The Battle of the East and West|How Hatton Went Down
On May 2, 2009, Pacquiao defeated Ricky Hatton to claim the IBO and Ring Magazine light welterweight titles (as well as the lineal light welterweight title), at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, in a fight billed as "The Battle of the East and West".
The fight was originally placed in jeopardy due to disputes with both camps over the fight purse money. Eventually, the money issue was settled and the fight went on as scheduled. HBO aired the contest.
Pacquiao started the fight strong, knocking down a sluggish Hatton twice in the first round. A somewhat shaken Hatton beat the count, only to be saved by the bell seconds later. In the second round Hatton seemed to have recovered, as he stalked Pacquiao for most of the round. However, with less than ten seconds remaining in the second round, Hatton was knocked out cold by a sharp left hook, prompting the referee to award Pacquiao the win by knockout (at 2:59 of the round).
Fire Power|Record-breaking 7 Titles
On November 14, 2009, Manny Pacquiao defeated former WBO welterweight world champion Miguel Cotto, by technical knockout in the twelfth round, at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, in a fight billed as "Firepower". The fight was sanctioned as a world title fight in the welterweight division, where the weight limit is 147 pounds, however Cotto's camp agreed to fight at a catchweight of 145 pounds to accommodate Pacquiao's smaller physique. Cotto's camp also conceded the larger share of the purse to Pacquiao, who received a 65% share of pay-per-view buys, compared to Cotto's 35% share.
In the opening round Cotto appeared to have the edge, as he connected with solid jabs and managed to pin Pacquiao against the ropes. However, Pacquiao later admitted that he had allowed this to happen, as he wanted to test Cotto's power. From the second round onwards Pacquiao picked up the pace, knocking Cotto down in the third and fourth round, and going on to dominate the later rounds. After a heavily one-sided ninth round in favor of Pacquiao, wherein Cotto received significant punishment, many people thought that Cotto's corner should have stopped the fight. Cotto's wife even left the arena. However, Cotto decided to continue the fight, but could not evade Pacquiao's onslaught, prompting the referee to stop the fight fifty-five seconds into the twelfth round.
With this victory, Pacquiao took the WBO welterweight title, his seventh world championship, and became the first boxer in history to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions. After the fight, promoter Bob Arum stated that: "Pacquiao is the greatest boxer I've ever seen, and I've seen them all, including Ali, Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard."
The fight generated 1.25 million buys and 70 million dollars in domestic pay-per-view revenue (preliminary figures), making it the most watched boxing match of 2009.
Credits to Wikipedia
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