Hatton - Mayweather Starts Ugly But Ends Pretty

The night began ominously for Floyd Mayweather before he even entered the ring. The British invasion was in full effect last night, as the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas was turned into the American version of the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England. The arena was filled with the screams and singing of rabid Ricky Hatton fans who had traveled across the Atlantic to see their man beat the Pretty Boy. Venerable British crooner Tom Jones sung the British national anthem to boisterous cheers while American R&B crooner Tyrese Gibson had his rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner drowned out by the boos and whistles of the pro-Hatton crowd. Somewhere Paul Revere was shaking his head. Surprisingly, Floyd entered the ring to Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., in an attempt to blunt the British fervor. It didn't seem to work. It appeared that Hatton had firmly established the "home-ring advantage." The only problem is that this was the only advantage that Hatton would enjoy all night.

The first four rounds were marred by mauling, elbows, forearms, and clinches. Referee Joe Cortez had to use his hands as much as the fighters, as he repeatedly broke up clinches and admonished both fighters for their dirty tactics (Hatton would eventually lose a point for a rabbit punch). This came as no surprise to me, as I predicted that Hatton would press the action and try to force Mayweather into a back-alley brawl. But like I also predicted, it would not work. Even when Hatton was pressing the action, Floyd was picking him off, especially with counter right hands. He used this punch to open a bad cut over Hatton's right eye in round three and keep his game challenger at bay over the first half of the fight.

The HBO Boxing crew gave the impression that the fight was fairly close by the midway point, but it was clear to me that Mayweather was slowly dissecting Hatton and using his aggressiveness against him. By the eighth round it became proverbial batting practice for Floyd. He repeatedly countered, confused and dazed Hatton until finally putting him out of his misery in round ten, courtesy of a wicked counter left-hook (which led to the first knockdown) knockdown and a follow-up flurry (which led to the second and final knockdown) in round 10.

The fight started ominous and ugly for Floyd, but as he had done 38 times before, the Pretty Boy remained unscathed, undefeated, and left with his #1 Ring pound-for-pound status. He even scored in the post-fight interview, as he showed grace and humility in his comments regarding Ricky Hatton and his legion of British fans. No one but Floyd really knows how sincere his comments were, but it was refreshing nonetheless. It also shows that he is finally comprehending what is needed to become the mega-star that he always promised that he could be. Sure, a follow-up win against rising superstar Miguel Cotto would further solidify his already legendary, Hall of Fame credentials. But let's just sit back and soak in the satisfying result of the year's last superfight. The fight was hyped extremely well (the reality show Mayweather-Hatton, 24x7), had a great atmosphere (British fans taking over Las Vegas), and exceeded expectations in the ring (Mayweather displaying more offense than usual).

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