Ricky Hatton completed a 10th successful defence of his WBU light welterweight title by becoming the first man to stop resilient Argentine Aldo Rios. Hatton put Rios on the canvas for the first time in his 38-fight career inside the opening minute of the contest, but that proved a false omen.
The champion's power advantage over an opponent stepping up from the lightweight division was obvious throughout as he bulldozed forward in round after round.
But Rios soaked up all the punishment that came his way until referee Micky Vann stopped the fight after the 29-year-old had been down for a second time, at the very end of the ninth round.
 |  He was very slippery - but in the end I got him |
Each round appeared more one-sided than the last as Hatton crunched body shot after body shot into the challenger's ribs, while receiving little in return. With the few shots that Rios did manage to fire off lacking the impact Hatton is used to in this division, the 24-year-old champion needed to pay little attention to his defence in front of his home crowd at Manchester's MEN Arena.
He concentrated mainly on the body as he tried to wear Rios down, but his rival's courage kept him going far longer than many pre-fight judges had expected.
But the pressure began to tell in the eighth, when Hatton responded instantly to one of Rios' better rights with a left hook to the body that took the Argentine's breath away.
However, the challenger dogged it out to the bell and looked to have survived the ninth as well until Hatton followed up some more heavy body punching by switching to the head in the closing stages.
It was a long-range left hook that had dropped Rios in the first and this time a sharper version of the shot from closer range finally felled him for good.
Although the bell rang before Rios could be counted out, referee Vann had seen enough and stopped the fight with the challenger on his stool, and with no complaints from his corner.
MMIX
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