Manny Pacquiao continues to carve his name in boxing history finishing Ricky Hatton in the second round of their scheduled 12-round bout dubbed the Battle of East and West Sunday (Saturday US Time) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao’s speed was the key to his KO victory over the British boxing superstar forcing Hatton to kiss the canvass three times, the last one forcing referee Kenny Bayless to stop the fight before the end of the second round.
The victory makes Pacquiao, 30, a six-time world champion in five weight divisions and keeps him as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
He now adds Hatton’s International Boxing Organization (IBO) and Ring Magazine junior featherweight crowns to his already impressive list. Pacquiao previously won the WBC lightweight and super-featherweight, IBF super bantamweight, WBC flyweight and Ring Magazine featherweight crowns.
Pacquiao, wearing white trunks with black trim, dominated Hatton in the shortened-match that silenced the football-like atmosphere brought by the “Hitman’s" British fans. Pacquiao landed a total of 73 punches compared to the Hatton’s 18.
After Hatton went down twice in the first round, the People’s Champ Pacquiao upped the tempo in the second then ended the match with a left hook that rocked the “Hitman" cold.
Pacquiao used two stinging hooks, first with a left and then with a right, to floor Hatton twice in the first. The speedy-puncher from General Santos City thus cemented his status as the world’s pound-for-pound king of boxing.
He also ended Hatton's unbeaten streak at the 140-lb division, which previously was the "Hitman's" playing ground.
Martin Nievera, wearing a T-shirt designed by the late rapper Francis Magalona, broke tradition by being the first male to sing the Philippine National Anthem in a Pacquiao bout.
He was followed by pop icon Sir Tom Jones, who sang "God Save the Queen," the British National Anthem, and Fil-Am Jasmine Villegas, who sang the "Star-Spangled Banner," the US National Anthem.
The bout was witnessed by a star-studded audience that includes Oscar de la Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins, Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, rapper Jay-Z and Mariah Carey. – GMANews.TV
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