Kevork Djansezian / AP

Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, lands a left on Oscar De La Hoya. The fight was just what boxing needed, writes columnist Tim Dahlberg.

Mayweather, meanwhile, fought the way he always fights. It’s not crowd pleasing, but on this night there wasn’t going to be any pleasing the heavily pro-De La Hoya crowd anyway.

Mayweather couldn’t even please his own father, who sat munching popcorn in a $2,000 seat provided by De La Hoya and said afterward he thought De La Hoya won. Dysfunction in the Mayweather family is nothing new, of course, and the elder Mayweather did give his son a hug in the ring afterward.

Mayweather said he was retiring, but he says that after most fights. De La Hoya said he would explore his options, but retirement should look good to a 34-year-old who has now lost three of his last five fights.

There was talk of a rematch, but the guess is it’s just talk. De La Hoya can’t do much more than he did in this fight, while Mayweather would figure to be more confident and more aggressive if the two met again.

The main reason it likely won’t happen, though, is simple economics. Insiders believe a second fight wouldn’t sell nearly as well, and De La Hoya doesn’t do anything at his age unless the financial reward is huge.

The story line all week, of course, was that boxing is dying and this was the fight that might just save the sport. It was a ridiculous premise to begin with because boxing is what it has been the last 20 years — a niche sport that appeals to a certain crowd much the same way tennis appeals to its own set of fans.

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This fight was good, and this night was special.

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