They stood in line to pay tribute to the Pretty Boy – the Golden Boy, the Executioner, Sugar Shane . . . even Sugar Ray. One of the advantages of attending a Golden Boy promotion is that the opinion of a legend is never far away. Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley – all boxing greats and all partners in the promotional company – were not short of superlatives when describing Floyd Mayweather Jr.

But it was left to Hopkins, who was world middleweight champion for a decade, to best sum up Mayweather’s achievements. “The pound-for-pound guy of my era – our era – is Pretty Boy Floyd,” he said.

Mayweather’s dismantling of Ricky Hatton was masterful. He boxed on the back foot, on the front foot, he mixed it inside, shared in some rough stuff and landed all the best punches, needing only a split-second to set his feet for an accurate power shot.

The 30-year-old five-division world champion, who had put his WBC welterweight title on the line, stopped short of announcing his retirement for the third time in three bouts, but there must be some doubt whether he can find the motivation to box again.

This was very much “job done, challenge met”, because, with the possible exception of Miguel Ángel Cotto – the unbeaten Puerto Rican WBA champion – the serious challenges are just not there.

“I was once told, never let boxing retire you, you should always be the one to retire from boxing,” Mayweather said. “My mother does not want me to fight no more, my grandmother wants me to retire. Being the face of boxing is an honour – I’ve beaten all the greatest fighters from my era.

“I don’t want to think about boxing right now, I just want to go on a long vacation with my family. I’ve been in the sport my whole life. As of now, I’m really bored with it.”

Few people have been judged as harshly as Mayweather. His fondness for trash-talking and flash accessories have led many to condemn him. In the ring against Hatton, he wore fur shorts and boots, but the man who has boxed his way out of the ghetto believes that he has earned his luxury items and the right to brag.

Up close, Mayweather is a much warmer individual than first impressions allow. He is also funny and generous with his time and money. Two days before the bout, he held a fund-raising event at the MGM Grand to raise money to buy toys for disadvantaged families. He has also dipped into his pocket to provide Christmas and Thanksgiving meals for hundreds of families and helps to fund a refuge for battered women. Few people have lived through the horrors that Mayweather grew up with – a father shot and in jail, a mother addicted to crack – and done so well in life.

The bout with Hatton had a bad-tempered build-up and tempers were often stretched in the ring, but Mayweather was first over to commiserate with the beaten Briton, planting a kiss on his forehead and giving him a warm hug.

At the post-bout press conference, when some of his supporters came close to gloating, Mayweather was quick to slap them down. “Ricky Hatton is a true champion,” he said. “We are not going to disrespect him, not here.” Instead, with his four young children proudly sitting alongside him on the stage – one of his two daughters hugging a teddy bear – Mayweather again made his case to be recognised as an all-time great.

“A real champion and a real fighter can adjust to anyone,” he said. “I fought my way from the bottom to the top. I never cried, I never complained about the opponents they put in front of me. This was a war, I knew I had to get extra rest for this fight because I knew this kid was going to bring his ‘A’ game – tough as nails. ”

Mayweather knows, though, that, to some, putting him alongside the likes of Muhammad Ali or Sugar Ray Robinson, or even Sugar Ray Leonard, is sacrilege. Maturity seems to have curbed the excesses of Mayweather’s brashness, but, at times, he appears to have his work cut out to stop himself being viewed as a hate figure. The steady queue of media members lining up to have their accreditation passes signed by Mayweather, showed that few here doubted his greatness.

“I don’t think they will really appreciate my skills until my career is over,” he said. “But if I didn’t have the image that I have, then I probably wouldn’t be in the mega-fights that I am in.”

The unbeaten

(qualification standard: 35 bouts)

Rocky Marciano
US Record: 49-0. World heavyweight champion from 1953-1955

Joe Calzaghe
Wales Record: 44-0. WBC, WBA and WBO super-middleweight champion

Chris John
Indonesia Record: 40-0-1. WBA featherweight champion

Floyd Mayweather Jr
US Record: 39-0. WBC welterweight champion

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