A great knockout can be thrilling and chilling at the same time. Some of them come after wars, some of them come at the end of domination, and sometimes, they just suddenly happen. There were a lot of fantastic knockouts in 2009, but one stands above the rest for me. It was a fight and a moment I'll never forget.
"There It Is": Manny Pacquiao Crumbles Ricky Hatton in Two
If you don't want to watch the entire highlights video (which is basically the whole fight), fast forward to about 2:20.
Pacquiao floored Hatton twice in round one, once with a timing shot that did have some oomph, and the second time on a blitzing series of shots that left Hatton dumbfounded and bewildered. But the knockout shot just before the bell to end round two was simply vicious. Hatton bought a fake by Pacquiao, who for a split second looked like he'd be going to the body with his left hand. Ricky dropped his arm to guard against that shot.
And his jaw was absolutely crushed as a result. It is the sort of 100% clean, on the money, unbelievably savage knockout shot you just don't see very often at this level of the sport. When it landed, and Hatton hit the canvas knocked out nearly cold, my jaw dropped. It was one of those moments where in doing the round-by-round coverage, I almost had nothing to say. The fight was so stunningly one-sided that I couldn't believe what I was watching.
Honorable Mentions
Randall Bailey knocks out Frankie Figueroa (fast forward to about 2:15)
Arthur Abraham finishes Jermain Taylor in the opening round of the Super Six
Vic Darchinyan rages past Tomas Rojas
There were several more good KOs this year. Add your favorites in the comments!