Chunks of History

For the third time in his career, Manny Pacquiao was involved in a fight which had a historical and linear world title belt on the line from Ring Magazine.

The first was in November 2003 when he beat Marco Antonio Barrera for the Ring Magazine featherweight world title. Last March 2008, when he beat Juan Manuel Maquez for the WBC superfeatherweight world title, he was also considered the world 130 lb. champion by the publication considered as Boxings bible because Pacquiao and Marquez were ranked by the Ring as the top two in the division.

Pacquiao took the Ring magazine junior welterweight title from Britain's Ricky The Hitman Hatton with an electrifying two round blitzkrieg that shocked most boxing pundits who were expecting a more competitive bout. Hatton walked into a right hook in the first round, got up and fell down again after a lightning barrage but was saved by the bell. In the second, like all recent Pacman opponents, Hatton could not see Pacquiao's left coming for his jaw.

This places Pacquiao in a lofty place in boxing history. The likes of Henry Armstrong and Bob Fitzimmons won undisputed titles in three different weights during the time when there was still only one world sanctioning body.

Incredibly, Pacquiao has fought in four weight categories in a span of fifteen months and won world titles in three of them.
Aside from the Ring magazine belts, he has also won four world titles from the major sanctioning bodies - the WBC flyweight, IBF superbantamweight, WBC superfeatherweight and WBC lightweight in his fourteen year professional career. He is also the first Asian boxer to be ranked number one best fighter pound per pound in the world.

Ring magazine as a publication started in 1922 and started their own championship policy in 2002.

The junior welterweight division lineage started in 1925 with James Herring as its first champion. Roberto Cruz was the first Filipino to win the world junior welterweight championship when he knocked out Battling Torres of Mexico in a single round in a bout held in Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles in 1963 when the original WBA was the lone boxing sanctioning body.

The title was split when the WBC was created and Pedro Adigue of the Philippines became the first WBC jr.welterweight titlist in 1968 when he beat Adolf Pruitt of the U.S. by 15 round decision in a bout held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. The WBA continued to recognize Nicolino Locche as its champion then he lost to Peppermint Frazier in 1972. The titles remained split since as the IBF emerged during the mid-1980s. The WBO started in 1988 while the IBO, whose belt Hatton also held, started during the late eighties and evolved as an organization during the early 1990's.

Other Filipinos who won titles at 140 pounds include Morris East (WBA 1992).

Kotsya Tszyu finally unified the titles again when he beat Miguel Angel Gonzales for the WBC belt in 1999, Sharmba Mitchell for the WBA title in 2000 and Zab Judah for the IBF belt in 2001.

When Tzsyu lost to Ricky Hatton by 11th round TKO in 2005, the linear title was passed on to the British fighter. Titles are won and lost inside the ring after all thus Pacquiao can lay claim to the lineage. Pacquiao has now distinguished himself in six weight divisions. Not bad for a guy who started at light flyweight.

Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-24043.html

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Pacman packs punch at any weight

LAS VEGAS - Manny Pacquiao really does pack a punch, as he proved again with three knockdowns and ultimately a knockout of Ricky Hatton on Saturday in capturing the Ring magazine and IBO junior welterweight titles.

"This win was as big as my last fight against Oscar De La Hoya," Pacquiao said.

Already considered by many boxing's best fighter, Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) silenced skeptics with an early power supply of concussive bombs against the normally iron-chinned Hatton (45-2, 32 KOs) before more than 17,000 screaming fans at the MGM Grand.

Many doubted the Filipino southpaw had the ability to carry his power to the junior welterweight division, though he was coming off a technical knockout win over De La Hoya in December.

Hatton and his trainer, Floyd Mayweather, were convinced Pacquiao was too small.

"I really thought Ricky could get him," Mayweather said.

Pacquiao worked for two months preparing for the move to the junior welterweight division. He already had world titles in the flyweight, junior featherweight, junior lightweight, and lightweight divisions. Now he has junior welterweight titles, too.

In the first round Hatton moved in aggressively against Pacquiao and immediately worked the inside. Both traded punches, with the Englishman landing frequently in the first 40 seconds until Pacquiao countered with a left hand. Suddenly, as Hatton lunged in, a Pacquiao right hook to the chin dropped him to his knees.

Hatton got up shakily but beat the count. With less than 30 seconds left in the round, a left hand dropped Hatton again near his own corner. He beat the count and the round ended.

Hatton jumped out of his corner for the second round and immediately attacked Pacquiao. A right uppercut landed, but Pacquiao countered with some combinations. The lefty brushed Hatton's face with a right jab, then loaded up an overhand left on Hatton's chin. Down he went with a thud and he did not get up for more than a minute.

Referee Kenny Bayless did not bother to count and stopped the fight at 2:59 of the second round.

"We worked hard on the right hook," Pacquiao said. "We knew he was looking for the left hand."

Freddie Roach, who's trained Pacquiao for eight years, had predicted his fighter would win in less than three rounds. He finally revealed his reason.

"Every time he throws a punch he cocks it," Roach said. "We were ready."

Though Pacquiao was confident of his plan, even he was "surprised it came so easy."

"But we worked on it very hard," he said. "This wasn't personal, it was business."

Hatton was taken to the hospital after the fight.

"It was a hard shot but I'm OK," Hatton said. "I really didn't see the punch coming. It was a great shot."

Other Bouts

WBC junior lightweight champion Humberto Soto caught Daniel Gaudet with a right uppercut that proved the beginning of the Canadian fighter's end.

He survived the count but was met with a jab and right cross that sent him reeling along the ropes and to the canvas. Referee Jay Nady stopped the fight at 2:25 of the ninth round.

In a middleweight bout, Daniel Jacobs (16-0, 14 KOs) found Michael Walker (20-2, 12 KOs) no easy foe, winning an eight-round decision. Jacobs was taller but could not muster enough power to discourage Walker.

Source: http://www.pe.com/sports/breakout/stories/PE_Sports_Local_S_vegas_fight_03.4635b12.html

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Pacquiao-Hatton: Lance Pugmire's round-by-round observations

With a sellout MGM Grand Garden crowd of 16,262 -- including Jack Nicholson, Jay-Z, Adam Sandler, Mark Wahlberg, Denzel Washington and P. Diddy -- watching after paying a combined $8.8 million, the British throng supporting Ricky Hatton roared and sang support to their countryman as Tom Jones sang "God Save the Queen." Pacquiao was greeted less vocally by fewer fans waving Philippines flags, but his wife saluted him as their anthem played, clasping her hands together and looking upward. News from dressing rooms reveals Pacquiao weighs 148 pounds and Hatton is at 152, making the Brit the largest fighter the Filipino has ever battled.

ROUND 1
What happened: Pacquiao, seeking a historic triumph that would give him a record fourth lineal division championship -- being the man who beat the successor to the last unified champion -- and tie Oscar De La Hoya's record six division titles, scored two knockdowns in the first round after withstanding early charges from Hatton.

In the first minutes, Hatton tried to hold Pacquiao with his left arm and pound him with his right. Pacquiao, however, came well prepared for Hatton's right hook, trainer Freddie Roach said in the ring afterward, and soon began scoring. Back-to-back lefts struck Hatton, a strong right hook followed, and then came a big combination. Pacquiao landed a right jab, then unleashed the fight's master plan.

Roach said he studied Hatton fight tapes for two months and found that Hatton "pumps his hands before he punches. . . . I studied every tape. I know him like I know my own fighter. . . . He's a sucker for the right hook." Sure enough, Hatton was floored in the final minute of the round by a Pacquiao right hook that struck the Brit "right on the button" as one ringside observer said. Seconds later, Pacquiao sized up his foe and delivered a straight left that sent Hatton down near the corner turnbuckle where his December 2007 knockout loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. ended. Hatton got up in the final second and received a brief minute-long respite

Pugmire's take: Like Roach predicted early on when he called for a third-round KO, it was clear Hatton came into the ring with no effective game plan against the assault that boxing's best fighter brought. Pacquiao's punching speed and fury so belies his easiness and polite demeanor outside the ring. He proved himself again a brilliant tactician and powerful puncher at his very peak.

The judges: Michael Pernick, 10-7; C.J. Ros, 10-7; Glenn Trowbridge, 10-7.

ROUND 2

What happened: A quick end. Hatton showed early life in the round, barging toward Pacquiao. You could see Hatton turning to the emergency plan: turn this into a street fight. Pacquiao would have none of it, backing away, ducking a punch and hammering Hatton. He then shot two double left hooks at Hatton.

Hatton tried again to hold and hit, but referee Kenny Bayless told him to stop. Pacquiao goes back to work with a jab-jag-left, then threw a scoring left.

Pacquiao glanced at the celebrities in the crowd and raised his eyebrows, the way he does when he's showing off at his home base, Hollywood's Wild Card gym. He hit Hatton with a right to the body.

Then the end. Hatton was standing upward and Pacquiao unleashed a big left hook that stands as the most impressive blow in a big fight in years. Hatton crashed to the canvas, out cold, as Bayless waved quickly for medical assistance. The ref never even counted to one. "He could've counted to 100," a ringside observer said. The knockout came with one second left in the round.

Pugmire's take: Hours earlier, when Mayweather announced he was returning from retirement to take on Juan Manuel Marquez in July, he made a point of saying he'd be bowling with his daughter during the Pacquiao fight and cautioned reporters to "not get all crazy" if Pacquiao wins because Mayweather had been the first to knock out Hatton, in the 10th round, in December 2007.

The fact that Pacquiao needed eight fewer rounds, and beat the Brit with a punch that was far more devastating than Mayweather's own impressive final blow, ensures that Pacquiao indeed stands as the best in the world and sets up boxing's next Super Bowl: Pacquiao-Mayweather.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-boxing-roundbyround3-2009may03,0,1607623.story

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Pacquiao Dominates Hatton, Captures 6th World Title

LAS VEGAS, NV – MANNY Pacquiao showed everyone why he is the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world.

In front of a sold out crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Saturday night, Pacquiao made quick work of Ricky Hatton, the 140-pound IBF Light Welterweight Champion. Pacquiao knocked the British champion down twice in the first round before finishing him off in the second.

“I mean I am surprised that it was that easy, but the fighter [Hatton] fights hard,” said Pacquiao after the fight. “Our strategy was the one punch. Left hook. Right hook. That was going to be the key to this fight.”

Pacquiao executed the game plan with perfection.

In the first round, Hatton started aggressively. He charged Pacquiao, clinched and threw short body blows. However, Pacquiao answered back. Pacquiao gained some distance and threw a quick left hook to the head that stunned the British champion.

He landed a few more combinations before knocking down the British fighter with a right hook to the chin midway through the first round. With the Filipino crowd on its feet, British fans were in disbelief.

Pacquiao pounced on Hatton again a few moments later. This time, Pacquiao landed a left hook to the head of Hatton, immediately felling the Englishman.

Pacquiao finished off Hatton in the subsequent round. Pacquiao landed a left hook on the chin and below Hatton’s earlobe, a textbook knockout punch. Hatton was immediately out before he fell to the canvas.

The referee immediately waved the fight over at 2:59 in round two.

“I was just doing my job in the ring and doing my best to make the people happy,” said Pacquiao. “Nothing personal, I am just doing my job. I am satisfied. I am always trying my best in the ring and make a good impression on the people.”

Hatton was not made available for comment. Hatton was rushed to the hospital for precautionary measures.

Before the match, Roach predicted a Pacquiao knockout in three, he’ll settle for two.

“Manny is unbelievable,” said Roach at the press conference. “I’m the best trainer in the world because I have the best fighter in the world.”

Roach said that Hatton was very predictable. Coming into the fight, Roach saw a tell in Hatton’s style.

“Every time he throws the left hook and cocks it, he is wide open for the right hook from the southpaw stance,” Roach explained. “We worked on that every day in the gym and it just worked beautifully.”

I knew it was over,” added Roach. “Ricky fights the same way over and over. He doesn’t have the ability to adjust. I watched the tapes over and over the last few months. I know him as well as I know my fighters.”

The win catapults Pacquiao in the boxing history books. Pacquiao becomes the first Asian to capture six world titles in six different weight division - flyweight, junior featherweight, featherweight, junior lightweight, lightweight and now, junior welterweight.

Who’s Next?

The morning of the Hatton vs. Pacquiao fight, former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced he would come back to the boxing ring. Mayweather Jr. is set to face Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas on July 18.

The winner may possibly be Pacquiao’s next opponent.

Roach said that they are willing to fight anybody – Sugar Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, and Mayweather Jr.

Many fans are expecting Mayweather jr. to face off against Pacquiao.

Top Rank President Bob Arum said of the possible future matches, bring it on.

“If Mayweather jr. wants a piece of this little Filipino, just be my guest,” said Arum.

Source: http://www.asianjournal.com/dateline-usa/15-dateline-usa/1787-pacquiao-dominates-hatton-captures-6th-world-title.html

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There is only ONE Manny Pacquiao

He lost his 12th professional fight by third round knock-out in his homeland of the Philippines.

Thirteen fights later, rebounding, he captured his first world title as a flyweight via 8th round knock-out against Chatchai Sasakul in Thailand.

In his second defense of the belt, at twenty-years of age, Medgoen Singsurat knocked him out in the third round.

Seven wins later, the young fighter caught the eyes of American fight fans for the first time on the under card of Oscar De La Hoya's bout with Javier Castillejo, as he stopped Lehlohonolo Ledwaba in six rounds to capture a super bantamweight title.

In his next fight, I saw him for the first time in a tough technical draw against the now deceased Dominican tough man Agapito Sanchez. The fight was stopped due to a cut that was produced near his eye by a headbutt in the second round...I was not impressed.

On July 26, 2003, he made me wrong for the first of many times. Going into a fight against then undefeated Emannuel Lucero, I picked against him. He knocked out Lucero for a victory.

His next fight, he did the impossible, ruined my birthday and knocked out the then seemingly untouchable featherweight kingpin (and my favorite boxer, of the time) Marco Antonio Barrera. Now title changed hands, but he was the best featherweight in the world.

Immediately after testing Barrera, he jumped in with an unsung Mexican pugilist by the name of Juan Manuel Marquez and quickly dumped the master boxer three times in the first round en route to a memorable draw.

The following year, Tijuana toughman Erik Morales took a spirited decision from him. Some who thought he was over-rated, felt the end was near for the rising star.

To his credit, he then went and beat Morales, decisively by knock-out two times and captured another world title, now at super featherweight.

But the doubters kept asking what about him giving Barrera and Marquez another opportunity, surely, lightening could not strike twice?

It did, he defeated Barrera and Marquez, again, in that order

To make his legend grow even larger and his countrymen adore him even more, he captured a lightweight title against David Diaz by stoppage in the 9th.

Lightweight was not enough, as he then faced the man who all of boxing wanted to fight at the time, for the money, but he made it about the glory, Oscar De La Hoya.

I predicted the larger De La Hoya would brutalize him, and make him do a "chicken dance" after a receiving a left-hook to the head; I was wrong.

This small man from humble beginnings, who carried the hopes of a nation of his shoulder, and who was physically much smaller than the bigger De La Hoya, but who has a larger heart, made "The Golden Boy" quit on his stool.

Had he accomplished enough? No, there were still doubters.

He beat an older De La Hoya, he needs to fight a larger man with a pulse, many fans and experts argued.

In came Ricky Hatton, the true "king" of the junior welterweights.

Guess what? Tonight in Las Vegas, Nevada, before thousands of Ricky Hatton's fans and countrymen, he knocked out the Brit in two rounds.

There is only one him.

There is only one Manny Pacquiao.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-2850-LA-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m5d2-There-is-only-ONE-Manny-Pacquiao

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Manny Pacquiao's fists are loaded, and his bouts are a lock

Manny Pacquiao can no longer be identified as a boxer. Lethal weapon, maybe. Or destroyer missile. Whatever the definition, he is unquestionably the sport's top gun.

What he did to Ricky Hatton on Saturday night, in a boxing ring at the MGM Grand Garden, before a crowd of 16,262 and millions more all over the world watching on pay-per-view, was mostly mayhem. The man from Manchester was manhandled.

British fans who swoop down on this city every time Hatton fights -- which is three times since December 2007 -- serenaded him into the ring as usual, with the now-annoying version of "Winter Wonderland" that begins: "There's only one Ricky Hatton."

They were right. He was the only one who ended up on his back in the middle of the ring.

The fight summary is one paragraph. Pacquiao knocked Hatton down twice in the first round, dominated the second and caught Hatton with a vicious left hook as the round ticked down. Hatton's eyes rolled back and his body fell, like a sack of potatoes, flat on his back. Referee Kenny Bayless knelt over him for several seconds, then waved his hands, with one second left in the round, to signify that the fight was over.

The aftermath was a bit scary. Hatton didn't move right away, and soon there were many people with concerned looks on their faces, kneeling and hovering. Hatton may have been on his back longer than he was on his feet during the fight.

Eventually, they brought his stool to the middle of the ring and got him on it, and a few minutes later he left the ring under his own power, waving feebly to a crowd of Brit fans who may have been driven to drink by the result. Of course, any result would have driven them to drink.

Pacquiao, the Filipino powerhouse whose record went to 49-3-2 (with 37 knockouts), weighed in Friday at 138 pounds and went to 148 by fight time. Hatton, now 45-2-0 (with 32 knockouts), weighed in at the limit of 140 and gained 12 pounds by fight time.

A measure of how dominant Pacquiao has become is that this victory marked his fourth different weight-class win in the last 14 months. His previous conquest, of boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya at 147 pounds, sent De La Hoya into retirement. Hatton is only 30, two months older than Pacquiao, but may be pondering a similar path. The pubs of Manchester are a lot safer than Pacquiao's left hand.

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, now the pound-for-pound best corner man in his sport, pretty much called the shot again, just as he had against De La Hoya on Dec. 6. He said Pacquiao would knock Hatton out in the third round. Pacquiao apparently had earlier dinner reservations.

"This fight was no surprise to me," Roach said.

The star trainer always seems to have a secret strategy, and he revealed afterward that, for this one, he had watched hours of film of Hatton -- "I knew him better than my own fighter," he said -- and realized that Hatton was wide open for the right hook.

"Hatton pumps his fist before he throws," Roach said. "We also knew he'd be looking for the left," Pacquiao's main weapon.

The first knockdown in the first round came via a right, the second with a left. Hatton had actually survived somewhat better in the second, despite Pacquiao's quickly evident superior hand speed, foot speed and punching power. But the left that finished him started at about 7 o'clock, landed on Hatton's face at about 12 noon and made the likely obvious result official.

Hatton didn't attend the post-match news conference, because he was taken to Valley Hospital. Before he left, he said, "It was a hard lot, but I'm OK. I really didn't see the punch coming, but it was a good shot."

Pacquiao, ever the diplomat, said, "I'm surprised the fight was so easy. I worked hard in training camp and he was open for the right all night. It was nothing personal. I was just doing my job."

Bob Arum, whose Top Rank Promotions handles Pacquiao, called his boxer "a monster" afterward, and started making noises about Pacquiao's becoming boxing's "all-time great."

Two things to consider there. As a promoter, Arum is wired for hyperbole. But also, he is no newcomer to this and began his career promoting no less than Muhammad Ali.

The only thing that might stop Pacquiao now is his desire to become a prominent government official someday soon in his beloved Philippines. There is even talk of the presidency someday.

Were that to happen now, it would make Pacquiao the answer to the trivia question: Which country has a president even more popular than Barack Obama?

For Hatton, a nice guy and tough competitor who is also beloved in his country, there may not be a lot of return trips upcoming.

Which, of course, will send the beer distributors of Las Vegas into deep depression.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dwyre-pacquiao-hatton3-2009may03,0,7932325.column

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So easy for Pac Man

Manny Pacquiao admitted even he was surprised by the ease of his win over Ricky Hatton.

The Filipino knocked his man out cold after 2.59 of the second round in the Las Vegas showdown to determined who was the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.

Click here for full fight report

There is now absolutely no doubt following a whirlwind fight which saw Hatton floored twice in the opening round before being chillingly knocked out with a vicious left hook at the end of the next session.

"I was surprised that this was so easy but I've worked hard in training camp since the beginning of March," said Pacquiao.

"He was wide open for the right hook. I knew he would be looking for my left.

"It's nothing personal. I was just doing my job. This is as big for me as the De La Hoya win."
Sucker

The victory was also a personal triumph for trainer Freddie Roach.

The Wild Card supremo predicted his man would blitz Hatton in three rounds and even though he changed his mind closer to the fight, was proved right.

And it meant he emerged victorious from his feud with Floyd Mayweather Snr in the opposite corner and like Pacquiao, now stands alone at the top of his profession.

"This was no surprise," he said.

"Hatton pumps his hands before he throws a punch. He is a sucker for the right hook and this is what we worked on.

"He cocks back before he throws his punches. He fights the same way over and over.

"I studied tapes of all his fights for the last two months and I know him as well as I know my own fighter."

Source: http://www.skysports.com/hatton/story/0,25890,13303_5272860,00.html

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