Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton Post Fight Recap

Manny PacquiaoBy Errol Hyppolite: Round 1 – From the opening bell, Manny’s footwork and upper body movement frustrated Hatton. Hatton who was supposed to have an improved jab was not able to get it going. Hatton also quickly found out that he wasn’t quite able to exert his size on Manny as he thought he would. In clenches both fighters were giving as good as they were getting. As Hatton began to try and work his way inside he came in with his hands low and got timed on the way in with left hooks and left hands.

About two minutes into Round 1 Manny landed an excellent 3-4 punch combination followed by a left hook that put Ricky down for the 1st time in the fight. Hatton was certainly shocked but did the right thing in taking a knee to try and keep his composure. Unfortunately after knockdown, Ricky was not able to clench effectively and after Manny landed another combination that ended with a left hand Hatton was down for a second time. With five seconds left, Hatton was able to survive the round.

Round 2 – What surprised me from the opening bell of round two is that Hatton wasn’t more cautious! After the two knockdowns in the first it would have been best for Ricky to take a round off to get his faculties together. With all his training with Floyd Sr. I figured he might try to be on the outside more in this round and simply try to be a bit more defensive minded. This was not the case however, and Ricky was his same old bouncy self and began rushing in trying to rough Pacman up.

Pacman spent his time boxing on the outside and deflected Hatton’s bull rushes. He would also tie Ricky up to limit his effectiveness. He began potshotting Hatton with jab/left hand combinations. His jab was effective and his left hand was very effective. About 2 minutes into the round Pacquiao began pouring on his offensive repertoire again. Instead of Manny being backed up to the ropes he backed Ricky to the ropes and began pouring on punishment. Manny’s speed was too much for Ricky and he was left trying to duck and slip as many punches as he could. After a barrage of punches against the ropes the fight was brought back into the center of the ring. Manny landed two jabs and then a devastating left hook that knocked Hatton out cold with one second left in the round. It was one of the most devastating knockouts I’ve ever seen. It was surreal to see Hatton unconsciously fall flat in the center of the ring flat on his back. His arms fell back and then forward and the fight was immediately waved off. Ringside physicians attended to Ricky and after several minutes Hatton was able to come back to his senses.

Manny followed his trainer’s game plan flawlessly. He did not stay on the ropes for extended periods of time and kept the fight in the center of the ring. He was also very smart to simply duck his head and tie up whenever Ricky lunged in which forced Kenny Bayless to break the fighters up. This give Manny the space he needed to box and counterpunch. It was a very impressive performance and one that will forever change Hatton’s career.

In my previous article I predicted Manny would knock Ricky out around the fourth or fifth round. Despite the popular opinions of many I believed Manny had the edge in power and was at the end of the day a much better fighter. Many thought I was being biased and was just a “Pac-Lover.” I try to be as objective as possible but after careful review, I simply could not give Hatton much of a chance to win this fight.

Where do both men go from here?

Manny Pacquiao – It’s a no-brainer that the next and most appealing fight for Manny would be a showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. I personally believe that these two fighters have been on a collision course for years and eventually this fight will take place. It’s the biggest fight that can be made and sooner or later will happen. With that said, I am not sure that the fight would happen this year. Keep in mind that boxing is a business and that the networks, managers, and promoters all know the public’s insatiable boxing appetites will always demand and thus pay for this fight. Whether or not these two men fight this year or next, people will still pay top dollar for it.

I believe Manny’s next fight will be against Timothy Bradley. Manny is now the lineal champion of the Junior Welterweight division and Timothy is the number two fighter in this division. Timothy is a fast, slick, right-handed boxer, who uses the same shoulder roll Mayweather uses. This will let Pacquiao and his handlers know how well he would fare against Mayweather Jr. Timothy will of course hop at the opportunity to face Pacman for the money and a chance to make boxing history. After the likely Pacquiao win you can expect the Mayweather/Pacquiao pound-4-pound showdown to be close at hand! I’ll breakdown Mayweather/Marquez a little closer to the fight but you can already see the story line that the hype-men like will use to setup demand for the fight.

Ricky Hatton – I believe Ricky should strongly consider retiring or if he absolutely feels he must redeem himself it would be best for him to set up a farewell fight with a much lesser opponent in England. After that he should look to use his marketing muscle to become a promoter in order to stay close to his love of boxing. He’s earned plenty of money and does not need to continue to risk his physical/mental wellbeing.

To critics of my previous article I’d like to set the record straight. Please know that I like Hatton a lot. He’s a great man and has a lot of character and bravery to fight the two top pound-4-pound fighters in the world. I wish him and his family all the best and am very happy to hear that he is ok. I k now he’ll recover well and ultimately choose the best choice for his career.

To see my previous article please use the following link

Questions, Comments, or Concerns? Feel free to email me at errol_hyppolite@hotmail.com