Manny Pacquiao insists his easiest night as a professional came against Ricky Hatton.
The pair squared off back in 2009 in a lineal super lightweight title fight billed as ‘The Battle of East and West’.
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Pacquiao was confident he could get Hatton out of there earlyCredit: GETTY
Hatton travelled over to Las Vegas with his army of fans full of the belief that he would spring an upset on boxing’s lone eight-weight world champion.
However, he proved no match for Pacquiao, who flattened the Mancunian with a dynamite left hand in the second stanza.
Pacquiao had barely broken a sweat by the time the clubbing blow landed, and it is for this reason that the Filipino icon remembers it as his most straightforward fight.
“Easiest fight? Hatton,” said Pacquiao when the question was posed to him by boxing broadcaster Dan Canobbio.
“Before the fight, we knew it was going to happen like that.
“I studied over and over every day.”
While Pacquiao looks back on the fight with pride, Hatton doesn’t have much memory of the contest at all.
‘The Hitman’ told talkSPORT.com earlier this year that although he doesn’t remember the punch landing, it was undoubtedly the hardest he had ever been hit.
“When I fought Manny Pacquiao, I was a little bit past my sell-by date,” he said.
“Pacquiao was knocking everyone out at the time. It was a very brutal KO, so I’d probably say that one [is the hardest punch] even though I wasn’t at my best.
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Pacquiao left Hatton flat on his back when they met in 2009Credit: GETTY
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Hatton was brutally knocked out in the second roundCredit: Getty
“The thing is with that Pacquiao punch, I was completely out cold. So you can’t, in many ways, even really remember it.
“I’ve had a few fights where I’ve had to back myself up and bite down and get through it.
“But the Pacquiao KO was one of the most devastating fights in history, so I’d have to say that one.”
Fast forward to 2025, and both boxers, now deep into their forties, are on the verge of respective comebacks.
Pacquiao is set to box Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title on Saturday night as he bids to become the second-oldest world champion in boxing history at 46.
Meanwhile, Hatton is scheduled to square off against 8-3 pro Eisa Al Dah in Dubai on December 2.
He will be 47 by the time he steps between the ropes.