After a day in which Floyd Mayweather complained bitterly about being a nice guy, he fell back into his old way of acting today when he blasted Hatton, saying “The only reason Hatton is 43 and zero is because he hasn’t fought anyone”. He hasn’t fought 43 Floyd Mayweathers because if he had, he’d be zero and 43.” Mayweather, of course, was referring to Hatton’s 43-0 record, which Mayweather feels are meaningless because they were against less than talented fighters. Perhaps a mutual opponent that most of all sticks in his craw, however, is Jose Luis Castillo, who Mayweather struggled to beat on two occasions.
Indeed, many boxing fans feel that Mayweather clearly lost the first battle with Castillo, and it was only through the help of the judges that Mayweather was able to pull a victory out of the jaws of defeat. The second battle was a little closer, but it appeared to be a draw, if not another victory for Castillo. Hatton, however, stopped Castillo with a single body shot in the 4th round in June 2007. Before the stoppage, Hatton had easily controlled the entire bout, dominating Castillo who was no match for Hatton’s superior offensive firepower.
Mayweather had this to say about Hatton’s win over Castillo: “In his last fight he beat Jose Luis Castillo, who was over the hill. I beat Castillo six years ago, when he was in his prime. OK, he beat Kostya Tszyu, but Tszyu had been laid off for a year before that fight. When a guy’s done that, he’s not going to be able to step up to the plate and give it his best.”
After saying this, Mayweather abruptly changed course, perhaps remembering his comment on the previous day about wanting to soften his image, saying “I don’t overlook no opponent, I approach every fight in a great manner,” Mayweather said. “I am always pushing my body to the limit. I am disciplined. You don’t see me after my fight in no pub.”