Showtime has certainly brought us many decent –and often free- scraps in the past, and this championship match-up was no exception. The pre-fight hype had been incredible; the preparation by both fighters had left nothing to the imagination. Boxing fans had been counting the hours until these two faced each other inside the ropes, with Tszyu's IBF bauble on the line. At 2:00 o’clock in the morning M.E.N. Stadium was rocking, 22,000 deep, and those of us watching on TV could only imagine the electricity that must have been in the air as the challenger and the champion made their way into the venue, and finally, at long last, into the ring. 

I thought Hatton made a strong statement in the opening round. He came out at the champion with little or no regard for Kostya's well-documented and often lethal two-fisted attack. I couldn't help but wonder if Hatton’s statement would win him the fight or would get him decapitated later in the bout.  

The fight was grueling, both men were pulling tricks and roughhousing; credit should go to the referee Dave Parris, who did a good job of letting them fight in the proverbial phone booth at will. Two low blows by Tszyu earned him a well-aimed low blow by the challenger only seconds later. (Did you notice Tszyu’s father shaking a fist at Hatton after the low blow incident?) It seems as though no matter what Tszyu did tonight, Hatton found of way of adapting, overcoming and answering back in a hurtful way. 

Hatton’s constant pressure, work rate and body attack came as no surprise; however, watching him snap Tszyu’s head back with a very effective jab was certainly unexpected. Prior to this evening, most of us felt that if the men fought on the outside Tszyu would have the edge, but Hatton was successful in neutralizing Tszyu’s jab, and his counters, and his uppercuts, even his low blows.  

Ricky Hatton fought like a possessed man and this effort should definitely raise his $tock quite a bit. The new IBF champion has earned himself a very prominent spot in a division that continues to mesmerize and excite boxing fans all over the world. Can you envision Hatton-Cotto? Hatton-Mayweather? Hatton-Gatti? Judah-Hatton? The possibilities are endless… 

Tszyu got visibly hurt to the body seconds into the 6^th round and an argument can be made that the ropes kept him from visiting the canvas.  The end of the fight came after round eleven, however, when we saw a beaten Tszyu, humped over in his stool, seemingly unable to reconcile the events that had just transpired, and clearly ready to call it a night. The officials had the fight scored 107-102 (Ackerman), 106-103 (Asaro) and 105-104 (Maritxalar). Inexplicably, press row scorers had Tszyu winning the fight at one point, and their scores at the end of the bout indicated a much more close fight than even Kostya Tszyu would vouch for; with one writer scoring it a draw after eleven.

Hatton’s performance was inspirational and very gutsy. He made believers out of many of us, and should be afforded all the respect a champion deserves.  We wish Tszyu the best in the future, and I’m sure his fans will welcome whatever decision he makes in the weeks to come. Kostya Tszyu has done the sport proud, and it was impressive and moving to see the respect Hatton displayed for the former champion  after the match.  

I would like to thank Showtime for giving us more for our dollar. This was a great promotion, conducted with dignity and respect. The night of boxing has been very good for boxing, and I hope it earned the ailing sport much needed fans. I would like to close this article with what I considered the best quotes of the night…  

• “I’m a proud man. I’m not saying this is the end of my career. I don’t know… but today I lost to a better man. Today Ricky was better than me in every way. God bless you Ricky…”  -  Kostya Tszyu 
   

• With the utmost of confidence, but also with great humility Hatton simply said “The best is yet to come from me.”