Boxing:Floyd Mayweather said he's going out on top after his nailbiting defeat of Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas last night.
The 'Pretty Boy' says he's sticking to his word and retiring after maintaining his perfect pro record with a split-decision victory over the 'Golden Boy'.
He claimed the WBC light-middleweight crown after a thrilling fight in front of a 16,500 crowd paying record gate receipts of $19million.
Mayweather took the fight 116-112 and 115-113 on two of the scorecards, with De La Hoya taking the other 115-113. Mayweather seemed to sway the judges by his strong finish to the bout after De La Hoya had dominated the early stages.
Afterwards Mayweather, eyes swollen, said happily: "I came in on top, and I'm going out on top. He's a hell of a champion, I'm a hell of a champion and we gave the fans a hell of a fight. I was having fun in there.
"I fought the best fighter of my era and I beat him. I told the fans I would come to fight, and that's what I did.
"I'm a good person, I've got a good heart, but they never show that."
When asked if this was his last fight he added: "I'll have to speak to my team, but as of right now I'm sticking to my decision to retire."
Reflecting on the split decision, Mayweather (38-0) said he was surprised the judges had it so close.
"I thought I beat him by a bigger margin than that. If I'd been judging I would have given Oscar four rounds. I thought it was 8-4."
While admitting De La Hoya gave him a tough fight, Mayweather claimed he was never really in any trouble.
He said: "All those shots he was throwing, a lot of them were missing. At one stage I was thinking: 'How come he beat all those guys'. I was thinking: 'damn, it's easy to hit him the face.'
"I knew Oscar was trying to steal rounds at the end - it was like Hagler and Leonard all over again. But you can't steal rounds taking punches in the face.
"I was just waiting to see that big left hook everybody was telling me about. But I will say he can take a good shot. He's got a good chin.
"I took a couple of rounds off to let him burn himself out, but I knew then that I had to do it for my family. I've done everything I wanted to in the sport.
"The only thing I wanted is to be treated fairly - don't believe what you saw on 24/7 (HBO's documentary series leading up to the fight) - I'm a good person."
In the other corner De La Hoya felt he'd done enough to win in their Vegas superfight. At the MGM Grand.
"I felt I won the fight. I landed the harder, crisper punches. I was pressing the fight all the way," said De La Hoya afterwards:
"I wanted to stop him. I'm a champion and I was trying to close the show."
Despite the pain of defeat De La Hoya claimed the fight had given boxing a much-needed shot in the arm.
"It was a great fight, we came out to do what we had to do. I had to stick to my gameplan and fight. I commend Floyd Mayweather, he did what he had to do and you have to respect the judges.
"He did throw a right hand that set me back but I was never wobbled and he didn't hurt me."
De La Hoya stressed that the important thing here was that boxing got the spectacle it needed after a hugely hyped build-up.
"I wanted to make sure we gave people what they wanted."
De La Hoya (38-5) says he'll now take some time before deciding his future at the age of 34.
"I'm going to go back to the drawing board, but I felt good in there. My jab though just didn't come out tonight. When you're up against a good fighter it makes it that much more difficult.
"I knew he was a fast fighter. He's very talented and I can't say anything bad about him."
Clearly still feeling the pain of defeat, De La Hoya continued: "In a fight you feel like a winner or you feel like a loser, and tonight I don't feel like a loser.
"But if you leave it to the judges, then so be it."