Manny Pacquiao Versus Ricky Hatton: the Match, the Aftermath and the Future

I was in the office that time (yep, it was morning here in the Philippines) and as a Filipino and a long time fan of Manny (as well as most of the Filipinos), I did everything to be able to watch the match and true enough, I got home early. There was much anticipation coming into the fight as these 2 fighters are among the best in the world and Manny is also currently considered as the best fighter in the world (Pound for Pound King).

Watching the match, I was simply stunned at how Pacquiao performed. He was probably at his all-time best. Hatton is used to being in the 140 lbs division while Pacquiao keeps on jumping between divisions. The opening round was so action-packed it is probably one of the best opening rounds I've seen. Manny showed the results of his training and his innate abilities as a boxer to combine both offense and defense.

It was his right hand that opened up Hatton's defenses. Hatton kept on advancing at the beginning and I somehow expected otherwise that he and his camp would employ a different strategy against Pacquiao. I saw that style when I watched the Hatton vs. Mayweather fight. True enough, Freddie Roach (Manny's head trainer) prepared Pacman, for the lack of a better word, perfectly.

The fight started to tilt on Pacquiao's side and combinations started to hit Hatton and then, one excellently timed counter right punch brought Hatton to the floor face down for the first time. I saw Hatton's expression that he probably couldn't believe what happened. When he got up, Pacquiao continued to throw a barrage of combinations and kept on utilizing the right punches. Then, near the end of the 1^st round, a barrage of punches concluding with a devastating left punch brought Hatton to the floor once again.

In the 2^nd round, Hatton was able to throw in a few punches but Pacquiao was just simply outclassing him and he became wobbly a couple of times until the last few seconds when Pacquiao hit a perfectly timed explosive counter left straight that caught Hatton on the chin that sent him on the floor. That was really destructive, if you've noticed, that punch sounded clearly on TV. I'm just glad that Hatton is ok. Hatton is a good fighter and was able to beat lots of good fighters but Pacquiao simply had more power, speed, and accuracy which proved that he is the current best fighter in the world. He is not currently tied to the record of having won titles in 6 different divisions.

It was a long preparation but the event only took 2 rounds. As for the future, we don't know yet what both of the fighters and their promoters are planning exactly. The next fight that could probably happen would be between the returning Floyd Mayweather Jr. (former Pound for Pound king and is undefeated) versus Juan Manuel Marquez (considered as Pacquiao's rival). This is very interesting since Mayweather Jr. fought Hatton before and Marquez is, in my opinion, the best boxer that stood up to Manny (yes, Manny did go down in one of his early fights but Marquez went toe to toe with Manny in his game).

It is also interesting to know who will be Manny's next opponent but I'm pretty sure he wants a vacation. There are rumors that it could be Julio Cesar Chavez or Cotto who will fight Manny next. Hatton, on the other hand, may move to another division but again, who knows. I can't wait to see Manny when he comes home here in the Philippines. Congratulations Manny! We are proud of you!

Source:

Philippine TV: GMA 7 Telecast