BOXING/World welterweight title fight:This is boxing, so there is no point in being less than brutally frank. At times it was like watching a competition between Picasso and an enthusiastic kid with an aerosol paint can. The gulf was as great as that. The consolation for Ricky Hatton today, apart from the substantial boost to his bank balance, is the knowledge that his presence in the ring in the MGM Grand Arena on Saturday night goaded Floyd Mayweather jr into an absolute masterclass that no one who saw it will forget.

To some, having witnessed the behaviour of Hatton's fans and, on one occasion, the boxer himself, it was a form of poetic justice. Taking advantage of numerical superiority in the 16,700 crowd to jeer the US national anthem was a bad idea. So was bellowing "Oo are yer?" as Mayweather made his entrance.

Hatton's own decision to turn round and show Mayweather his bottom after receiving what he considered to be an unnecessary point deduction in the sixth round seemed equally ill advised, likely to achieve nothing more than stoking the fires of his opponent's determination.

In the end, however, all the passion and energy in the world were of little use to Hatton for anything other than sustaining his self-respect.

As Mayweather got on with the job of undermining every element of his opponent's strategy, the Englishman's sheer combativeness was as astounding as the noisy and unswerving devotion of his supporters. Having begun the fight with the expected maelstrom of aggression, in the later stages he resisted a succession of ferocious blows from the American before finally succumbing to one remarkable punch.

It may have been the final act of a British sporting year dominated by high-profile anti-climaxes, but as Hatton lay spreadeagled on the canvas midway through the 10th round no one was about to question the courage of his performance, least of all the man who had brought it to an end.

"He's as tough as nails," the unmarked and unruffled Mayweather said. "A couple of times I thought, 'Damn, he ain't gone yet.' He was still coming."

That would have been a reference to the eighth round, when Mayweather pierced Hatton's rudimentary defence time and again with percussive right-hand blows that showed no signs of the supposed weakness caused by injuries to his hands. He seemed to be cutting down his opponent in rapid stages, but somehow Hatton hung on until the break, even producing the semblance of a counterattack in the final seconds and coming out for the next round once again going forward, as if the fight had only just begun.

It was, however, an illusion. Another aggressive start to the 10th had proved as ephemeral as a light fall of snow when, with barely a minute gone, Mayweather found the blow that effectively ended the contest. It was a carefully primed left hook to the jaw, delivered while Hatton was winding up a left hook of his own, and it sent its victim stumbling head first into the post in the American's corner.

"That's what we call the check-hook," Mayweather said. "It's something we learn in north Michigan and he walked right into it." Hatton reeled back and fell, and at that point the referee, Joe Cortez, might have felt justified in calling a halt. But he allowed the fighters to carry on and within a few seconds of the resumption Mayweather stunned Hatton with two more lefts that sent him sprawling into the ropes. The Englishman was already sliding sideways towards the canvas when his opponent held back a right hook that might have caused permanent damage.

"It sounds daft because he knocked me down but I don't think he is the biggest puncher," Hatton said. "But he is very accurate. He's more natural at the weight than me and it showed at times. He hit me with a few sneaky ones on my way in and he was using his elbows a bit and hitting me on the break with his forearms, but good luck to him. I would have done it to him. It's not a tickling contest, is it?

"I didn't think I was out of the fight but I think I could have been a bit more solid in my approach. I was a little bit over-eager. He picked his punches well and fair play to him. He did what he said he would do. He was picking his moments and that was that. He is a very clever fighter."

The referee had a busy night, constantly pulling the boxers apart and delivering lectures as they mauled and brawled on the ropes, but his decision to dock Hatton a point seemed fully justified when the Mancunian wrestled Mayweather head-first halfway through the ropes and followed up with a couple of illegal punches. At that juncture, Hatton said, he knew that had some catching up to do: "I thought, 'I've got to put my foot down now' and I left myself open. When I had to force it a little bit, he saw a chance and he took it."

"I knew I had to show my versatility tonight," Mayweather said. "I took my time. I fought on the inside, fought on the outside. That was my game plan.

"I knew he was going to try to rough me up. He was definitely the toughest opponent I've faced. But a true champion can adapt to anything."