On May 2, 2009, Stockport-born Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton made the third defence of his IBO light welterweight title against Filipino Manny ‘Pac-Man’ Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. In the opening round Hatton attempted to tie up Pacquiao and fight close in, but was caught with a powerful right hook after the first minute or so and another after two minutes, which knocked him down. Hatton survived, but towards the end of the round was in trouble again, felled by a straight left.

Although apparently still feeling the effects of his second knockdown, Hatton, once again, started the second round positively, landing one or two decent punches. However, Pacquiao responded by landing several powerful headshots of his own. Finally, with less than ten seconds of the round remaining, Pacquiao delivered the coup de grace, a perfect left hook that caught Hatton flush on the jaw and knocked him clean out.

Hatton lay motionless in the centre of the ring, with referee Kenny Bayliss waving to signal the end of the contest. Attended by ringside medical staff, Hatton took some time to regain consciousness, but was eventually pictured sitting up, much to the relief of everyone concerned. Officially, Pacquiao won by knockout after 2:59 of round two and, in so doing, confirmed his status as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Hatton announced his retirement from boxing in 2011, having never fought again; he returned to the ring, once, in 2012, but retired for good shortly afterwards.

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On June 11, 1982, Larry ‘The Easton Assassin’ Holmes made the twelfth defence of his WBC heavyweight title, which he had held since 1978, against Gerry ‘Gentleman’ Cooney at Caesars Palace Outdoor Arena, Las Vegas. Although the number one contender, defending a perfect 25-0 record, including 22 knockouts, Cooney was dismissed by Holmes as the ‘Great White Dope’.

As early as round two, Holmes landed a clean right hand that sent Cooney stumbling to the canvas. However, Cooney recovered to win rounds two and three, landing a series of solid left hooks that backed Holmes up. Late in round four, Cooney landed another damaging left hook to the body, but thereafter, apart from a brutal low blow in round nine, which cost him a point – he would, in fact, be deducted three points, in total, for repeated infractions – failed to impose his power on Holmes.

Holmes, for his part, adopted a cautious approach for the first twelve rounds but, in round thirteen, unleashed a barrage of punches against his already bloodied, weakened opponent. In a effort to stay on his feet, Cooney grabbed the top rope, instigating a standing count from referee Miles Lane. At that point, trainer Victor Valle intervened, wrapping his arms around Cooney to stop the fight, thus making Holmes the winner, by technical knockout, after 2:52 of round thirteen.

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