Hatton agreed to terms on 27th July for an 8th December 2007
welterweight fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr which was considered to
be the biggest welterweight fight since the 1999 clash between
Oscar De La Hoya and Puerto Rican legend Felix 'Tito' Trinidad. The
MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas was announced as the venue on
17 August 2007. The fight was agreed to less than three months
after Mayweather had said he planned to retire following a victory
over Oscar De La Hoya.
Hatton was able to bring the fight to Mayweather in the early
rounds. In the 1st round Hatton caught Mayweather with a left jab
which knocked Mayweather off balance. His constant pressure
appeared to make Mayweather uncomfortable at first. In the third
round, Mayweather landed a right that cut Hatton above the right
eye. In round six, referee Joe Cortez took a point away from Hatton
after he appeared to hit Mayweather on the back of the head while
Mayweather was rested between the ropes. However, the punch was
revealed to have hit the rope rather than Mayweather's head. Hatton
became angry at the referee's decision to deduct a point from him
and turned his back on him in frustration.
Hatton would later claim that he had become angry by the referee
and that had caused him to lose his calm and contributed to his
downfall. Hatton was able to hold his own, until round eight, when
Mayweather began to adapt to Hatton and started counter attacking.
Mayweather knocked Hatton to the mat in Round 10. Hatton got up,
but Mayweather quickly resumed his attack, resulting in Joe Cortez
putting a stop to the fight, and Hatton's corner threw in the
towel. Mayweather commented post-match that "Ricky Hatton is one
tough fighter. He is still a champion in my eyes and I'd love to
see him fight again. "Ricky Hatton is probably one of toughest
competitors I've faced. I hit him with some big ones but he kept
coming and I can see why they call him the 'Hitman'.