Undefeated and The Undisputed Best, Incase You Didn't Already Get It

By Jake Donovan

Mayweather by unanimous decision in a dull, and often ugly, affair.

That was the predetermined outcome from many major outlets heading into last weekend's "Undefeated" PPV show between Floyd "Money" Mayweather and Ricky "Hitman" Hatton . Such an outcome has become the norm for Floyd Mayweather fights in recent years. Such an outcome also suited the agenda most had going in before and angle from which they preferred to cover after the fight.

It provided the perceived obvious (Floyd would justify the 2-1 odds and win the fight), the question raised after old ones were answered (Is being great, good enough?) and Monday morning material for ongoing pound-for-pound debates (can Manny Pacquiao surpass Floyd with a clear and exciting win over Juan Manuel Marquez in their rematch next March?)

Somehow, the world's best fighter became its most predictable, at least in the minds of the media, online bloggers and message boarders.

Hatton was supposed to provide the traveling band, in the form of 16,000 enthusiastic (And at times, beyond tolerable, but more on that later) British aficionados. Check.

He was supposed to frustrate Mayweather early, giving him all sorts of hell en route to providing the toughest test of Money's career.

First part, check. Second part, up to debate, though you won't get this hack to agree on it.

Finally, Hatton was supposed to provide Mayweather with the first loss of his career, or at least give people reason to bitch about the manner in which Floyd won (dull, controversial, safety-first, etc).

Whoops.

Suddenly, Floyd was "just" the world's best fighter. He was no longer its most predictable. Thoughts of a safety-first decision went out the window the moment Uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather told his nephew and pupil to take the fight to Hatton, which Floyd did after surviving six rounds of wrestling, clinching and dry-humping (and contrary to popular – or biased – belief, was winning most of those rounds).

Mayweather took over for good in round seven, with blistering right hands and an unexpected body attack breaking down the man who was supposed to be on the delivering end of such an attack, not the recipient. By the end of round nine, Hatton had his longtime trainer, Billy Graham, begging to dig deep and finish strong in the last two rounds. The corner was unaware that there were three rounds left in the fight, but Floyd made it a moot point once the bell rang to start the tenth.

A check hook about a minute or so into the round send Hatton crashing headfirst into a corner ringpost, then ass-first to the canvas for just the second time in his career. He would beat the count, but arose on shaky legs, never able to shake the cobwebs. Whatever fight was left in Hatton's mighty fighting heart was beaten out of him with a series of Mayweather left hooks, the effects so everlasting that Hatton would once again crash to the canvas, this time on a delayed reaction a couple of seconds after referee Joe Cortez intervened to stop the contest.

The knockout, beginning with the first knockdown, was the missing ingredient in most of Floyd's recent recipes. That "oh sh*t" factor that has come in so many fights in 2007, but not in Mayweather events, at least not since he began collecting belts at and above welterweight.

It was certainly missing in fights against Oscar de la Hoya and Carlos Baldomir, unless you include the moments when you uttered, "Oh sh*t, why did I waste my money on this PPV?" (or a ticket if you were lucky enough – or unlucky, depending on your viewpoint – to attend). Save for the mini-riot, it was missing in the Zab Judah fight, perhaps the lone source of entertainment in the past two year's worth of Mayweather fights.

To Floyd's credit, he vowed to the media during conference calls that he "owed it to everyone to deliver a toe-to-toe slugfest this time around." In other words, alluding to the fact that his past couple of fights lacked entertainment. After the Hatton win, he flat out admitted it – "I delivered some duds in my last couple of fights" – after making good on his pre-fight promise. When the action was rough to watch early on, it was Mayweather who turned the event into must-see TV. When the bout appeared destined for "just" another landslide decision, it was Mayweather who picked up the pace. By fight's end, it was Mayweather who provided a conclusive, satisfying and highlight-reel worthy ending.

Now it's time to provide Mayweather his just due.

Talks of Manny Pacquiao or Joe Calzaghe replacing the undefeated linear welterweight king atop the pound-for-pound mountain are ridiculous. They were absurd heading into the fight, though the last lingering argument was in Floyd's unsatisfying means in racking up wins.

They're more absurd now, with Mayweather closing the show in an event that will register no worse than the year's second biggest event (financially speaking) once the final receipts are tallied. The argument is absurd when you consider that Floyd is most likely the runaway favorite for Fighter of the Year. Any remaining argument in Pacqauio's favor is absurd when you consider the Filipino coasting to victory against a now-retired Marco Antonio Barrera, who was coming off of a loss and already suffered a devastating one-sided stoppage loss to Pacquiao four years ago. Isn't the same argument many have used against Mayweather for the past few fights?

Finally, the argument is absurd when you consider that 2007 ended the same way it began – with Floyd undefeated, the linear welterweight champion and pound-for-pound the world's best fighter.

It's the ending – to the fight and the year - Floyd and his supporters guaranteed. Maybe he's predictable after all. Only now, for the first time in a long time, predictable is a good thing.

Especially when it's the best thing, which is exactly what Floyd was, is and will continue to be.

UNDERWHELMING – INCASE YOU DIDN'T ALREADY SUFFER THROUGH IT

On paper, the televised PPV undercard appeared to be competitive, if not aesthetically pleasing. In reality, it was marginally competitive, but not the least bit pleasing.

The one bout to provide the slightest semblance of entertainment was a rematch to a June 2007 fight that turned out to be a stinker. Edner Cherry repeated his winning performance over Mayweather protégé Wes Ferguson, though this time in far more emphatic fashion, with Cherry scoring two knockdowns en route to a 6 th round knockout in a surprisingly close fight.

The lone source of excitement in the combined 22 rounds of the Jeff Lacy-Peter Manfredo Jr. and Daniel Ponce de Leon-Eduardo Escobedo bouts came when Lacy deposited a retreating Manfredo onto the canvas with a long right hand early in the fourth-round of their painfully dull ten round super middleweight chief support.

It's a shame that Golden Boy Promotions thinks so little of the preliminary slots – to use Richard Schafer's own words prior to the Mayweather-de la Hoya event, "When the main event is that big, who really cares about the undercard?" Boxing fans care about the undercard. They would be the large group behind the celebrities and corporate sponsors that managed to get pushed to the top of the queue when tickets become available for such superfights. Fortunately on Saturday night, enough true boxing fans made their way into the arena to prevent the evening from becoming yet another Golden Business Presentation. Even if they had to be flown in from the UK. Which leads me to…

UNCALLED FOR – INCASE YOU DIDN'T ALREADY HEAR ABOUT IT

A trifecta of trashy behavior from this weekend's event, beginning with those same fans who provided most, if not all, of the emotion before and during the main event.

To the UK contingent who managed to make the trek across the pond and into the MGM Grand this weekend - exuding nationalistic pride is one thing; disrespecting another country's National Anthem is another. There is absolutely no excuse for the Brits' behavior during Tyrese's performing of "The Star Spangled Banner," no matter how proud you are of your country, or how much alcohol and/or liquor is poured into your liver. It was disrespectful when a room full of boricuas offered a similar reaction prior to the start of Felix Trinidad-William Joppy, and just as unforgivable in this case.

There is also no excuse to race bait, be it hyping up a potential fight or simply in the heat of an argument. Yet it's a road which Bernard Hopkins all too often prefers to travel, and once again falling back on the moment undisputed and undefeated super middleweight king Joe Calzaghe got in his face prior to the Mayweather-Hatton weigh-in Friday afternoon. "I will never lose to a white boy" not only fell out of Hopkins' mouth, but repeated throughout the stare-down/brief (yet all too long) argument between the two.

To his credit, Calzaghe never took the bait, maintaining his composure and simply vowing to kick Hopkins' ass if/when the two should meet in the ring, which rumors suggest could happen as early as April 2008.

Finally, Larry Merchant. Over the past couple of decades, we've come to appreciate Merchant as one of the few journalists always willing to ask the tough question, rarely pitching softballs during his interviews. But there's a time and a place for being a prick and driving home your agenda – immediately following Floyd's most impressive in years would not be that place.

Rather than allowing Mayweather to celebrate a year in which he remained undefeated and earned more loot than just about any other fighter will see in his entire career, Merchant instead pushed the angle that it was not what Mayweather did, but what Hatton brought to the table that allowed him to do it. That a Fighter of the Year campaign is not enough, but that he now needs to call out and face every remaining welterweight contender in 2008. This despite the fact that other contenders are already making plans that don't include Mayweather in their immediate future.

To his credit, Mayweather instead remained in celebratory mode, thanking everyone and their mother for being along for the ride. He was still in a jovial mood when sneaking up on Merchant and Jim Lampley during their post-fight sign off. Considering the year – hell, the career – he's had, and how much he's already made, one could hardly blame Mayweather for wanting to head for the nearest exit and call it a wrap. He's literally earned that right.

Work because you want to, not because you have to. Isn't that the dream most of us live?

UNDER THE RADAR – INCASE YOU OVERLOOKED IT

Surely, several will attempt to challenge the notion that Mayweather is not 2007's Fighter of the Year. Arguments will be made for Kelly Pavlik, Miguel Cotto, Joe Calzaghe and perhaps even Juan Diaz – four more fighters who also maintained their "0" while enjoying career-best campaigns over the past twelve months. Whatever. Everyone's entitled to their opinion.

But one race where there surely can only be one winner would be the Round of the Year, which occurred on Showtime's "ShoBox: The Next Generation" series the weekend prior to "Undefeated." Unbeaten junior middleweight prospect James Kirkland vowed to take the fight to hard-hitting Allen Conyers early and often. He delivered – at least on the early part, attacking Conyers right from the opening bell. The result- Kirkland deposited on the canvas for the first time in his career, less than 30 seconds into the bout.

Fighters are often judged by how they respond to adversity. If such is true, then mark down Kirkland as a future champion. The southpaw climbed off of the canvas, shook off the cobwebs – and an ensuing attack from Conyers – to regain control, sending his foe to the canvas not once but twice, prior to forcing a stoppage. All in the first round. Wow!

"The Jake-of-All-Trades" is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, a licensed judge, manager and promoter, and presently serves on the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His column runs every Tuesday on BoxingScene.com. Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com