It wasn't an epic battle that would save boxing. There were no knockdowns, and very little drama. And the end result was what was expected by boxing experts: Floyd "Pretty Boy" Mayweather won a decision victory over the "Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last night.

Playing the villian from the time the fight was signed all the way up to the opening bell, Mayweather entered the ring wearing a sombrero and the Mexican colours of red, white, and green, seemingly to mock De La Hoya and the pro-De La Hoya crowd of over 16,000. As soon as round one began Mayweather's hand speed advantage became apparent, as De La Hoya looked stiff and uncomfortable. In round two, De La Hoya seemed to find his groove and battered Mayweather against the ropes, but many of the punches were blocked by Mayweather's arms and gloves. A succession of ineffectual lefts hammered into Mayweather's ribcage allude to the frustrating night De La Hoya is in for.

De La Hoya, as the aggressor, found moderate success in bullying Mayweather against the ropes, but he often appeared tentative and plodding, weary of Mayweather's speed and walking straight in without jabbing and getting caught by Mayweather lead rights. Mayweather did not live up to his promise of "massacring" De La Hoya, but as the rounds wore on it was obvious he was beating the HBO darling without even leaving second gear. The fight was a tactical cat-and-mouse game, with De La Hoya stalking his prey and the slippery Mayweather weaving and ducking and rolling with the punches. De La Hoya's limited use of the jab had positive results, snapping Mayweather's head back, but he abandoned it in the later rounds, clearly frustrated over how to get at his quicker, younger opponent. In the last round, De La Hoya went for broke and his opponent accomodated him by exchanging with him; a hellacious right hand landed for the "Golden Boy" but it was too little, too late. De La Hoya simply did not have an answer for the pound-for-pound king. The scores were 116-112 and 115-113 for Mayweather, and, inexplicably, 115-112 for De La Hoya. I had it 116-112 for Floyd.

Mayweather improves his sparkling record to 38-0, and claims that he is done with the sport of boxing. At 30 and in his prime, that is hard to believe, and a fight with Shane Mosley will almost surely happen before the year is out. Mayweather is clearly the new Roy Jones of boxing, the Mr. Unstoppbable and Mr. Undroppable of the sweet science. De La Hoya, 38-5 (30), has lost three of his last five fights, and at age 34, will probably either retire or seek a long-awaited rematch with Felix Trinidad. He has provided the sport with thrills over the years, and proven a steady cash cow for HBO. With De La Hoya gone from boxing, the sport will suffer big time.

But give Mayweather credit--he beat an all-time great and--if he is to be believed--did it at 148 lbs. He may not endear himself to the fans the way De La Hoya has done, but when you're the best fighter in the world, you can do things your way. And Mayweather is nothing if not the best fighter in the world.