By CompuBox

The evolution of Manny Pacquiao from brawler to beast is complete. Just when you thought Manny Pacquiao couldn’t be more spectacular, he does something that challenges every writer to come up with the appropriate superlative.

Most boxing observers expected "The Pac Man" to defeat Ricky Hatton Saturday night at the MGM, but few ever fathomed that it would come by way of a one-punch knockout in round two. Despite the fight’s brevity, all of the phenomenal hand speed, the magnificent footwork, the tremendous timing and the mercury-like fusion from offense and defense he showed against David Diaz and Oscar de la Hoya were even more powerfully demonstrated against Hatton.

From the beginning, Hatton had no answer for Pacquiao’s blinding right hook, which produced two knockdowns in round one, or the final knuckle-flush left cross that snapped off his light switch even before he hit the canvas.

The CompuBox numbers further amplified the degree of Pacquiao’s command over Hatton:

* Pacquiao was 73 of 127 overall (57 percent) to Hatton’s 18 of 78 (23 percent), meaning the Filipino tornado connected just five fewer times than "The Hit Man" threw.

* Most importantly, Pacquiao was 65 of 105 in power punches – a mind-boggling 62 percent – to Hatton’s 16 of 56 (29 percent). He was 31 of 52 in the first round (60 percent) and in the second he elevated his percentage to 64 percent (34 of 53) by the time he flattened Hatton. While Pacquiao was comfortably in the 30-connect range, Hatton never ventured beyond single-digits as he was 7 of 26 (27 percent) in the first and 9 of 30 (30 percent) in the second.

* Pacquiao successfully imposed his whirlwind pace as he averaged 64 punches per round to Hatton’s 39 and he even managed to out-jab the Briton 8-2 while each threw 22.

In the aftermath of Pacquiao’s triumph, names like Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley were tossed around the periphery, but the epicenter of conversation surrounded a fight that was officially announced the morning of Pacquiao-Hatton: Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus pound-for-pound number two Juan Manuel Marquez July 18. Should Marquez emerge victorious, it will set the stage for a legacy-defining third chapter for both. But if the "Pretty Boy" wins, the mainstream magnitude that would envelop Pacquiao-Mayweather will dwarf that of Pacquiao-Hatton and the number of zeroes on each man’s check would make the "stimulus" package blush.

In other action:

* WBC super featherweight champion Humberto Soto eventually hunted down Canadian speedster Benoit Gaudet and stopped him in the ninth to retain his title for the second time in 35 days. Soto was 159 of 443 (36 percent) overall to Gaudet’s 111 of 519 (21 percent) and, as expected, out-performed him in power punches 109-87 despite throwing five fewer (273-278). Soto also out-jabbed Gaudet 50 of 170 (29 percent) to 24 of 241 (10 percent). Gaudet threw more overall punches than Soto in each of the final seven rounds but Soto out-connected him in every round save the sixth, where they tied at 13.

* Daniel Jacobs scored an eight round decision over Michael Walker just eight days after stopping Jose Varela. Jacobs landed 225 of 767 overall (29 percent) to Walker’s 82 of 424 (19 percent), out-landing him in every round and by double-digits in all but the sixth round. The Brooklyn product out-jabbed Walker 70-9 and out-did him in power connects 155-73.