LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao cemented his status as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, showing his destructive powers with a second-round wipeout of Ricky Hatton to claim the Ring magazine 140-pound title on Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The back-and-forth slugfest that many anticipated never materialized because Pacquiao was overwhelming the naturally larger Hatton from the opening bell.

Pacquiao-Hatton might not have been a fight of the year candidate, but Pacquiao probably sewed up KO of the year with the one-punch bomb he detonated on Hatton's chin to end the fight in the second round.

"I'm surprised it was so easy, but I've been training hard since March," Pacquiao said. "He was open for the right hook because I knew he'd be looking for my left."

Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach had been predicting that his fighter would take advantage of Hatton's flaws and take him out.

"This was no surprise," Roach said. "Hatton pumps his hands before he throws a punch. He's a sucker for a right hook. That's what we worked on in camp."

Hatton (45-2, 32 KOs) barely made it out of the opening round after being floored by the Filipino icon twice.

Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) landed a right hook early on and it was clear his hand speed was far superior to the British superstar. Hatton got inside and roughed up Pacquiao with some left hooks to the body. That was Hatton's lone highlight of the first round.

Pacquiao came back with a blistering combination that had Hatton holding on. Just as Hatton went to throw a left hook, Pacquiao unleashed a right hook. Pacquiao's got their first and Hatton was knocked down for the first time.

Hatton had to survive 40 seconds to get out of the first round, but Pacquiao wasn't letting up.

Another combination drove Hatton into the ropes and forced him to clinch to survive.

Another huge flurry punctuated with a straight left send Hatton crashing to the canvas for a second time. Hatton beat the count and lasted the final 4 seconds to get out of the first round.

Pacquiao stalked Hatton in the second round, targeting him with overhand lefts and straight lefts.

Each concussive shot moved him one step closer to ending the fight.

Finally, Pacquiao connected with a perfect left to Hatton's chin. Hatton was out before he hit the deck. Hatton landed flat on his back and referee Kenny Bayless waved off the scheduled 12-rounder with 1 second left in the second.

The 16,000 in attendance were stunned for a few seconds after Pacquiao landed the KO blow before erupting into cheers.

Pacquiao took over the No. 1 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings after Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired in December 2007. Mayweather announced he was coming out of retirement to fight Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18 in Las Vegas earlier in the day.