Photo: Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

“There’s only one Ricky Hatton!
Only one Ricky Hatton!
Walkin’ along, singin’ a song
Walkin’ in a Hatton Wonderland.’’
- Ricky Hatton fans’ musical elegy to their man

By Ron Borges

LAS VEGAS - His loyal legions sang the song over and over in the days leading up to the junior welterweight champion’s confrontation with the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. It echoed off casino walls all over Las Vegas and up and down the Strip, which was jammed with British boxing fans in Hatton T-shirts. Then last Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena the singing stopped and Ricky Hatton ended up lying in a Hatton Slumberland.

That’s where a perfectly placed Mayweather left hook sent Hatton, flooring him so thoroughly midway through the 10^th round that he spun round and smacked his head into the turnbuckle before he hit the canvas. Hatton got up because that’s what a guy as tough as Hatton does. He does it automatically, without thinking, which in this case was how he had to do it because once he hit the floor all Hatton heard were the sound of wind chimes in his head.

He arose a man lost in a fog. His legs were gelatinous and his vision clouded and Mayweather leapt upon him like a panther, hitting the smaller man with four more well placed shots. There was a left to the ear and then another left and then a nasty little right hand that landed solidly and did more damage than it appeared and it was followed by one final left that only grazed him but by then Hatton was slumping backwards.

An instant later he was on the floor again and referee Joe Cortez felt no compulsion to count. Instead he simply waved his hands and the brave British boy’s challenge had ended with his mind swimming while his opponent stood halfway up the ropes waving to a suddenly silent crowd of 16,459.

All night Hatton’s fans, who had packed the arena and taken over its acoustics, had bellowed at a fever pitch, as if this were a soccer showdown between Arsenal and Chelsea. Most of it was good natured support for their man but at one point they brought shame upon themselves by shouting down the National Anthem as it was being sung, an act difficult to excuse, especially at a time of war in which Great Britain is allied with the United States in the war on terror.

Perhaps one can write it off to the feverishness of Hatton supporters for both their man and for dark ale. Whatever it was, they made up for it a few moments after the knockout when, as Hatton rose with a look of sad embarrassment on his beaten face, they again broke into song.

“There’s only one Rick Hatton!
One Ricky Hatton!
Walkin’ along, singin’ a song
Walkin’ in a Hatton Wonderland!’’

Although by then the song had grown tedious, it was now being sung so clearly from the heart that even Mayweather looked over in amazement and smiled. Then he approached Hatton, with whom he had exchanged some insulting words during the pre-fight hype, and hugged him, gently holding his head in both his gloved hands and kissing him on the forehead.

Later, at the post-fight press conference, Mayweather would again be a gracious winner, not only introducing Hatton but admonishing one of his own supporters when they began to disparage him.

“Ricky Hatton is a true champion,’’ the undefeated (39-0, 25 KO) Mayweather said. “We not going to disrespect him. Not here. Here’s the UK King. The Hit Man himself. Ricky “The Hit Man’’ Hatton.’’

When Hatton (43-1, 31 KO) arrived with his face heavily marked up and bruised, it was clear Mayweather had transformed him into a different definition of a hit man. Hatton had a deep gash above his right eye, which was badly swollen and an ugly purple. His lip was cut and swollen and he had scrapes all over his face from what had begun as a battle in which he was holding his own on the inside but ended as a one-sided lesson in what boxing is all about.

Hatton believed he could win if he could simply get inside and work on Mayweather’s body. He succeeded at times but from the fifth round on Mayweather figured out how to blunt Hatton’s attack, smothering him on the inside when they were at close quarters and catching him with overhand rights and, eventually, a perfect left he’d been waiting all night to land as he walked in.

“This was as war,’’ Mayweather said. “I knew this kid would bring his A game. He’s tough as nails. There were times I hit him and I’d think, ‘Damn. Is he still coming?’

“He’s a hell of a fighter. He’s tough. I got nothing but the utmost respect for him. And the UK fans? They were unreal.’’

At that point, Mayweather encouraged Hatton’s band of trumpeters to “play a little’’ and they broke into Hatton’s song as the champion smiled broadly and Hatton sheepishly.

According to CompuBox statistics, one of the problems was Hatton’s predictable refusal to use his jab as a tool with which to work his way in. The punch stats claimed he landed only 11 jabs, which is barely one per round, on a night when his whole game plan was built upon getting inside. To try and do that without jabbing is to court the kind of facial rearrangement Mayweather eventually put on him.

The numbers argued that Mayweather landed more than twice as many blows as Hatton (129 to 63) but no one needed a computer to see that. They needed only look at Hatton’s scratched and bruised face and compare it with Mayweather, who had a cut lip and small bruise on one cheek but otherwise appeared much the same as he did when he had first left his locker room to the sound of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.’’

For the first two rounds Hatton seemed able to pin Mayweather on the ropes for long periods but while his aggression never abated it was neither controlled nor effective. He was coming forward but not doing enough real damage to slow the champion. Worse, he kept attacking in the same pattern and once Mayweather had it down, which was around Round 5, the champion didn’t lose another minute of the fight.

“I never felt the problem would be Floyd keeping Ricky on the outside,’’ admitted Hatton’s trainer, Billy Graham. “The problem is what are you gonna do when you’re in there. At first Ricky kept it simple. He had some success but he caught him too soon. He didn’t take enough out of Floyd first by making him use his legs.’’

There would be some half-hearted complaints about how poorly Cortez handled the fight and a feeling that once he deducted a point from Hatton for hitting behind the head in round 6 it so unnerved the challenger that he began taking chances from which there could only be a sad end.

Whatever Hatton’s motivation, the end came when Mayweather saw Hatton advancing on him wildly midway through round 10. It was the opening he’d been waiting for all night.

“That left hook was a shot I been working on,’’ Mayweather said. “You use it when a fighter is rushing in on you. It worked early on and then he started moving his head more so I had to change up.’’

Mayweather did that so effectively the judges gave him all but one round (my card gave him six of the nine) but in the end their opinion didn’t matter. Neither did the opinion of the crowd, which cheered so lustily for Hatton all night long.

All that mattered was that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is the best fighter in the world.

“What can I say?’’ said the game Hatton, who retained his junior welterweight title despite the defeat. “I was doing all right until I slipped.’’

At that Hatton broke into that wide, mischievous grin that has so captivated fans in both England and the U.S. and everyone laughed. “I gave it my best. It was a little rough and tumble on the inside but it’s not a tickling contest now is it?

“I thought I was about two rounds down when they took the point away. After that I felt I had to put my foot down and I left myself open. Full marks to Floyd. Before the fight Floyd knew I could fight and I certainly know now he can fight. It was a pleasure to share the ring with him. He’s the pound-for-pound champion.’’

Mayweather’s supremacy in the ring was supported by the fight’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, as well as Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley, who all openly said Mayweather is the best fighter in the world.

He made that obvious Saturday night but something else was obvious, too. There indeed is only one Ricky Hatton and only one set of fans like his, who serenaded him not only when he was up, but also when he was down.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen support for a British fighter like they gave me this week,’’ Hatton said. “I’m getting’ a bit sick of that fuckin’ song meself.’’

Then he smiled a battered smile and they cheered him all the more. Across the room, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., the best fighter in the world, stared at him with a look of longing. He’s the best, he knows, but nobody’s singing to him.

“As of right now I’m really bored with the sport of boxing,’’ the 30-year-old Mayweather said. “I don’t think people will appreciate my skills until after I retire. It really don’t matter (that he was booed in his adopted hometown by a crowd that was clearly 90 per cent against him). No matter what the fans or the media do we fighters have to make the decision who’s going to win and who’s going to lose.’’

The decision that was made Saturday night made one thing very clear in boxing. There’s only one Floyd Mayweather, Jr. too.