Hatton beats Malignaggi after trainer stops fight in 11th round

"My guy was hurting and I wanted him to live to fight another day," he said. "I would rather have him mad at me stopping the fight than let him get hurt and never fight again."

Malignaggi had mocked Hatton's effort to bring in a new trainer to improve his defenses, saying Hatton would revert to his old ways the moment he got hit in the mouth. But while Malignaggi didn't do much hitting, Hatton fought the same style he has always fought in improving his career record to 45-1.

It didn't matter much as Malignaggi couldn't figure out a way to use his boxing ability to keep Hatton on the outside and win points with his jab.

"I just couldn't get to him," Malignaggi said. "I couldn't hit him."

Ringside punching stats showed Hatton landing 99 of 377 power punches to just 25 of 133 for Malignaggi, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native who lost for the second time in 27 fights.

Hatton was a 2-1 favorite in the sports book in his second fight back at junior welterweight after moving up to 147 pounds for his bout with Mayweather.

Unlike his last fight here a year ago that drew a raucous sellout crowd to the MGM Grand, the arena was far short of a sellout for a fight that had little buzz despite matching arguably the best two 140-pounders in the world. Hatton earned $2.5 million for his night's work, while Malignaggi was paid $1 million, the biggest purse of his career.

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