Floyd Mayweather was full of praise for Ricky Hatton after stopping the Englishman in the 10th round to retain his World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight title
The American retains his WBC welterweight title after defeating England’s Ricky Hatton
LAS VEGAS: Floyd Mayweather was full of praise for Ricky Hatton after stopping the Englishman in the 10th round to retain his World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight title on Saturday.
“Ricky Hatton is one hell of a fighter,” the undefeated American said. “He’s tough. I take my hat off to him.”
Hatton, who suffered his first defeat in 44 bouts repaid the compliment. “I think before the fight, Floyd knew I could fight,” he said. “I certainly now know that he can fight. It was an honour to share the ring with him. He’s the pound-for-pound king.”
Mayweather, 39-0, stopped Hatton at 1:35 of the 10th round to retain his title by TKO. After a strong first two rounds from Hatton, Mayweather had taken control of the contest by the fourth round and was dominant in the closing stages.
“This was a war,” Mayweather continued. “I had to get extra rest for this fight because I knew this fight was going to be tough. This kid was tough as nails. I knew I was going to have to show versatility tonight. I knew he was rough and tough. He wasn’t going to lay down.”
“I gave it my best,” said Hatton, 43-1.
“When I got to about round five or six, I thought I was doing what was working. There was a bit of rough and tumble on the inside. We were both doing a bit of holding and grappling. Floyd was using his forearms a little bit, but I don’t blame him. I would have done the same. It’s not a tickling contest, is it?”
Hatton said he felt he left himself open to Mayweather’s punches in the latter stages, in response to having a point deducted by referee Joe Cortez for hitting the champion behind the head.
“I think I put my foot on the gas a little bit too much when I got the point taken off. I said, ‘Come on Fatty, pull your finger out’.”
Hatton frequently refers to himself jokingly as Ricky Fatton for his habit of putting on weight between bouts.
Despite the defeat, Hatton said he would continue fighting.
Mayweather was less certain about his future and he had previously announced his retirement after defeating Oscar De La Hoya in May.
He said fighting Hatton enabled him to fulfill a lifelong ambition. “I always wanted to fight in the UK,” he said. “Instead, I brought the best fighter in the UK to me.”
He said he would be taking a long vacation with his family to decide whether to continue fighting. “To be honest, I’m kinda bored with the sport of boxing right now,” he said.
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