In 2007, Floyd Mayweather came out of a brief retirement to take on the then-undefeated Ricky Hatton, looking to defend his WBC and The Ring welterweight title.
After his huge PPV record-breaking fight against Oscar De La Hoya earlier that year, Floyd Mayweather claimed that he was contemplating retirement, saying he had nothing left to prove in the sport.
Despite that, it was announced shortly after that ‘Money’ Mayweather would come out of his brief retirement to defend his WBC and The Ring welterweight title against Ricky Hatton.
Floyd Mayweather bounces Ricky Hatton’s head off the turnbuckle with emphatic KO
At the time, ‘Hitman’ Hatton was undefeated at 43-0, and his fight against Mayweather was widely considered the biggest welterweight fight since 1999.
In the early stages of the fight, the Mancunian brought the fight to Mayweather, causing him problems with his constant pressure and high volume.
In the first round, Hatton landed a left jab on the chin of Mayweather which momentarily knocked him off balance.
Despite that, ‘Money’ grew into the fight not long after and began making Hatton pay. In the third round, Mayweather landed a right hand which opened up a cut above the eye of Hatton and subsequently slowed him down for the remaining rounds.
In round six, the referee in charge, Joe Cortez, deducted a point from Hatton after he landed a punch to the back of the head of Mayweather.
Mayweather finally dropped Hatton in the tenth round after a few punishing rounds. The Brit got back to his feet but was then sunk by two big left hands as he crashed into the turnbuckle and subsequently sprawled out onto the floor.
Following the fight, Mayweather commended Hatton for his tenacity and toughness, despite handing him the first loss of his career.
What is Floyd Mayweather up to in his post-fight career?
After several more extremely impressive performances against the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather finally announced his retirement from professional boxing back in 2017 after a huge event against then UFC champion, Conor McGregor.
Since his retirement, though, Mayweather has continued to leave his mark in the boxing world with Mayweather Promotions.
As well as that, the 47-year-old has continued to stay active in the ring, taking part in several exhibition matches.
Mayweather’s last exhibition bout came against John Gotti III this past August. The two met in June but the bout was stopped due to excessive trash-talking mid-fight, which resulted in a post-fight ruckus.