Pacquiao Annihilates the Hitman

Man oh man, was I wrong about the outcome. That much is for sure. But the extent of my miscalculations was revealed in spectacularly brutal fashion.

What anybody who saw the fight (that term, fight, is used only in the sense that it was in fact a sanctioned boxing match), witnessed was that Manny Pacquiao is the Truth.

Pacquiao annihilated Ricky Hatton.

This is becoming the norm, not the exception. In recent years we’ve seen Pacquiao obliterate, if not completely ruin, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, David Diaz, Oscar De la Hoya and most recently Hatton. The only exception to that trend has been Juan Manuel Marquez and that should speak volumes of testimony as to the ability of Marquez.

Hatton has, since his defeat of Kostya Tszyu, correctly or incorrectly been thought of as an elite level fighter. On Saturday, Hatton wasn’t in Pacquiao’s league. It wasn’t even close. It also appeared that all of the work and “re-training” of Hatton, by Floyd Mayweather Sr. has been too little, too late.

Hatton seemingly reverted to his former bull-rushing tactics and paid the price by ending up as a highlight real knockout victim. 

It’s the knockout of the year in my opinion.  That this was to be the first “mega-fight” of the year only makes it that much more impressive. 

I don’t think there’s much left for Hatton following his performance Saturday. There truly are no more big money fights left in his division. What’s more is that there are plenty of young, hungry fighters in the junior welterweight division that Hatton has no reason to fight. 

He’s got nothing to prove, nor anything to gain by fighting guys like Devon Alexander or Victor Ortiz.  These guys are the young lions of the division and would probably be too much for Hatton at this stage of his career.

As for Pacquiao, I personally will never doubt him again.

The flaws that were apparent earlier in his career are faded. If they are still somewhat apparent, they are hidden by other astonishing strengths. His speed is blinding and it almost seems unfair that a man with such a slight physical stature can pack that much awe-inspiring power. Pacquiao is 30-years-old and is getting better.

The future for Pacquiao will only be limited by how long he desires to continue in the sport.  If we as fans are lucky, we’ll see Pacquiao fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year or early next year. Mayweather announced on Saturday that he is, as has been expected, coming out of retirement to fight Marquez on Jul. 18. Though, this is no “gimme” fight for Mayweather, he will, and should be, the favorite in that matchup.

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather?  Please, oh please, oh please!