Mayweather: unorthodox

The initial reaction was that the referee was messing up Ricky's flow, but Mayweather defensively befuddled everybody.

Johnny Nelson
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Johnny Nelson hailed Floyd Mayweather as a true great after witnessing his masterclass against Ricky Hatton.

The former cruiserweight world champion believes the Pretty Boy cemented his place in boxing history with a stunning performance and a 10th-round stoppage in Las Vegas.

Fellow Sky Box Office analysts David Haye and Nicky Piper were critical of referee Joe Cortez for not letting Hatton fight his fight, but while he agreed, Nelson was taking nothing away from Mayweather.

Coming forward or keeping Hatton off, the man who had tipped him to win, was left in no doubt as to how good the five-weight world champion actually is.

"The initial reaction was that the referee was messing up Ricky's flow, but Mayweather defensively befuddled everybody," Nelson told Sky Box Office.

"We thought how does he do this? How does he turn the arm? Use the forearm?

It worked for him, but it is not something we see every day. He was hard to figure out. He was very good on the inside as well, even if it was a bit messy and very unorthodox.

"I thought Ricky was too emotional. Usually, he's very calm, very smart, very cynical and he gets himself in there and drops those bodyshots.

"We hardly saw any bodyshots tonight, it was headshots all the way through. That didn't help but I just thought he was too emotional."

What sets Mayweather apart says Nelson, is his unorthodox style.

Going forward or coming back he did things that Hatton has never come up against and for a man that was known for his technicality, the Pretty Boy is worthy of the highest of all boxing comparisons.

"It was just courage from Mayweather," said Nelson. "That back right-hand lead worked for him, a quick shot that was straight on the mark.

"He was fooling Ricky into expecting the jab to come first, but he stepped back and that back right-hand lead was straight down the pipe.

"If you throw a right-hand lead from the back foot it's the last shot you expect. It's a cheeky shot because it's further away.

"You expect him to show you the jab, but that cheeky shot, that right hand, did it every time. It's a sign of a great fighter. It's what Ali did."