Bradford fight fans should not be too downcast at Ricky Hatton’s defeat by the phenomenal Floyd Mayweather Jnr.
For one thing, the Hitman held his own for the first half of the contest, and was actually ahead on the scorecard of American pay-per-view channel HBO after six rounds, while Sky’s ringside commentator Jim Watt had the Hitman just one point down.
It was in the second half of the fight that Hatton’s game-plan suddenly fell to pieces. He stopped throwing his jab and, crucially, his lateral movement ceased, which combined made him a sitting target for Mayweather to tee off on.
The Pretty Boy – a renowned slow starter - moved up through the gears, modifying his style from blurringly fast counter-punching to bone-jarring combinations that never seemed to miss. It was as if he had missile-lock on his opponent’s head.
Taking nothing away from Mayweather – who would beat Hatton 99 times out of 100 – I was appalled at the display of referee Joe Cortez.
I have been a boxing fan for many years and have seen Cortez referee countless world title fights and I welcomed his appointment by the WBC board.
But I have lost all respect for him after Sunday morning’s disgraceful scenes. His spoiling tactics ruined the early part of the fight as a spectacle and played conveniently into Mayweather’s hands, as every time Hatton tried to fight on the inside and unload he was dragged away.
At one point Cortez was heard shouting a warning at Hatton after he connected with three punches in a row (I thought that was the whole point of boxing?) and then deducted a point after Hatton was adjudged to have hit Mayweather on the back of the head - replays clearly showing his glove had connected with the rope.
The fact that Mayweather kept ducking under the waistline and was using his elbows like a marine crawling under a cargo net went unnoticed, or rather unpunished, by the official.
Then, as the fight started slipping away from Hatton in round seven, Cortez suddenly stopped bothering to separate the boxers and spared Hatton further warnings, despite some shots bouncing off the back of Mayweather’s head. Strange that he should wait until that moment, with Mayweather in total control, to start allowing Hatton to box in his characteristic style!
As if fighting the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world and arguably the greatest pugilist since Sugar Ray Leonard isn’t enough, Hatton also found himself fighting against the referee.
I expect that to be Hatton’s last fight at welterweight, a division where his punches do not carry the same power as they have long wreaked at light-welterweight.
Which leads me to another reason why Bradford fight fans should be upbeat after Hatton’s defeat: there is now a slim chance of a domestic dust-up between the Hitman and our very own WBC light-welterweight champion Junior Witter.
Hatton’s camp are likely to push for a money-spinning showdown with New York-based IBF title-holder Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden, but the clamour for a Hatton-Witter War of the Roses is building and, with British boxing enjoying a real purple patch, this is the one the fans want to see.
If Hatton shows willing, the Battle of Britain could happen in 2008.

Before I log off, a big thank you to those of you who voted for Joe Calzaghe to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
In my last but one blog I urged you to pick up the phone and vote for the Welshman, to help restore my faith in the British public after last year’s fiasco involving Zara Phillips.
Now, I’m not taking all the credit for Joe’s win. He did receive 55,000 votes more than Lewis Hamilton after all and I doubt very much I had many more than five hits in total for that blog, but I punched the air in delight at hearing him announced the winner. A true champion and a great role model for our budding sportsmen and women, not to mention about the only Brit who actually won anything in 2007!