Accurate review

By Michael Norby: Unbeaten WBC welterweight world champion and pound for pound great Floyd Mayweather Junior broke the hearts of a nation on Saturday night as he knocked out Englishman Ricky ‘Hitman’ Hatton in the tenth round at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Say what you will about Mayweather 39-0 (25) – his cocky ‘Money Mayweather’ persona certainly has not endeared him to many fight fans in recent years, but his technical brilliance and ability to adjust to any fighter or style that he meets in the ring allows him to fully support his brash ego. Against Ricky Hatton 43-1 (31) this evening, Mayweather negated the Englishman’s pressure and rough-house tactics, not just by his dazzling hand speed and accuracy, but by being a lot more physical that many people thought he could be. He remained patient and caught up with the surging Hatton in the tenth – sending him down with a massive left hook and finishing the badly wobbled Englishman off with a follow-up combination. “I took my time,” said Mayweather after the fight. “A true champion can adapt to anything. Ricky Hatton is one of the toughest competitors I have ever faced. I hit him with some hard shots to the head and the body. I showed that I can still punch with power.” Hatton, a massive underdog with American writers and fans going into this evening’s super-fight, entered the ring with a steadfast belief that his dogged style would see him through the toughest test of his ten year professional career. He had some successful moments in the opening half of the fight and tested Mayweather from the start with his never ending pressure. He got careless, though, from the middle rounds onwards and it was only a matter of time before the champion did damage with his accurate shots. “What a fluke that was,” joked a smiling Hatton. “No, I thought I was doing well but is good at making you miss. He was better on the inside than I thought and he had a good round in the 10th and caught me.” I was a little too gung-ho at times,” added Hatton. “This might sound daft, but he’s not but he’s not the hardest puncher I’ve ever faced but he was very accurate and he got me.” In the opening round Hatton, as advertised, came out firing and landed a nice left hand that sent Mayweather backwards. Mayweather responded with a beautiful left hook and his speed was certainly causing the Hitman problems from the beginning. Another left hand for Mayweather landed well but Hatton was pressuring Floyd and he landed hard left hands in the second half of the round – almost knocking Mayweather down with one of those punches. Mayweather was uncomfortable – his opponent’s quickness coming in was beginning to unsettle the champion and Hatton was making Mayweather fight – something that he did not seem happy with. Hatton continued to pressure Mayweather to start the second round – forcing him to the ropes with his left hand. Another big left landed for Hatton shortly afterwards and Mayweather was just not landing hard enough to deter the Englishman. Mayweather caught Hatton with a straight right hand coming in but his single punches were not supported thus allowing the Mancunian to continue pressing. This was an interesting fight thus far and it was Mayweather who was holding throughout the round, forcing referee Joe Cortez to threaten punch deductions. Things got ugly on the inside in the third round but both men landed cleanly with single shots before mauling against the ropes. The Hitman managed to put punches together at the midway point but Mayweather countered beautifully with his right hand – snapping Hatton’s head back twice in a decent exchange. Mayweather’s right hand was beginning to find its target frequently in this round and he cut the challenger with a sweeping left toward the end of the round, although it was not a serious wound. Cortez was working overtime tonight, but for the most part he was allowing Hatton to harass Mayweather on the inside. Hatton enjoyed success against the ropes – connecting with a string of punches in the first minute. The Manchester fighter was outworking the pound for pound great, but Mayweather was extremely accurate with his counter punching and a combination in the final minute seemed to stun Hatton. The champion upped the tempo in the final minute and stung Hatton again with fast and hard combinations Ricky again trapped Mayweather against the ropes to open the fifth and unsettled him with his output – a lot was missing but Mayweather was not enjoying the constant pressure. This was a good response by Hatton and he thumped his foe to the body and head with two left hooks, followed by a right uppercut. Mayweather landed little of effect in this round, apart from the occasional straight right hand – Cortez again warning him between rounds for holding. Hatton’s style and success thus far was reminiscent of the Tszyu victory two years previous – no one gave him a chance then and little now, but Hatton was roughing up the champion and almost tossed Mayweather out of the ring, which cost him a point. Things heated up after that and Hatton looked angry, although he walked into a couple of right hands for his efforts. Hatton arguably did enough to win the remainder of the round, however, and could have evened the scoring as Mayweather spent much of the balance with his back against the ropes trying to weave away from his opponents punches. In the seventh round Hatton, probably thinking that he was behind after the deduction, attacked aggressively and he again landed with a nice combination to the head midway through the frame. Mayweather responded with uppercuts on the inside but Hatton was fighting his fight and enjoying the better of the inside action. On the outside, Mayweather predictably was having more success although it was with single punches only. He did put his hands together in the final ten seconds, but Hatton made him miss with most of those shots. Mayweather ducked and dodged away from Hatton in the eighth round and began landing more frequently with wonderful sequences – wobbling Hatton with a massive right hand at the two minute mark. Hatton responded well and again trapped the champion in the corner, where he was the busier man. Mayweather, however, exploded in the final thirty seconds and badly hurt the challenger with a string of blistering head shots that almost had the Englishman out on his feet. As the fight entered the final stages, it was clear that Mayweather was gathering the momentum and he was looking more and more comfortable as the junior welterweight champion began to tire. Hatton was not landing cleanly but he was able to enjoy some success at times on the inside, but Mayweather had adjusted fully to his opponent’s style at this stage and he punished the smaller man behind his jab with right hands from the outside. Hatton was surely behind on the scorecards but he landed beautifully with a left hook to the body and head to start the tenth. He seemed to be responding well in this round but as he lunged inside, a massive left hook landed flush against his jaw and dumped Hatton to the floor. Hatton was badly hurt, and Mayweather was ruthless – immediately jumping on Hatton and putting him down for the second and final time with a left hook and right hand that forced Hatton to slump on his back. Referee Joe Cortez waved his hands just as Hatton’s corner threw in the towel – handing the brave Englishman his first defeat. When pressed in the post-fight interview to discuss his future, Mayweather said, “Now it’s time for me to become a promoter. Mosley and Cotto are great champions but I won’t let the sport of boxing retire me. I want to retire from the sport of boxing.” Hatton, who was brave throughout the fight, still heard the cheers of his fans that remained in the arena. Grabbing the microphone he offered a heartfelt, but unnecessary apology. “Sorry everybody,” he said simply before leaving the ring.