The great Manny Pacquiao might have scored his greatest and most brutal KO on May 2nd, this back in 2009. Certainly, Pacquiao fought his biggest ever fight on May 2nd, this back in 2014. For sure, today’s date will bring both bitter and sweet memories for Pac-Man, and for his millions of fans.
The great, indeed chilling knockout Pacquiao scored on May 2 of 2009 came at the expense of British superstar Ricky Hatton. 15 years on, and it remains a tough watch for Hatton fans, and for Hatton himself. Downed twice during a torrid opening round, Hatton was then obliterated in round two, this as Pacquiao landed a monster of a left hand bomb clean on his jaw. Down and out the instant the devastating blow landed, Hatton was stretched out, flat on his back. Never before had Hatton suffered such a crushing, indeed frightening loss.
Pacquiao looked to be just about unbeatable back then, what with him nearly decapitating Hatton and with him having also just destroyed what was left of Oscar De La hoya. And there was more to come from the southpaw dynamo, much more. Hugely impressive wins over Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito had all fight fans demanding to see a fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. This one would see the two best fighters of the era go at it and prove who was really pound-for-pound number-one.
This particular “Fight of the Century” should have taken place in 2010, or 2011, or 2012. Instead, we had to wait until 2015 to see it finally happen.
And this is where Pacquiao’s bitter memories come into play as far as May 2nd goes. It was of course on this day nine years ago when Pacquiao and Mayweather finally met. The fight was a gargantuan success as the Box-Office, the pay-per-view numbers being an insane 4.4 million!
But the fight itself was one big dud. Almost devoid of action and drama, the most awaited fight in modern day boxing history proved to be the biggest let down. Mayweather boxed cleverly yet cautiously, his punch output sufficient if sparing. We later found out that Pacquiao had carried a shoulder injury into the ring with him. It was a near shut-out for Mayweather at the end, at least on the most accurate of the three official cards; the scores being 118-110, and 116-112 twice. I don’t know about you, but I have not rewatched the fight even once since watching it live on the night.
But how different, how very, very different would it have been if we had seen the Pacquiao of 2009 face the Mayweather of 2009? The lethal destroyer who blew away Hatton against the 40-0 Mayweather? A fully fit and firing on all cylinders Pacquiao may well have been too much for Mayweather. But of course, we will never know.
May 2nd: a date that saw the great Manny Pacquiao at his best as well as at his most disappointing.
