Throwback: Floyd Mayweather fought Ricky Hatton 15 years ago today
On this day in 2007, Floyd Mayweather (28-0-0 at the time) fought and stopped the undefeated Ricky Hatton (43-0-0 at the time) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the WBC welterweight and The Ring Welterweight Champion at the time, while Ricky Hatton came in with the IBO and The Ring Light Welterweight Titles to his name. With the politics of boxing and promoters alike, a cross-division clash between two undefeated fighters was a rare occurrence and that’s what made this fight so special.
Mayweather Jr., coming off the back of wins against experienced opponents such as Oscar de la Hoya and Carlos Manuel Baldomir, was no stranger to the lights and the magnitude of the occasion. Hatton, who last faced Juan Orango and Luis Collazo in two title fights, brought what seemed like the entirety of the UK over to Las Vegas to support him, which made for a truly electric atmosphere.
British light welterweight 'Hitman' Hatton moved up to challenge for Mayweather’s WBC & The Ring Welterweight Championship. 'Money' came in at 147 pounds, Ricky Hatton at 145 pounds, Mayweather’s 183cm reach was a 7 inch reach advantage over Hatton’s 165cm.
Mayweather Jr. and Hatton were both 30 and 29 respectively, which most would call the prime of their careers in boxing.
Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton: The fight
Ricky Hatton pushed the pressure from the start and continued to do so through much of the early rounds. 'Hitman’ even landed a jab early on that put Floyd Mayweather Jr. off balance in the first round.
The American boxer landed a few quick left hooks of his own early on, mostly taking on a counter-punching style and using the ’check hook' to combat Hatton’s in-fighting style. In the fourth, Mayweather Jr. landed a barrage of shots to the head of Hatton that left him visibly disoriented and changed the fight completely.
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We went check hook crazy after this 😂 twitter.com/b0xingfan/stat…
In the sixth, Hatton landed some punches to the back of Mayweather's head while he was on the ropes and the referee responded by taking a point away from Hatton.
Hatton, now angry and fatigued, was tired of taking the fight to the American. Mayweather sensed the weariness in Hatton in the eighth round and landed some devastating right-hand straights and was now the aggressor in the fight. After the eighth, Hatton began to fade dramatically and Mayweather Jr. ended the fight with a KO in the tenth with a punishing left hook.
Watch the entire fight below.