I have written in the past about not being predictable in your boxing, many times we see the really great boxers aren’t those who punch the hardest or punch the fastest, but think the quickest and make things hard for their opponent, whether that is mixing it up with how they throw certain punches or whether it is setting traps, being unpredictable and making the opposition uncertain about how you are going to attack will put you in the driving seat.

In this short video we see another example of how great Floyd Mayweather Jr was with his mind and how he became unpredictable against a mean, tough opponent in the undefeated Ricky Hatton. The fight is remembered for how Mayweather knocked Hatton down, using the check hook in the corner after drawing but what we don’t see is how Floyd Mayweather Jr set Hatton up for this shot throughout the fight by becoming unpredictable.

First off we see Mayweather dropping his hands and throwing a jab to the body, next up we see him dropping his hands again and now leading with the right hand lead to the head. Thirdly we see Mayweather drops his hands and then delivers a check hook to the head, that is three different punches from the same hands down position. Further more, we see Mayweather dropping the hands, throwing the jab to the body and following it up with the right hand to the head.

All of this creates indecision in the mind of the opponent, when Mayweather drops his hand, Hatton now does not know whether it is going to be the jab to the body, the right hand lead to the head or the check hook. When the first knockdown came, Mayweather was retreating to the ropes with his hands down, baiting Hatton to come in, Hatton had to guess which attack would be coming from Mayweather and then Hatton would have to select the correct shot to whatever he though Mayweather was going to throw. At the last instance Mayweather throws the check hook, knocking Hatton down and the fight was stopped soon after, absolutely masterful stuff and high boxing IQ from a great boxer. Check out the video below.