This wasn’t the fight of the year but it was definitely exciting. This was another stage for Manny Pacquio to show off how good he’s become. Hatton was hoping to steal some of the lime light by beating the Pound for Pound (P4P) best, but was out classed, and out hustled from the beginning. Who else is there for Manny to fight? Will Hatton continue to fight? These are some questions that hopefully will be answered in the next few months.
Manny came out throwing accurate punches from all angles, keeping Ricky off balance. He caught Ricky with rights, which sent him to the canvas twice in the first round. After the second knockdown, I remember thinking: Get up Ricky!!! I paid over $50 for this fight! In the second round it was more of the same, but this time Pacquio landed a bone chilling left hook, that put Hatton down for good. Manny emerged once again with his hands raised and all I could say is, Man….This guy is a beast!!!
Ricky Hatton came into this fight with a record of 45 wins 1 loss with 32 KO’s. His only lost came by way of KO, by Floyd Mayweather Jr., who was the P4P king at the time (before he retired). This gives him two losses to two P4P fighters, so does he continue to fight after this one? He has other lucrative fights out there, but none will be as big, or for as much as these two fights. There are fighters in the 147 and 140 pound divisions (Welterweight and Jr. Welterweight) that would make good fights, but will Hatton be the same after this one?
Where does Manny Pacquio go from here? He destroyed Oscar De La Hoya, and now Ricky Hatton, so does he stick around 140 and kill some more? The Welterweight and Jr. Welterweight divisions have some promising talent, but most of the top fighters are already scheduled to fight. The only person that doesn’t have a fight is Sugar Shane Mosley who’s coming off a KO over Antonio Margarito. This would be an interesting fight, and it would be Pacquio’s biggest challenge thus far.
I’m eager to see who’ll be next to get in the ring against Manny, but I think it’s going to take the P4P king that vacated the title. Yeah, I believe Floyd Mayweather Jr., once he takes care of Juan Manuel Marques, should go in and create a mega fight. I think this will be the biggest fight of our time, if Mayweather defeats Marques convincingly. This would setup a fight with the current P4P king going against the previous P4P king, who is still undefeated. I guess time will tell, but if this fight happens, the world will be watching, and I must give my early prediction. Floyd by Unanimous Decision!!!!
Ricky Hatton might be the next boxer to die in the ring, he has taken too many Head shots over the Years,his Brain is already damaged slightly, but that can change with one more blow to his Head, I only hope he gets out of Boxing before we read about him in the obituary column. Sad.
I think Hatton should hang his gloves up, but I know that there are a lot of variables around a fighters decision to quit.
Does he quit after that devastating KO, or does he take on another fight more tailored for his ability, so he can end on a high note? Does he want one more big payday, since he didn’t prepare to quit from the sport this early (He knew he would beat Pacquio and absorb the lime light). Or he might simply believe he had an off night!
I understand your point. Hatton might be a headache away from sleeping eternally, but he’s a fighter. I believe there’s a lot of fighters that are one rabbit punch away from being maggot food, but these guys live for this, and if you take this from them, most of them will die anyways (mentally)