Congrats on the big win…Would you say this was the best performance of your career?

RG: So far, I'd have to say yea. I mean, we had a game plan, I executed it and I did a lot of stuff in there I usually don't do.

So have the doubters officially been silenced?

RG: Yea, officially I think the doubters have been shushed. But there's always somebody out there. So you keep on going and stay working hard.

You had a clear game plan in the fight… you would move in with your jab and throw a couple of shots, push him left and move to your right. How did that come about?

RG: Yea, breaking Klassen down, watching his film, we knew if we circled to the right and worked behind the jab, and always stayed first… it gives him a lot of trouble and that's one of the things watching him fighting right handed fighters. When they did circle to the right, it gave him a lot of trouble. And for left handers to circle to the right it gives a guy even more trouble. So we knew circling him right behind a double, triple jab was gonna give him a lot of trouble.

What did you think of Klassen's performance? Judging from his words he was underestimating you quite a bit…

RG: I think he was ready for an old Robert Guerrero. The Robert Guerrero that likes to sit in there and exchange punches… and just have a war. I think he was thinking that I was gonna come in like that and that's what he trained and prepared for. His game plan was to just come in and just bang me out. We had the perfect game plan for him and from my point of view, and the way I was dictating the fight, he didn't know what to do.

How did the hand injury happen and did you know it as soon as it did?

RG: I hurt it earlier in training and I had to nurse it a little bit. It was feeling good going into the fight, but I never really put any power on it too hard, to really know if it was OK or not. I think it was midway through the fight, I hit him with a, I think it was an uppercut, and I hit him close to the top of the head and I just felt it just like a spring, right away I could feel it. Every time I threw a hard, solid left hand I could feel it a lot. But you know, I kept throwing it and throwing it, and just solid enough to let him know that there was nothing wrong with me and if he came in I was gonna let one go. Part of being in there was having that poker mentality, not letting him know what was going on.

In addition to that you were also dealing with that cut…What were you thinking after the clash of heads and did you think it was intentional at all?

RG: Yea, a lot of times he was just trying to rush in head first and land an overhand right. Most of the time as soon as I would throw a double or triple jab and step off he would come head first and just try to land whatever he could land. To come in darting in with your head first… sometimes it's intentional.

Were you bothered at all by the cut for the rest of the fight or was it something you weren't worried about too much, just sticking to the game plan?

RG: I wasn't worried about the cut at all. I got back to the corner and my corner did a great job being relaxed and not getting crazy. Cut man Ruben Gomez did an excellent job with the cut and it didn't bother me at all. I was able to stay on my game and maintain focus, and stick with my game plan.

You averaged 100 punches per round in the fight and only seemed to slow down a bit or take a rest, around maybe the ninth or tenth round. How much did your training camp in Big Bear help you build up that kind of stamina?

RG:  Man, it made a huge difference being out there in Big Bear training. I didn't even realize I threw that many punches. The rounds that I did slow up, I actually slowed up to stand my ground a little more and blast some body shots in there. Then right away I jumped backed on it, but man, if I would have just stuck on my jab and stayed with what I was doing the whole fight, it would've been a lot more punches.

That's when I was like… wow. Looking back on it on how many punches I threw and how much boxing I did and how much moving I did in the ring… man, it makes a huge difference. Now I know why all champions that have the opportunity to go out there and train, go out there and train.

So I'm guessing that for the next fight you'll be brining your title belt up to Big Bear for another training camp?

RG: For sure. I'm pretty sure I'm probably going to be out there for the rest of my career during my training.

During the fight you could see Shane Mosley getting pretty animated at points from his ringside seat. What was he saying to you and what did sparring with him mean to you?

RG: A lot of times I know he was shouting at me to keep turning, rip uppercuts and work off that jab. But just sparring with him, being in the ring with him… his ring generalship, and all of the experience he has... Like he told me, "I've been boxing longer than since you've been born. And I can teach you a thing or two." And that's what he did and I learned a lot from Shane, not just in boxing but in how to take care of yourself, and how to make sure everything is right going into a fight.

I learned so much from him being in camp and that's what you gotta do, you gotta learn every time you get out to a camp. It was nice to be out there with Shane and learning from him, a veteran and pound for pound one of the best lightweights in boxing history. It was an awesome opportunity.

I know your team tried to get a Juan Diaz bout together prior to this fight and sharing the card with him. What did you think of his performance against Malignaggi and is that a fight you'd still like to pursue now if he returns to lightweight?

RG: I would love to fight Juan Diaz, if he dropped down to lightweight or even if I had to go up I would fight him. Honestly, I didn't get to see the fight, I was in the back getting stitched up. I caught the first couple rounds but after that I didn't get to see the rest of the fight. I saw him start off aggressive and firing a lot of punches, and moving in quick, slipping and sliding. He looked good on the first couple rounds that I saw, but unfortunately I didn't get to see the whole fight. I heard it was a real close fight and it was controversial with some of the judging, but I haven't really gotten to see it.

Obviously you have a lot of healing up and relaxing to do, not to mention celebration I'm sure. Is there any chance we'll be seeing you in the ring again before 2009 is out?

RG: Right now we are gonna play it by ear. I know they are probably working on something already, but I'm going to go tomorrow to get my hand looked at. And I have to give the cut a little bit of time to heal, and make sure I'm 100% before I get in the ring. But for sure, I'm hoping to get back in the ring before the end of 2009.

This win was your third world title, and a championship in a second division. I know this was a goal of yours since you got back in the ring after your layoff. What's the next goal?

RG: Looking towards unifying titles at 130 pounds. Even if I could get another fight at 135 with anybody…I'd love to take that. But I think that's the next thing, to unify titles and I'm excited about that and I'm in the position to do that now.

Is there anybody in particular you're looking to get in there with… obviously there's Linares and Soto and a bunch of guys… or is it whoever is around and steps up?

RG: Hopefully I can get in there with Humberto Soto or Jorge Linares.

Congrats again on the win and thanks for the time.

This interview was conducted by Jake Emen for Pro Boxing Fans, and has also been published on Associated Content.

Nothing can be taken away from Pacquiao's performance this time. There was no old legend that had to cut more weight than he was accustomed to. What stood in Pacquiao's way was the reigning junior welterweight champion. A fighter renowned for his strength and his power. And he was completely outmatched against the pound for pound king.

Both men were oozing confidence prior to the match. As Hatton strutted out to the ring, the look of pure concentration and focus, Pacquiao followed as happily and cheerfully as one could be. That demeanor quickly changed when the opening bell sounded.

While Pacquiao was supposed to have a hand and foot speed advantage, it was much more overwhelming than anyone could have imagined. Hatton got a hold of the quick Pacquiao a few times to try to rough him up on the inside. But Pacquiao was by and large able to dart in and out and launch his own combinations.

The trouble started for Hatton when Pacquiao launched a lead right hook. The punch met a completely unguarded and open Hatton, who spun around to the canvas. Hatton composed himself and got up to continue the fight.

However, he was now facing the whirlwind storm of a full force Manny Pacquiao attack. This time it was his signature punch, a straight left hand, that sent him down. The lighting quick straight left burst through Hatton's guard and landed on his forehead, sending him down for the second time in the round.

In between the first and second rounds, Hatton sat in his corner with a look of complete astonishment. Who could blame him? He was just hit by a truck and didn't even see it coming, and he had to go back out there to get hit by the truck again.

Hatton only lasted until the end of that second stanza. Pacquiao leveled him this time with a left hook that left Hatton straightened and belly up on the canvas. There would be no count necessary, the semi conscious Hatton would lay there on the canvas for several minutes.

It was a fantastic performance for Pacquiao. And now boxing fans can await an even larger event. Floyd Mayweather has made his return to the ring official, and his stated purpose is to prove that he's still the pound for pound best.

In July he will face off against Juan Manuel Marquez, the fighter who has given Pacquiao so much trouble in the past. It is no coincidence that Mayweather chose Marquez, he's looking to gauge his skills in preparation for a massive fight against the Filipino icon.

Pacquiao did his part by besting Hatton, and doing it in a fashion to belittle the accomplishment of Mayweather, who needed ten rounds to do the same job. Now Mayweather must take care of Marquez so that boxing fans can have the match of their dreams, the last two pound for pound kings, as different in the ring and out of the ring as they can be, putting it all on the line to finally settle the question of who's better.

After Malignaggi came out in the first round of the fight and won the round, it looked as though he may be able to edge out a hard fought decision. But as I predicted, Malignaggi had nothing to keep the Hitman off of him, and Hatton waded in and started throwing hooks and huge right hands. Some of those caught and hurt Paulie in the following rounds, and soon Hatton began to take control of the bout.

The first round aside, Malignaggi likely didn't win a round the rest of the fight. And with his low KO percentage, there was almost a zero percent chance that he would come back and win the fight. That being said, I do not agree with the stoppage of the bout. I understand that Buddy McGirt, a formerly great fighter, empathizes with his fighters and doesn't want to see them hurt. However - and as Paulie said in the post fight interview - he got it much worse from Miguel Cotto without quitting, and should have been allowed to finish the fight.

I'm all for protecting the fighters, and truly that is one of the most important and perhaps most overlooked elements of the boxing world. However, Hatton wasn't unleashing a devastating barage of shots, beating Paulie to a pulp. He was grinding him down and getting effective blows him, but I don't feel like Malignaggi was in any danger of injury. And while you sometimes stop a fight to save a fighter's ego and confidence level, I feel in the long run this hurts Paulie, as you could visibly see how distraught he was with the result and the perception of his performance.

You can't take anything away from Ricky Hatton though. Did he work his way into the top 10 pound for pound fighters again? Well, probably not, although you never know. He won a fight he was expected to win, although many people picked against him. It does seem that he is on the end of his rope though, and there's only so much more his body could take. I guess we will soon see who his next opponent is, although to be perfectly honest, I care not to see him against either Oscar De La Hoya nor Manny Pacquiao.

From the opening bell it was clear that this was a different Vic Darchinyan than we've been used to seeing. After suffering a knockout loss against Nonito Donaire, Vic definitely got back into the gym and put his work in. It's a testament to his ability and his work ethic that he was able to retool himself and incorporate better form, more effort, crisper shots and sounder fundamentals.

Darchinyan floored Mijares in the first round and it looked as if it might not last much longer. After never seeing it in Vic's style before, he had a fast jab that he followed with his super-strong straight left and left hook. He also incorporated some head movement and defense into his all around game. And one of the most devastating shots he landed was a perfectly planted uppercut.

Mijares was able to survive and win a round or two against Darchinyan for half the fight. But it looked as if he was ill-prepared for this challenge and perhaps took Darchinyan a bit too lighly heading into the fight. He got what he paid for, as he was knocked out just as the bell ending the 8th round was sounding.

Great performance by Darchinyan and terribly disappointing one for Mijares. I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch between the two of them if both were focused as Vic was tonight.

However, as the fight wore on, Bute started to become more tired as Andrade started to apply more pressure. This culminated in the 12th round with a vicious Andrade assault that saw Bute being pummeled full across the ring until slumping into a corner with just a few seconds left. For all intents and purposes it seemed that Lucian Bute was going to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and be knocked out at the end of the 12th round.

But the referee, who happened to be from Montreal just like Bute, stopped the count to deal with Andrade, who he said had left his corner. This led to Bute getting more time to recover, all the while he was staring off dazed and out of it. He was certainly not in any shape to defend himself. Adding to this mess, the referee said after the fight in his interview that Bute would not have beaten the count had he not stopped it to admonish Andrade.

Eek, that's a pretty big mistake, and it looks ten times worse considering it was a hometown ref in a hometown fight. But realistically, if you watch the replay of the final round, Bute does get to his feet before a count of ten. So that really isn't the issue.

The issue is that even as he does get up, he seems completely unable to carry on. Granted there were only two seconds left to go in the fight, which would not have been long enough for Andrade to do anything. But it was a very similar situation to the Chavez/Taylor fight, when the fight was waved off in the final seconds, with Taylor ahead on the cards and up on his feet, but unable to defend himself.

So my problem with the Librado Andrade and Lucian Bute result does not amount to the controversy of Bute not beating the count. Despite what the ref said, Bute did beat the count. My issue - if there is one at all - is that the ref could have chosen to stop the fight at that point. With two seconds left, that's a heck of a judgement call, but it would have been justifed completely.

The ref compounded his problems with his statement in the interview, but in fact Bute did clearly beat the count. Whether or not he should have been allowed to continue fighting, even with two seconds left, is another issue. Just chalk it up to another incident in the stories and lore of boxing controversy.