PACMAN UP FOR HATTON CLASH
Manny Pacquiao says he'd be happy to fight Ricky Hatton in England after destroying Oscar De La Hoya in their superfight in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The Filipino icon defied ring logic by stepping up three weight divisions in eight months to stop the faded 'Golden Boy' after eight rounds in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Hatton was being lined up to fight the winner, with De La Hoya expected to come out victorious en route to a huge summer showdown in London next year.
But those plans came unstuck in a huge way as Pacquiao first befuddled De La Hoya and then battered him before the fight was stopped after round eight.
Afterwards Pacquiao confirmed he's up for a showdown with the Hitman, telling Sky Box Office: "My job is to fight in the ring, that's the promoter's job. I can fight any time, anywhere. I can go to England to fight Hatton, no problem."
Meanwhile Bob Arum, Pacman's promoter, agreed Manny against Ricky at light-welterweight could be on the cards.
He said: "Why not, but tonight and until the New Year it's celebration time for all the Filipinos. But after that I know Ray - we'll sit down, we'll talk, that's probably the most logical fight to be made - Manny against Ricky Hatton at 140lbs. Because obviously Manny would want to fight at 140 and so would Ricky. That's probably number one on the drawing board. But let the kid have a great Christmas and New Year, and then we'll sit down to business."
Hatton himself said: "Manny's proved again that he's pound-for-pound the number one in the sport and I still might get my dream of becoming the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world."
Las Vegas, Nevada hosted the De La Hoya-Pacquiao match
Filipino WBC Lightweight Champion, Emmanuel "The Pacman" Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs) stopped American boxer and promoter Oscar "Golden Boy" De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) after eight rounds of the "The Dream Match" in MGM Grand Garden Arena, at Las Vegas, Nevada on December 6, 2008. De La Hoya's corner threw in the towel before the start of the 9th round of the 12-round, non-title fight at the 147-pound welterweight limit. It was officially a technical knockout.

"Pacman" dominated the fight, from the opening bell, landing his straight left hand to the American's face, and later opens up with combinations in the seventh and eighth rounds. Two of the three judges scored all eight rounds for him, while a third gives De La Hoya the first round. Finally, Pacman gives De La Hoya a beating and closes his left eye in the eighth round. Pacquiao said, "You're still my idol." De La Hoya replied, "No, you're my idol." 

The camp of Manny Pacquiao has previously claimed that "Golden Boy" had weaknesses the Filipino boxer would exploit. Trainer Freddie Roach accurately foretold the outcome when he earlier said, "I'm not saying we're not going to knock him out. If it happens, fine. We'll take it. What we're going to do is break him down round by round. We're working on staying away from the jab and the left hook. The hook is a power shot. But Oscar makes a mistake with his jab. I'm not saying what it is, but I've seen it."

Meanwhile, sportinglife.com reported that Pacquiao "confirmed he's up for a showdown with Ricky "Hitman" Hatton, telling Sky Box Office: "My job is to fight in the ring, that's the promoter's job. I can fight any time, anywhere. I can go to England to fight Hatton, no problem." Hatton replies: "Manny's proved again that he's pound-for-pound the number one in the sport and I still might get my dream of becoming the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world."

Pacquiao stands to earn nearly US$15 million, which also includes his share of the pay-per-view earnings while De La Hoya is guaranteed $20 million for the fight.