By Amy Green

When it was all said and done by a 10th round TKO, there was only one Floyd Mayweather. From his ring entrance which included billionaire Mark Cuban and other Dancing With the Stars alums Wayne Newton and winner Helio Castroneves, Mayweather exuded confidence and rose to a performance extracted from him by Ricky Hatton that made him undeniably the pound for pound king of the ring.

 

Ricky Hatton brought Floyd his toughest fight to date, with his ability to force the fight and make him do battle instead of totally rely on his masterful defense and accurate single shots. Hatton's ability to engage Floyd in battle was at times nearly smothered by referee Joe Cortez, who seemed to be fairly firm in cautioning Hatton at nearly every moment for excessive holding when both fighters were mauling, clinching and shoving between exchanges.

 

The end came in the tenth round, with three staggering left hooks by Floyd Mayweather, which Hatton never saw coming,  that bounced his head off the padded cornerpost and crumpled him flat on the canvas. The MGM Arena which had previously been filled by the constant noisy, chanting din of the Hatton supporters grew quiet as referee Joe Cortez stopped the fight.

 

Post fight, a jubiliant Floyd Mayweather congratulated and kissed Ricky Hatton, embraced his children and sank to his knees after a stellar victory. He was gracious in his comments to the press and deserving of the break he announced he plans to take from the ring.

Ricky Hatton was charming in his first defeat, displaying the sense of humor that won him a legion of fans in the U.S. during his time in Las Vegas, but grew emotional as he apologized to all of his supporters for his loss.  Hatton's  loyal followers to their credit, never stopped their chanting or drum beating even though their champion was handed his first defeat.

 

Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton's performance lived up to it's pre-fight hype in a manner the Mayweather/de la Hoya fight did not. Both fighters were forced to fight by their different styles- Hatton the brawler to make Mayweather the boxer  fight, and Mayweather the boxer to take the fight out of the brawler. Both succeeded during the event, making the action a little more dramatic and the rounds a little more difficult to predict.

Mayweather's triumph was his most hard fought with the best of skills on display. This fight signals the end of the year for boxing's big events, and ends it on a high note. Let's stay tuned to see what 2008 will have in store for boxing fans.

 

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