lets not forget the first half of the fight was boring!

Boxing is an art, and that's pretty much what Mayweather displayed throughout the fight. Of course a slugfest would be exciting, but for how long? I think it's more exciting to have the slugging at intervals during the fight.

Just watching Mayweather lean back, the way he held up his guard and concentrated so carefully on Hatton, how quickly he would place a punch and then dodge out of a Hatton attempt, it was really something.

Of course the holding/grappling slows the momentum of the game, but it's pretty much inevitable in boxing.

Besides Mayweather actually took a body shot in the first round and seemed to lose his balance for a second.

Also note how he kept working on his opponent bit by bit. He would always manage to lean low and place a quick body shot, and I'm pretty sure he touched the face every round. Hatton was cut by the third already, and was getting redder and redder by the round.

After the 5th/6th round things started moving faster and the fight was more open, so this is probably why some people would consider the first half boring, but I personally thought it was very interesting for those looking for the strategic and technical aspects of boxing.

 

Great post exactly. Lets not forget who was the one INITIATING most of the holding.

 

well it is ironic that floyd,along with cortez stopped ricky working on the inside.i always thought ricky would find it hard to work on the inside against floyd especially downstairs.hattons money punch is the left hook to the liver,both for wearing down his opponent,and as in the castillo fight knocking a guy out.last night it was nullified.mayweather simply didn't offer hatton that side of his body to aim for,ricky simply didn't get that punch off.also on the blind side of the referee floyd would simpy tie hattons left glove up and not let him work.upstairs floyd simply showed ricky his forearms and elbows occasionally popping ricky,floyd was the master in there. knowing that he wasn't gaining an advantage in the area where he thought he could win the fight ricky had to really go for it from the outside as the fight wore on and really at that point he was outclassed.but it is ironic that floyd part used a tactic that hatton detractors have poured scorn on to win the fight.all it shows is that he has all the things you need as a great fighter in his locker.