Pacman and Winter Wonderland.

(Photo from CBSSports.Com)

by Migs

Manny Pacquiao has won- again.

But no one expected things to be this easy- not even his trainer, Freddie Roach.

After all of the verbal jabs thrown by Pacquiao's camp to that of Hatton and vice-versa, one would have anticipated that behind that, one would have already studied the other's strategy thoroughly, so as to make for a fight that would last, say, 5-8 rounds. That wasn't the case here, evidently.

Hatton's always been known to be an "offense-first" fighter, and Manny, under the tutelage of Roach, has evolved into a thinking man's fighter- a far cry from the Pacquiao of the late nineties and of early this decade who would burst out of the box, guns blazing, each and every time, irregardless of the circumstances.

At the 2:59 mark of the second round, the fight was done. A left hook did the Brit in. Pacquiao, the native of General Santos City in the Philippines, was, humself "Surprised that the fight was so easy."

After watching replays from the fight, I was stunned at how open Hatton was at times, and why Floyd Mayweather, Sr. didn't see this coming. Hatton could have done a little more shaking-and-baking, could have moved his head more to create potential diversions, and could have thrown fewer errant punches which inevitably left him off balance. Maybe Mayweather did see this coming, but simply refused to believe it. Whatever the case, the more well-rounded pugilist won this battle, and with the final verse of "Winter Wonderland" came a swan song for the cocky Hatton.

When it snows, ain't it thrilling
Though your nose gets a chilling
We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way
Walking in a winter wonderland

Is Floyd Mayweather, Jr. next on Pacman's list? That remains to be seen, but for now, I think, pundits would be better served to redefine what can happen in a blink of an eye. Someone's nose got a "chilling" indeed, and at least for today, the English have to chew on that, as the those on the side of the adversaries of the "People's Champion" have had to do repeatedly over the last few years.

He's my kind of boxing champion, no question about it. Is he my kind of politician, though? That, kids, is a whole other issue which I'd rather not get into.

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