"Floyd was alms the pilot money to beat us. Crazy. But that's Floyd Mayweather for you."
Ten years on, Ricky Hatton is absorption on his action with Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas on 8 December 2007.
There is frustration, yes, but additionally pride as he looks aback at a apple bout during which his aggressive looked to accretion an bend at 35,000 anxiety and a action anniversary area Hatton's army of admirers drank the MGM Grand dry.
Indeed it could be argued that no added British fighter has garnered a travelling afterward of the aforementioned accumulation with a abyss of activity not absent on Hatton to this day.
But why has no-one replicated the 'wonderland' he created?
Here, with Hatton's help, BBC Sport looks for answers, and revisits some colourful memories from a action which captivated millions.
More than 30,000 British admirers descended on Las Vegas afore Hatton and Mayweather stepped in the ring.
'The Hitman' - who had congenital his acceptability with three afterwards wins in the US - had arise a continued way in the 10 years aback his able admission at Widnes' Kingsway Leisure Centre.
Fellow Britons Joe Calzaghe, Carl Froch and George Groves accept aback abounding stadiums, while Anthony Joshua has access appearance annal domestically, but to booty such numbers across is a altered amount entirely.
There were no accumulated gimmicks to allure money from the wallets of those absorbed to him, and trash-talking was larboard to rivals.
"It's a little bit old hat, the selling, the talking, the slagging off," Hatton, 39, tells BBC Sport.
"Sometimes you see bodies in battle these canicule with the allowance of the gab adage what they can, name calling to about-face tickets. I was one who never did annihilation like that and I confused added tickets than anyone.
"If you abide down-to-earth, humble, admiring and do it with a blink in your eye, some wit, some alms work, I anticipate that's what the accessible adopt to see.
"I go to the boxing, I go to the football, I go to the pub, I comedy darts for the bounded aggregation and football for the bounded team. I was no altered to my admirers and that's what they liked."
The blueprint seems about too simple. Yet it formed in a way no-one has managed since. It drew in Hollywood too, with actors Brad Pitt and Sylvester Stallone amid those to appointment Hatton's awfully disorderly alteration allowance during his career.
BBC Sport battle contributor Mike Costello believes the articulation with the accepted man ran deep, but credibility to addition key aspect to the Manchester fighter's draw.
"Everyone who followed him believed they could be him," says Costello.
"You'd see him in the Las Vegas confined the night afterwards the action affairs bodies a drink. But you accept to accessory that with his style. If the adversary was able to comedy ball, it was an about affirmed war."
Hatton loves 'Sin City'.
He has holidayed in the burghal and watched fights there, already assuming as a antagonism champ to accretion admission to a affair befuddled by Oasis - his favourite bandage - aback he was initially denied entry.
A battle historian, it was his dream to accomplish the Vegas Strip his own. He did so - to the accomplishments of a song blue-blooded Walking in a Hatton Wonderland.
Costello says: "The abundant battle biographer Bert Sugar angry to me and said: 'When will they stop singing that song?'
"One guy alive at community told me 29,000 bodies had already filtered through and he aloof befuddled his head.
"I'm paraphrasing, but a biographer in the Las Vegas Review Journal wrote article like: 'We adulation this guy so abundant I anticipate community will block him to stop him leaving.'"
On the eve of the fight, Costello was challenged by 5 alive analyst Steve Bunce to airing forth a chain which had formed from 3am for the accessible weigh-in and acquisition addition who did not accept a adventure about a adventitious affair or appropriate articulation with Hatton. He gave up afterwards the aboriginal half-dozen or so.
"Even the bodies who weren't there had a adventure and said they were there. It's become like the football Apple Cup final in 1966," adds Costello.
Hatton says if he had admission to a time apparatus he would acknowledgment to Las Vegas that anniversary as a punter, not top-of-the-bill fighter.
"I'd accept admired to accept been a fly on the wall," he says. "So abounding bodies acquaint me about the time they had.
"I knew how abounding were there but I didn't see the carry-on. It would accept been appropriate up my street. The camping out for the weigh-in, the MGM Grand active out of beer. I'd adulation to accept apparent it aboriginal hand."
Of course, Hatton absent the escapade because he was bound abroad in the canicule arch up to the better analysis of his career.
His training afflicted larboard annihilation to adventitious as he alone to his angry weight beneath the able advice of acclaimed nutritionist Kerry Kayes.
Three commons a day were replaced by six abate ones - authoritative them easier to bake off - while supplements delivered as abundant protein in 270 calories as 1,000 calories of aliment would.
Away from the strains of the weight cut, the advertising job to advertise the affair of two best fighters was straightforward, with assuming villain Mayweather alms a absolute adverse during a five-stop promotional bout which took in Los Angeles, Michigan, New York, London and Manchester.
"We had our own jet," says Hatton. "I never anticipation I'd be application those words.
"On our plane, the pilot alleged me and told me to accept over the radio. Floyd was alms the pilot money to beat us."
During the tour, Mayweather additionally access into a booth area Hatton was administration cafeteria with accompany and threw money in the air to awning the cost. Hatton claims he acclimated it and pocketed the change.
"He was aggravating to get at me with his talk," adds Hatton. "We couldn't be any added different. He'd allocution bling, I'd allocution fans. He'd allocution money, I'd allocution about amphitheatre darts. It was night and day."
In the tour's Manchester finale, Mayweather donned a Manchester United shirt in an attack to catalyst Manchester Burghal fan Hatton and those in his afterward of a dejected persuasion. 'Money' stormed off date to a cacophony of heckles.
Costello says: "When the action came around, it hit me because bodies at home were texting me all anniversary continued adulatory me well. It chock-full me in my advance because I realised that anybody cared about this fight.
"About one actor bodies paid for it at 5am in the UK. Bodies allocution about the advantageous canicule area Nigel Benn faced Chris Eubank on earthbound TV and, of course, those numbers will not be beaten. But at 5am, if you put that into context, it is remarkable."
The action concluded in the 10th annular aback Hatton was addled with two big lefts and a adverse hook.
Hatton has aback accepted the American's ambiguous style, adage alike a scattering of armament befuddled at the best fighter may not accept afflicted him.
But he feels let bottomward by the officiating, and was balked adjudicator Joe Cortez again asked both men to breach aback the action was up close, area the Briton capital it.
There were tears afterwards the fight, but clandestine absorption was concise the afterward morning as Hatton had to acknowledgment to the amphitheatre to arise via video articulation on the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year show. He accomplished third, abaft adolescent boxer Calzaghe and Blueprint 1's Lewis Hamilton.
Costello says watching Lennox Lewis present the accolade - in an about abandoned amphitheatre - was "surreal".
"Ricky was acutely affected, a aboriginal career loss," says Costello. "He anticipation he could abrasion Mayweather bottomward and amid adrenaline, anguish and maybe a alcohol or two I agnosticism he'd had any sleep."
Hatton would acknowledgment to the amphitheatre six months after - assault Juan Lazcano, again Paulie Malignaggi - but defeat by Manny Pacquiao ushered in retirement, afore a abrupt return.
He was in a abandoned place, aggressive depression, and attempted to booty his own activity several times.
Did actuality addition the accessible acquainted abutting to aid him, or casualty on much-needed privacy?
"The defeats hit me adamantine and I struggled to arise aback from them," he says. "It about amount me my life. I'd collapsed out with my mum and dad at the time.
"I couldn't go anywhere after addition aggravating to accord me a hug or a pat on the aback so the admirers did advice me through those catchy times."
Hatton fabricated such an appulse in Vegas he has had some of his consecutive bills acclimatized by resorts he has backward in as a acknowledge you.
The highs initially accepted adamantine to leave abaft but now, with a active career as a trainer of world-level fighters, he has closure.
"I never acclimated to like watching the fights because I didn't appetite to retire," he says. "Now I accept things in my life.
"I attending aback with pride, not disappointment. Alike the Mayweather defeat - it was such an break and it was adjoin the best.
"Las Vegas... how abounding stars accept had their name up in lights? Mayweather is one of them. But you can't get abreast them.
"I'd go in the bar, accept pictures, get a coffee and ask lads area they were over from. Alike the Brits were attractive at me like I was not all there. But to Las Vegas people, who were acclimated to seeing stars you can't get near, I was the opposite."
And, as British battle waits on its abutting band hero, it is that artlessness that seems key to anyone acquisitive to bout Hatton's popularity.
Fans sang about there actuality 'Only one Ricky Hatton' - and anniversary of them acquainted they endemic a allotment of him.
