Our Boy was beaten by a boxing genius, a ring legend (From Bournemouth Echo)

Our Boy was beaten by a boxing genius, a ring legend

8:00pm Sunday 9th December 2007 in

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SATURDAY'S column spoke of how we would soon find out how it feels to see one of these two great fighters lose.

Well, I was right. In the sense that it was the fighter who lost and the boxer who won.

There were two major surprises in the early hours of this morning.

The first was how Jeff Lacy's bout with Peter Manfredo Jnr made it on to the MGM Grand undercard, as two of the super-middleweight division's most desperate lumps served up one of the worst fights in Nevada's history. But the less said about that the better.

The second was how the main event finished.

While many may have predicted a Floyd Mayweather victory, few would have foreseen Ricky Hatton hitting the canvas in the manner he did.

But it is clear now that, somewhere deep within the massive hype surrounding Our Boy's Vegas adventure, everyone forgot just how awesome Mayweather Jnr is in a boxing ring.

Hatton didn't forget it, mind. It was written all over his face as he walked into the Garden Arena, the nerves clearly jangling.

Mayweather? Well, he was cool as ice until Hatton battered him to within an inch of the floor in round two. But, if anything, it was the wake-up call the man from Grand Rapids needed as Hatton busied around and forced the pace.

And with the Briton forced to fight over-zealous referee Joe Cortez as well as the best boxer on the planet, the man from Hyde was never in the hunt from the moment his shot to the back of Mayweather's head cost him a harsh point on the scorecards.

Not that Mayweather was thinking of the judges when his crashing left hook caught Hatton plum in the 10th.

It was a telling blow and fully deserved as the American gave the gritty Mancunian a lesson in jabbing and lightning quick counter-punching.

Sure, there was some cheeky stuff in there too, as Mayweather's elbows and ducking tactics kept Hatton's attacks at bay.

But Cortez, it has to be said, had a bad night at the office and had almost as much contact with the pair as they had with each other.

Despite that, though, Mayweather did little wrong and was the winner, lock, stock and barrel.

So, where does Hatton go from here?

There was no talk of retirement, unlike Mayweather, who appears to have fought his last fight, in the post-fight interviews.

But any thoughts of a Wembley super-fight with Oscar De La Hoya must surely now have bitten the dust - even if Oscar himself says he's still up for it.

Firstly, what weight would such a clash be fought at? Light middleweight De La Hoya is 34 and not getting any smaller and if Hatton has any sense, he'll slip back to 140lbs after being outgunned by Mayweather's size.

Hatton would be better off turning his focus back towards a clash with Miguel Cotto if the Puerto Rican could be persuaded to fight at light welterweight again.

Or maybe even Bradford's WBC title holder Junior Witter or WBA champion Gavin Rees, again at 140lbs.

They look unlikely to quench the public's thirst, though.

So, Hatton, if he wants one more big pay-day, may have to bulk up once more, although once you've taken on Mayweather, where do you go from there?