Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton
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| Records before December 8, 2007 | |
|---|---|
| 'Undeafeated' | |
 Floyd Mayweather Jr. |
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| Record | 38-0-0 (24 KO) |
| Hometown | Las Vegas, USA |
| Recognition | The Ring magazine
WBC Welterweight Champion The Ring magazine #1 pound-4-pound fighter in the world |
| versus | |
 Ricky Hatton |
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| Record | 43-0-0 (31 KO) |
| Hometown | Manchester, England |
| Recognition | The Ring magazine Light Welterweight Champion |
| Title(s) on the line | |
| WBC Welterweight Championship | |
Floyd Mayweather, Jr vs. Ricky Hatton was a boxing match which took place on December 8, 2007, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, between two-time IBO, IBF, WBU and WBA Light Welterweight champion and former WBA Welterweight Champion Ricky Hatton and current WBC Welterweight champion and rated by The Ring magazine as the number-one pound for pound boxer in the world Floyd Mayweather Jr.. The fight was for Mayweather's WBC Welterweight championship title. Mayweather defeated Hatton by knockout in the tenth round.
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[edit] General Information
The referee for the fight was Joe Cortez, with Burt Clements, Dave Moretti and Paul Smith as the three judges. Hatton weighed in at 145lbs and Mayweather at 147lbs.
In attendance were such stars Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis and Jude Law, also soccer star David Beckham. At the weigh in the crowd were whipped into a frenzy as Joe Calzaghe (who was there suporting Hatton) squared up to Ameriacn legend Bernard Hopkins (who was there supporting Mayweather). Also at the weigh in was upcoming British Lightweight Amir Kahn and established British cruiserweight Enzo Maccarinelli.
Throughout the weigh in Hatton's many fans could be heard loudly sining 'Hatton Wonderland' and could be heard clearly as they booed Mayweather.
[edit] The Fight
Hatton was able to bring the fight to Mayweather in the early rounds. His constant pressure appeared to make Mayweather uncomfortable at first. In round six, referee Joe Cortez took a point away from Hatton after he appeared to hit Mayweather on the back of the head while Mayweather was rested between the ropes. However, the punch was revealed to have hit the rope rather than Mayweather's head but Ricky Hatton was warned for punching behind the head on numerous occasions before the deduction. Hatton became angry at the referees decision to deduct a point from him and turned his back on him in frustration. Hatton would later claim that he had became angry by the referee and that had caused him to lose his calm and contributed to his downfall. Hatton was able to hold his own, until round eight, when Mayweather began to adapt to Hatton and started counterattacking. Mayweather knocked Hatton to the mat in Round 10. Hatton got up, but Mayweather quickly resumed his attack, resulting in Joe Cortez putting a stop to the fight, and Hatton's corner threw in the towel. Mayweather commented post-match that "Ricky Hatton is one tough fighter. He is still a champion in my eyes and I'd love to see him fight again. "Ricky Hatton is probably one of toughest competitors I've faced. I hit him with some big ones but he kept coming and I can see why they call him the 'Hitman'." The fight received large amounts of publicity, with both fighters promoting the fight heavily.
[edit] Aftermath
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Cortez received heavy criticism from fans of Ricky Hatton and boxing experts for his handling of the fight. The thought is that Cortez was overly intrusive, and when the fighters where in close, he was breaking up the action too quick and did not wait to see if the fighters were actually going to throw a punch or not; a scenario that would have suited Ricky Hatton.[citation needed] Cortez deducted Hatton a point in round 6 - the first of his professional career - for hitting on the back of the head. Some complain that Cortez failed to see Mayweather ducking and almost trying to lever himself through the ropes. Hatton responded by turning his back on Floyd on the resumption.
Mayweather went on to appear at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s No Way Out pay-per-view on February 17, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was involved in a storyline physical altercation with Big Show.
Mayweather announced his retirement from boxing on June 6, 2008.
Hatton defeated Juan Lazcano at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester on May 24, 2008[1] in a "thank-you" bout for the tremendous fan support he has received throughout his entire professional career. The last time Hatton fought in Manchester was back in 2005 against Kostya Tszyu. Hatton will now fight Paul Malignaggi for the IBF light welterweight championship in November.
