Floyd Mayweather v. Ricky Hatton 
The Undefeated Boxer v. The Undefeated Brawler


"I'm gone. I'm through with the sport. You'll see, I'm through, man."
The man who spoke these words as he fought back tears at his press conference after annihilating Carlos Baldomir, vowing to retire and never fight again...has not only made one comeback in his fight against Oscar de la Hoya, but he's doing it again fighting undefeated Mancunian Ricky Hatton on December 8, 2007 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in his hometown of Las Vegas. Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s the name, and boxing is not only his game...it's his life..and he's not going anywhere.

Ricky Hatton…
Yeah Ricky Hatton is a tough contender...sure he will be a force to be reckoned with, and goodness gracious he's got himself quite a large following of Brits traipsing across the waters to America to see him fight. His last fight against Jose Luis Castillo on June 23, 2007 in Las Vegas was filled to the brim with the Brits (reportedly about 10,000)...singing songs, playing instruments, there was an entire band section in the risers for God's sake. As I sat there in the middle of it all, memories of my high school football games started coming to mind. I almost starting looking around for the cheerleaders. The fanaticism was quite eventful; the fight, however, was not. The fight ended in a fourth round knockout with a left hook blow to Castillo's liver causing unbearable pain to Castillo and dropping him down to take a knee. That was that. Boring at best. Ricky's take on his fight? " I think you saw more action in those 4 rounds than the whole of Floyd Mayweather's career." Ricky what kind of televisions do you have over there in Manchester because they must not work too well?

Hatton can hit...and he can hit hard at least that's what they say (of course how the hell would any of us know, we haven't been hit by the lad). So like the rest of the world who has never been hit by Ricky Hatton, we all can only assume he can live up to the "hard hitting" reputation that has bestowed the same nickname on him as legendary Tommy Hearns....the Hitman. Well the Hitman's problem against Mayweather may be just that...his hitting...coming in throwing an arsenal of punches all over the place...trying to kill Mayweather won't work. Oh and don't forget, Mayweather can take a hard ass punch as though is was an afterthought. Don't you think Mayweather is ready for that?????? Mayweather is too smart. To affect Mayweather would require calculated offense, calculated defense.... calculation is one skill Hatton seems to lack. Also, Hatton can be one-dimensional, he tends to rely on his chin-strength to get him through fights and allow him to plow through his opponents with unbridled punches. His defense? Well he has none really...he's an offensive boxer and clearly lacks the defensive skill that Mayweather brings to the table. 

Hatton's First Fight at 147…
Hatton's fight against Luis Collazo is most telling to me. As I watched him win the welterweight belt from Collazo in May of 2006, I saw a tough Hatton, but it was apparent that his first time fighting at 147 against a relatively inexperienced Collazo was not easy for him. Hatton started to really tire out towards the 10th round and started to become a bit sloppy. He walked into a southpaw right hook and then a left. Collazo gave him a tough time and frankly it looked like a damn close call to me that should have gone the other way. There were also a few times around the 5th round that Hatton looked a little dazed, and in round 3 Collazo was breaking Hatton's rhythm until a clash of the heads causing a cut on Collazo's forehead. But, it was round 1 & 2 that set the tone for Hatton. He sent Collazo to the floor for a count in the 1st and had him stumbling in the 2nd. Even though he had trouble in later rounds, the Hitman was able to stand his own and use the perception that he created in the first two rounds to carry through and win the fight by decision. Collazo connected punch after punch….but Hatton was virtually unfazed…Hatton can take a punch and has the stamina….two of his major strengths. The fight was relatively exciting to watch. The win? Controversial. I think Collazo won, but I wasn't surprised when they crowned Hatton. After all, why tarnish a perfect record of a man who has the potential to bring in millions of dollars in future fights when this fight was so close? Means a hell of a lot more for two undefeated champions to match up rather than one undefeated and the other with 1 loss. But, examine that fight, examine how difficult it was for Hatton to fight a relatively uneventful, inexperienced fighter who had only 12 KO's in 28 professional fights, and then you tell me Hatton can hold a candle to Mayweather fighting at 147 for his second time ever. I wouldn't bet the house on it… or even the candle for that matter.

Hatton's Chances?…
The prediction by the Ricky Hatton fans...that Ricky's gonna bring Mayweather down with his hard-hitting body shots...ramming his way through the ring like a mad-man, throwing punches with wild abandon..let's just say this...the Hitman's gonna need more than that if he thinks he can shake the Pretty Boy. So does Ricky have a chance???? Well sure.....IF Ricky really hits all that hard (which I am willing to bet he does not hit any harder than De La Hoya or Zab Judah) and IF Ricky can get in some good hard body shots (he's gonna have a really hard time hitting Floyd's face square on because of Floyd's quickness), and IF Floyd's having a bad day (which is not likely), and IF Lady Luck is on Ricky's side, then and only then does Ricky have a chance......ok ok ok....my prediction is that Hatton's wild abandon will be his demise. .....lets turn to Mayweather.....

Floyd Mayweather Jr….
Mayweather eats, drinks, sleeps, breathes, tastes, dreams, lives...BOXING. No alcohol, no drugs, no indulgences to harm his perfectly trained and sculpted body....and when he trains...oh boy watch out...he trains to kill. His training regimen is brutal. His team is on call 24 hrs a day. He is a machine…a perfectly oiled machine who cannot be distracted...not even by his favorite stripper at the Rhino...nope not during training. The epitome of discipline. Superior athlete, slick boxer, reads his competition like a book...systematically breaking them down piece by piece leaving his competition sufficiently puzzled as to what the hell just happened. Oh and don't you dare forget his corner. Trained by Roger Mayweather and Leonard Ellerbee. Roger a tough fighter and trainer. But, the true heart of that corner is Leonard...No one, I mean no one believes in someone the way that Leonard believes in Floyd...closest friends and confidants, Leonard's leadership is Floyd's secret weapon. Its training beyond training...they are a force capable of destroying the most formidable foe.

Mayweather is plagued only by his hand injury, which he is capable of ignoring through mind over matter. Some still question whether he has a glass jaw (meaning a weak chin, susceptible to knock out if hit just right), but it's never been tested because the boy is just lightning fast and no one has really gotten that solid of a punch in on him). However, I have seen him get hit hard, over and over and over, fighter after fighter. I've seen him stumble and lose footing against Zab Judah, I've seen De La Hoya connect with his face and body, two hard-hitting fighters....but Mayweather adjusts...He consistently adjusts. He has blazing hand speed, superior hand/eye coordination, he can throw a wicked uppercut with either hand and has the stamina of a racehorse. Mayweather knows how to tire his opponent allowing his opponent to jab right and left, here and there in the early rounds while he barely breaks a sweat. Most of the time his opponent just gets frustrated as the punches fail to land on the ever-swift, ever-changing Mayweather. The punches that happen to land rarely cause a fumble. Mayweather can walk the walk, talk the talk and fight the fight, he can last the duration, he can dodge a bullet and he can launch one too. The man is boxing's royalty...whether you like him or not...that is one title you cannot deny him.

The Mayweather nay-sayers…
The Mayweather nay-sayers said that de la Hoya would be a contender for Mayweather like no other. Mayweather climbed to 154 (remember he has fought most of his fights at 130 and the rest between 135 and 147). People said oh no he is no match against a larger De La Hoya who has fought the likes of Mosley, Trinidad and Hopkins. They said De la Hoya is stronger, has a longer reach, just as quick, just as smart....they said De La Hoya was Mayweather's nemesis. De La Hoya trained from the same man whose lineage created the great Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (Mayweather's father trained De la Hoya but did not train him for the De la Hoya-Mayweather bout). Mayweather could simply not get the credit that he really did deserve. Then on May 5, 2007 the moment of truth. Adorned in trunks bearing Mexico's flag with his crew wearing "Mexico Loves Floyd" tee-shirts, Pretty Boy's legacy continued when he defeated Mexico's Golden Boy by decision in front of a sold-out crowd some of whom paid in excess of $20,000 for one ticket. And the critics were silenced....or were they?

Still, Mayweather cannot shake the critics. They are out there predicting that the "hard-hitter" will bring Mayweather down…saying Mayweather has never been hit as hard as Hatton can hit. Frankly, I think it gets to Mayweather…I think he knows he's the best but the fact that he cannot get the credit that the legendary greats have received bothers him….and rightfully so because Mayweather is a legend…look as his record. Come on people…Hasn't Floyd proven it to you by now? Different fights, different days, different fighters, different weight classes, but hey its always same damn story...the win goes to Mayweather. He has won world titles at 130, 135, 140, 147 & 154 pounds and is UNDEFEATED. Is anyone watching the fights out there??? Open your eyes, the guy is systematically out-witting, out-boxing, and out-thinking each opponent they place before him in every weight class.

Mayweather Still Chasing Respect…
"[Boxing] is the only thing I've ever done. I know the sport inside out. What else is there for me to prove?" said Mayweather during his retirement speech. Well clearly, he still has something left to prove cuz he sure ain't quittin. Personally, although I know he loves money, (I've seen the man shop!) I don't think it is the money, I don't even think it's the fame. I think it's the critics…for some reason they are still not silenced. "I got a lot of money every month for the rest of my life. I'm not chasing money. I wasn't chasing fame or money." So what is it? What is keeping him boxing if it's not the money? Let's be real here…the money is addictive. But I believe him that its not the money anymore, even though Floyd was quick to point out to me that he made over 100 million this year. It's the respect. "I was chasing respect and being a legend. That's all I wanted to do." The reality here is that he is not convinced he has that respect he deserves, not yet…and until that day, I bet you he will continue to fight.

The Mayweather Haters…
Oh there are lots of those out there. It's easy to dislike Floyd. He's the undefeated champion, and a cocky one at that...People see him as arrogant and self-centered, he flosses his money, his attitude, cars, bling, houses, cash, acquaintances are disposable commodities to him, he throws thousands of dollars away in Vegas clubs, has flocks of sexy girls around him at all times, shit he even "made it rain' with a $100,000 strip off for the girls of Vegas last month using his own money at a local strip club. On top of that, he recently changed his name to Floyd "Money" Mayweather to signify how rich he has become. While he may be some or all of the above-mentioned adjectives (I take the 5th on it), one thing remains, he's a winner. This is not about like or dislike...this is not about the desire to see someone get beat simply because you don't care for them personally. You can be a hater all you want, but you cannot, and I mean you simply cannot deny this man is the premier boxer of our time. This is his time, he's earned it and he will prove it time and time again.

Mayweather v. Hatton…
And now, we prepare for The Boxer v. The Brawler. Sure I'm gonna go, but I'm not expecting much. Tell me please...tell me something I don't already know...show me something I don't expect....but I doubt it. Instead it will most likely go down just like this: The brawler will charge out in the first round like a bull with Mayweather as his red flag, swinging, throwing punch after punch. He will put on the show of his life. From seats afar it may look as though Hatton is landing more punches than he really is...remember Floyd's a stealth. Capable of moving in a split second so quickly out of the way of a punch that it may look from afar as though it landed...but it didn't. Four to five rounds in, Hatton will have made some decent contact on Floyd, his English crowd will have erupted singing that annoying Winterland song 50 million times...they will think he is kicking Floyd's ass.

And then... the systematic breakdown will start. Hatton will tire, but he will not falter. Don't get me wrong, Hatton will go the distance. He can stand his ground and is an accomplished boxer with great stamina. But… Floyd will outsmart him, he will defensively frustrate the hell out of Hatton, bobbing and weaving through Hatton's combinations like a cat and mouse. Floyd will be consistent, throwing punches he knows he will land, point after point. Floyd doesn't waste his punch on the air...He connects. I would say Mayweather by KO but there is something about Hatton that is resilient. He can go the distance. But by the end of the 12th, Hatton will be tired, hurt, worn and mentally confused. Mayweather by decision.

This is a sport of skill and wit, mental and physical stamina. The hype? 81-0 both are undefeated. The reality? I'm sorry, but the undefeated brawler cannot outwit the undefeated boxer. Mr. Ricky "Hitman" Hatton will have a long flight home; however, while suffering defeat he will not be light in the pockets as this is Hatton's career fight...expected to bring his career best purse...he has America's Legend, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. to thank for that...Good Day England. Good Day.