao moved in for the finish in the second round, Hatton tried to cling on only to be sent down again with a fierce straight left. Doctors immediately rushed to the aid of Hatton, who eventually and thankfully was able to walk from the ring under his own steam.
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