By Carlos Boogs
Last Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao announced his retirement after winning a twelve round decision in his trilogy fight with Timothy Bradley.
Pacquiao's career rival, Floyd Mayweather Jr., announced his own retirement last September after winning a twelve round decision over Andre Berto.
During the HBO Pay-Per-View broadcast for Pacquiao's fight, network analyst Max Kellerman said the Filipino superstar would walk away from the sport as the best of our era.
Former two division world champion Ricky Hatton, who fought both Pacquiao and Mayweather, is not in agreement with Kellerman.
Hatton was stopped by Mayweather in ten rounds in December of 2007, while Pacquiao brutally knocked Hatton out in two rounds in May of 2009.
The Manchester legend believes Mayweather is the most talented fighter that he ever faced in his career and deserves to be the best of this era. After years of hype, Mayweather and Pacquiao finally collided last May, with Floyd winning dominant twelve round unanimous decision.
"I think it's Floyd at the top. My training camp didn't go great for Manny...and to be honest with you by the time I fought Manny I had been through a lot of wars and a lot of miles on the clock. My chin was rock-solid when I fought Kostya Tszyu, but sometimes wear and tear eats away at you over the years," Hatton told BoxingScene.com's Declan Taylor.
"I don't think I was at my best when I fought Manny. I think I was more at my best when I fought Floyd....and Floyd was a genius, very difficult to hit. He was very talented. He was best I fought. Floyd Mayweatrher and Manny Pacquiao are probably going to go down as two of the best ever and to think that I fought them both and I was ranked good enough to fight them both - it makes me feel very proud."