Floyd Mayweather Jr. showed all the markings of a true pound-for-pound champion last night as he overcame physical and psychological adversity to dominate and win a unanimous decision victory over Zab Judah at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Mayweather, 36-0 (24), overcame an early round surge and a late round intentional low blow by Judah, which almost resulted in a full out riot, to pick up Judah's meaningless IBF strap by scores of 119-109, 117-111, and 116-112. I had it 117-112 for Mayweather. No matter what Judah dished out, Mayweather stayed cool, calm and collective - but most of all, composed. Judah falls to 34-4 (25) with the loss.

The 1st round was a feeling out round in which Judah looked confident and focused, doing just enough to steal the round from the tentative Mayweather. In the 2nd, Judah caught Mayweather with a short left and seemingly scored a flash knockdown, but it is ruled a slip by referee Richard Steele. Although, Mayweather's glove did indeed touch the canvas, he was off balance and was not hurt by the punch. Still, the sharp-shooting Judah was making Floyd look uncomfortable, and seemed to be negating "Pretty Boy"'s speed. In the 3rd, Mayweather started using a high guard and started working Judah's body. By the 6th, Mayweather seemed more comfortable, as he found his range and began measuring Judah, whose punch output was dropping. By the 7th round, Judah's nose and mouth were bloody, and Mayweather's body attack and right hands were systematically breaking down the Brooklyn native, as the crowd began to chant "Floyd Floyd". Mayweather was in the zone, and after the next two rounds, was clearly in control of the fight.

Then, at the ten-second warning bell in the 10th round, Judah deliberately hit Mayweather low, and followed it up with a blow to the back of the head. Mayweather doubled over and grimaced in pain as his uncle and trainer Roger rushed into the ring to confront Judah. Judah's father-trainer Yoel entered the ring, and pretty soon chaos ensued as the ring filled up with both fighters' entourages and security officers. Luckily, a brawl is avoided, but there is no doubt Judah's punch was intentional (though he contends it was an accident). Judah has the same psychology as his friend and fellow Brooklynite Mike Tyson, and when things are not going his way - he snaps (remember the Kostya Tszyu fight and the stool-throwing, ref-choking incident?) Mayweather, clearly thrown off his groove by the incident, was content to box in the 11th round, even touching gloves in a show of sportsmanship with the seemingly classless Judah. In the 12th, Mayweather tried to lure Judah into the ropes, holding out his chin and inviting him in, but Judah's attack resulted in nothing, and at the sound of the bell, everyone in the building knew who the winner was.

The way Mayweather was able to adjust his game plan early, stay focused, and keep his composure after the low blow, is a testament to his greatness. Surely if the incident hadn't happened, Judah would not have had all that time to recuperate from the beating he was taking, and Mayweather may very well have won by stoppage. As for Judah, he clearly showed both sides of himself in the fight: the world-class fighter who almost appeared good enough to beat the best fighter in the world, and the no-class thug who came unraveled when Mayweather turned on the pressure. The fight was a success, pitting two of the best young fighters aginst eachother to determine who was greater, and the result was a tactical, dramatic (although anticlimactic) chess match.

Mayweather-Judah II seems inevitable, although Mayweather may want to pursue a fight with Kostya Tszyu, who has been in contact with the Mayweather camp about a possible meeting. But with Judah's promoter Don King complaining that Mayweather should have been disqualified when his trainer entered the ring, it is likely that we'll see a sequel before the year is out.

Mayweather-Judah II would be intriguing because both fighters are intelligent and will have learned from their mistakes. That's not good news for Zab Judah.

If Floyd Mayweather's focus and confidence is as unshakeable as it appears to be, it's hard to imagine anyone ever beating him.

On the main undercard, Mexico's lollipop-sucking, cowboy hat-wearing Jorge Arce defeated his "arch" enemy, Rosendo Alverez (Alverez accused him of being a homosexual in the buildup to the fight) by stopping him with - what else? - the Mexican liver shot to the body, in the 6th round. Arce, 44-3-1 (34), walked through Alvarez's power-punches and threw hellfire at the Nicaraguan native who just didn't have the stamina to compete with his volume-punching opponent. Alvarez falls to 37-3-2.