by ALEX P. VIDAL
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Referee Kenny Bayless admitted he thought of stopping the fight in the first round after Ricky Hatton hit the canvas for the second time but decided to give the Briton a second lease of life when he sensed Hatton could still punch despite the savagery in the "The Battle of East and West" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas.
"I thought he was okay after the two knockdowns but I nearly stopped the fight in the first round when I sensed he was already hurt," Bayless explained in an exclusive interview minutes after the 12-round IBO and Ring Magazine championship duel.
Bayless said he did not anymore bother to administer a mandatory eight-count in the second round when Hatton collapsed spread-eagled in the middle of the ring after being chopped by Pacquiao’s powerful left hook in the chin "as he was totally out and there was no way for him to get up."
Bayless said his primary concern was Hatton’s safety as he was clobbered by a powerful single punch and fell like a log.
Was Hatton’s condition okay after Bayless pulled the plug? "He needs the immediate assistance of ring doctors and two ring doctors immediately attended to him while he was still laying on canvas for several minutes," Bayless said.
After a few minutes, Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) got up and shook his head in apparent shock and frustration. He and his entourage left the ring to the hospital "for precautionary measures," announced Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaeffer in a post fight press conference.
Schaeffer said Hatton was fine that they needed to ensure his safety. Golden Boy Promotion boss Oscar De La Hoya accompanied Hatton in the hospital together with Hatton’s family members.
Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Hatton’s trainer, did not show up in the post fight press conference. He was reportedly disappointed when Hatton ignored his instruction not to engaged Pacquiao (49-3-2, 36 KO’s) in a toe-to-toe brawl which Hatton did.
Pacquiao got the best angle and best distance and his speed and power were so awesome, said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who hinted that if former world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. "wants a piece of the small Filipino, he is welcome to the club."
‘Marquez Defeats Pacquiao Twice’
Juan Manuel Marquez nodded in the presidential table as Golden Boy Promotions chief executive officer Richard Schaeffer introduced the main characters in the July 18 card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas hyped as "Number One versus Numero Uno" featuring comebacking Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Marquez.
"He is the man who should be the best boxer pound for pound who beat Manny Pacquiao not only once but twice—Juan Manuel Marquez," declared Schaeffer in the hotel’s Hollywood Theater.
Marquez, known as "Dinamita" (dynamite), had repeatedly said he doesn’t consider himself the best boxer in the world unless he beats Pacquiao whom he fought twice—12-round draw on May 8, 2004 and 12-round split decision win for Pacquiao on March 15, 2008.
Marquez (50-4, 37 KO’s) is the Golden Boy Promotions’ protégé.
He is coming off from a stunning nine-round technical knock out (TKO) win over Juan Diaz in Toyota Center, Houston, Texas to annex the World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight and World Boxing Association (WBA) super lightweight championships.
Schaeffer had insisted Marquez, 35, won his rematch, a WBC super featherweight title match with Pacquiao dubbed "Unfinished Business" where Pacquiao scored one knockdown.
Two of three judges, however, saw Pacquiao clear winner: Duane Ford 112-115; Jerry Roth 115-112; Tom Miller 113-114.
Marquez has been grumbling for a third match, similar to the blockbuster Pacquiao-Erik Morales trilogy which Team Pacquiao reportedly isn’t inclined to agree now that Pacquiao has breached the light welterweight category and intends to stay there.
Oscar De La Hoya, big boss of Golden Boy Promotions, admitted that, "By far, I consider Juan Manuel Marquez the best fighter of our era—the best Mexican fighter to come out of Mexico in our era."
De La Hoya, who was himself waylaid by Pacquiao via a 9th round TKO in a major upset on December 6, 2008, said Marquez opted to fight Mayweather on July 18 "because he wanted to fight only the best."
Bob Arum’s Top Rank is also eyeing Mayweather Jr. as Pacquiao’s next opponent regardless of the result of Mayweather’s duel with Marquez. /MP
No comments:
Post a Comment