Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images
Relive perhaps the finest KO of Manny Pacquiao’s illustrious career.
Yesterday (May 2nd) was the five-year anniversary of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao mega-fight. This was not a great fight and it obviously didn’t live up to the hype.
Instead we’re going to talk about something else that happened on May 2nd, but in 2009. And unlike the Mayweather fight, this was a shining moment for Pacquiao.
In front of a packed house at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the Filipino icon took on England’s Ricky Hatton for the lineal junior welterweight title. No actual major belts were at stake, but we’re combat sports fans and we get off on the word “lineal.” Hatton had won two straight fights after he was defeated by Floyd Mayweather, notably stopping Paulie Malignaggi right before the Pacquiao showdown. As for Pacquiao, this was his first bout since he retired Oscar De La Hoya to end 2008.
Hatton beat Pacquiao at darts in the event’s lead-up, but that’s the extent of his success. Pacquiao crushed Hatton through two rounds, knocking him down twice in round one and then towards the end of round two he capped with a sensational left hand shot that sent Hatton down and out for good.
You can watch the video at the top of the page, but I highly recommend watching the video below for the UK commentary.
Pacquiao is still active in the sport today and could face Terence Crawford in his next bout, or even Mikey Garcia. Hatton retired after this brutal KO, came back and lost his return to Vyacheslav Senchenko in 2012, leading to a retirement that he’s actually stuck to.
As an aside, the UFC is about to go on a regular schedule for presumably the rest of the year, unless something terrible happens. I can either put Sunday Punch on the shelf — this series was absolutely to make up for the lack of post-UFC Sunday content during the pandemic — or we can keep this as a regular feature for as long as I actually remember to do this! This is your call!