Let me just say these four things, though:

1) That was one of the greatest KOs of all-time.

2) Mark Cuban’s face while carrying that belt was one of the highlights of my combat sports year.

3) Hatton needs to go back to fighting at 140 lbs pronto.

4) If Mayweather retires before fighting Miguel Cotto I will be extremely disappointed.

For more, check out my talk with the Sweet Scientist as we relive all the magic that was Mayweather-Hatton and ponder the future of both men.

[See post to listen to audio]
Larz – 12/10/07

The build for this fight has been fantastic (thanks in large part to HBO’s 24/7). As I’ve said before, I look at the world through pro wrestling goggles (shhhh) and this feud appears to be straight out of the mind of Vince McMahon. The ultra cocky heel (bad guy) against the pure and charming babyface (good guy). It might as well be Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant in there. Or David and the Goliath.

And, really, David vs. Goliath is the best “fight” to compare this one to. Sure, Hatton is undefeated and popular but he has never faced a fighter quite like Mayweather. As Larz from No Mas Online mentioned in our interview, a simple look at ESPN.com’s Top 5 Hatton fights compared to Floyd’s Top 5 is enough to show how the latter’s 38-0 record is that much more impressive than the former’s 43-0 record.

Nevertheless, I still can’t wait.

Check out my interview below with Larz as he breaks down all things Hatton-Mayweather. We also discuss some other news from around the boxing world (attention Manny Pacquiao lovers) as well as which two fighters he would like to see featured on the next 24/7.

(On a side note, any other combat sports fans out there find it completely idiotic that the UFC scheduled the TUF Finale on the same night as this fight. It’s not like Hatton-Mayweather was announced last week or anything. I know the Finale will probably end at 11 p.m EST and that should be well before the boxing main event starts but, still, chances are if you are buying this PPV or going somewhere to watch it that you will miss the TUF Finale. There are so many free Saturday Nights out there, would it have killed them to schedule their show on a different night than the second most anticipated boxing bout of the year? I guess what I’m trying to say is: Thank the good lord for DVRs.)

[See post to listen to audio]
Larz – 12/05/07

Some have said the whole “I love to drink me Guinness at me Pub” routine seems a little manufactured and that’s certainly a valid point but once you juxtapose it against the brash antics of one Floyd Mayweather it’s television gold.

As for the actual fight, come 12/8 the Manchester native will certainly walk to the ring an overwhelming underdog but, regardless, the Hitman seems more focused than ever.

I’m not just saying that, too. He really does. Take a listen for yourself.

[See post to listen to audio]
Ricky Hatton – 11/27/07

Undoubtedly, two of the biggest stars of the show are Pretty Boy’s trainer and uncle, Roger Mayweather, and Ricky Hatton’s long-time trainer, Billy Graham.

In many ways, both are polar opposites but a closer look finds them to actually be quite similar. Tough and foul-mouthed they are two of the best trainers in the business.

So, needless to say, I was very much looking forward to their press conference today. While Hatton’s camp was a little subdued things certainly got interesting once Roger Mayweather appeared to teach us all a little bit about boxing. Prof. Mayweather must have questioned the boxing knowledge of at least ten journalists on the call, cussed more than Dana White and provided enough sound bytes to fill up a notebook.

Seriously, sit back, relax and listen to the audio because its absolutely brilliant.

(Note: The audio starts mid-conference as there were tons of technical difficulties at the start. Don’t worry, though. Nothing of importance happened and you won’t miss any of Mayweather’s quotes. Also, you can download this audio or any of our other interviews to your IPod or mp3 player by clicking on the link at the top right of the page.)

[See post to listen to audio]
Mayweather-Hatton Trainers’ Press Conference – 11/20/07

“I see it as an easy fight for Shane and I predict an early KO,” Mayweather said.

Surprisingly, Hatton, Mayweather’s opponent on December 8th (HBO PPV) seconds Pretty Boy Floyd’s prediction:

“I think Shane Mosley will because he will Cotto problem with his speed and movement. Last time out, Cotto looked strong but didn’t carry the same finesse at Welterweight as in previous fights. He looked a little crude against Judah. Cotto will need more finesse against Mosley.”

Is it me or when this fight was first announced everyone picked Cotto but suddenly, for whatever reason, the tide is starting to turn in the favor of the Sugar Shane? Perhaps the boxing world should hold off on the Cotto coronation for a couple more days.

[credit: Swanson Communications]

On whether he (Mayweather) was happy to get booted off Dancing With The Stars early so he could focus on his training:

“Well, I would rather go home early then go home, you know, a week before the fight. I’d rather go home early. I mean it’s just like when you’re fighting a guy, you say to yourself, like – it’s hard to explain. It’s more like – I mean I was happy that – just to get the experience, just to go on dancing with the stars, just do so something different, because I was the only athlete that was active. You have other athletes, they weren’t active. They were like – I was doing two things at one time. I had to wake up, go to the dance studio. After the dance studio, go to the boxing gym. After the boxing gym, go run. After the run, I had to go back to the dance studio. After the dance studio, then I had to go to physical training, you know, at the fitness gym. So, I mean it was grueling, but was it worth it? Absolutely.”

Oscar De La Hoya (Golden Boy is promoting this fight) was also on the call and had this to say regarding Mayweather’s involvement on the show:

“Well, I – being a fighter myself, you know, and the fighting world, you know, it’s a small world. And we all know that Mayweather is a professional when it comes to his boxing. We all know that he’s always in great shape. We all know that he goes to the gym every day and he doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke. He doesn’t – you know, he has not bad habits. You know, so it really didn’t worry anybody much, you know, because even though if he did stay until the last week, you know, we felt it wasn’t going to effect him because he’s always in great shape.
And so, you know, obviously, in my case, I think it was a little bit different, you know. You know, I wouldn’t stay in shape, like Mayweather in between fights, and so, you know, it was a different case for me. You know, when I was fighting and younger, but with Mayweather, I think there no doubt that he can pull this off with no problem.”

Mayweather on his amazing stamina:

“Well I don’t train like no other fighter. We don’t train like no other fighter. And, you know, I mean of course, Oscar is – you know, he’s one of the guys that’s going down in history as one of the best guys of my era. And if I’m fighting one of the best guys of my era, I’ve got to push myself to the limit, you know. And what I was doing for that fight is – actually I’m training harder this fight than I did for that fight because for that fight, you know, I just started boxing nine rounds probably into the third week. But, you know, I think it’s my second day back boxing – it’s my second day back boxing in the gym I started boxing nine and 10 rounds.
So, you know, I’m all ready in tremendous shape all ready. I’m running eight miles. And it’s just that we don’t – we’re not like no other fighter. We don’t use a bell when we go to the gym. We don’t use a bell at all. We don’t even have a bell in our gym. So, sometimes when we box, we box, you know, six to eight straight minutes, because if a guy gets tired, we put another guy in to keep boxing. So, I guess I’m a throwback fighter. I’m a fighter than can fight 15 rounds, you know, if needed. But, I mean I have nothing but the utmost respect for all of these – you know, all fighters who dedicate themselves to his craft. And I just come with tremendous shape. I mean a lot of it is God-given talent. Most of it is God-given talent, you know. And the rest is just hard work.”

On Hatton saying he will look to emulate Jose Luis Castillo’s approach in his fights against Mayweather and consistently pressure him throughout the fight:

“Excuse me. But they don’t know the Castillo (ph), that I fought, I fought him, what, six years ago? And, you know, when he a facing this guy, I mean a guy who’s going out there, knowing he’s not getting no money, he’s like, “Why am I here and fighting if I’m going home with no payday? Why go the 12 if I’m not getting no money?” I mean, when you punch Castillo to the body, Castillo turns – does a 360 turnaround, took five steps and went to one knee.
I’m not saying that he’s not a pretty good fighter. He’s an OK fighter. I really don’t know much about him. But, he can’t compare himself to an Oscar de la Hoya, because he hasn’t accomplished what Oscar de la Hoya has accomplished in the sport, not even close to it. I mean we’re talking about a guy who’s 140 and a guy who went to 147 and didn’t really win a title weight at 147. So I mean, he’s entitled to say what he wants to say.

You know, come December eighth, we welcome the pressure, because that’s what we like. We fight better going backwards.”

On what he has left to prove in the sport:

“…Some days I am bored with the sport, I’m being honest. I can’t – you know, I’ve got to look at myself in the mirror, every day. I mean certain days – it’s not like it used to be. I think I like this sport better when I fighting for free, you know, because when you’re young you don’t have concerns so you’re not worried about nothing. I mean you just never know what can happen in the sport of boxing. A lot of times you worry about certain things like, if I die in the ring, you worry about what’s going to happen with your kids, what’s going to happen with your family.
So, when I didn’t have nothing to live for, when I didn’t have no kids to live for, I really wasn’t worried about nothing. I was like I don’t care what goes on. I’m just going here to fight, if I die, so be it. And, now that I’m a lot older and a lot wiser, it’s more like I’ve got something to live for. And I’ve got some people – I know people in my household who love me. So, I mean that worries me a lot because, I feel like my job is like a cop, one shot can end your whole career. So, you know, that’s why, you know, I’m real smart, real conscious about certain moves that I make inside the ring, as well as outside the ring.”

On what this fight will do for his legacy:

“Nothing. It’s not going to do nothing for my legacy. My legacy is all ready solidified in stamps. It’s not going to do nothing.”

That being said, why did he choose to fight Hatton?

“I mean, you know, before I leave I just wanted to beat the best British fighter out there, well one of the best British fighters, because if I had to say – what’s the other kid name who fight. He’s the best British fighter, probably one of the best I ever seen. I mean I’m fighting because I’m a business man. I got no fake answer. If the price is right, let’s make it happen. If the price is right, we’re going to make it happen. I’m like Bob Barker, come on down.”

On Hatton’s very physical approach to the Kostya Tzyu fight:

“I mean I didn’t really get a chance to watch him and Kostya Tszyu. I watched, I think, a few rounds because I all ready knew what it was, you know, what a Ricky Hatton fight it’s punch hold. And I mean from what I’ve seen it was extremely dirty and, you know, me, I truly believe in an eye for an eye. If you hit me low, I’m going to hit you low. And I’m just saying he’s a dirty fighter… But if he gets dirty, I don’t mind getting dirty. It’s whatever he wants to do.”

[Credit: Swanson PR]