Oh, say can you see … some Brits are royally sorry

Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007 | 7:23 a.m.

On the other end of the phone line, Miles Saward's voice dripped with despair.

He had returned to London from a weekend in Las Vegas watching countryman Ricky Hatton fight, and he couldn't sleep. The national anthem controversy had affected him since he witnessed it 48 hours earlier.

It was almost midnight in England when Saward rang.

"It really upset me, if that's any consolation to people in Las Vegas," Saward said. "I'm just a regular boxing fan, but I fear we'll never be welcomed again. I hope that's not true."

Some Britons felt ashamed to be British over the weekend, when almost every syllable of entertainer Tyrese's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was drowned out by a rabid MGM Grand Garden Arena crowd at Hatton's fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Approximately 20,000 British boxing fans traveled to Las Vegas to support Hatton, who hails from Manchester, England. Mayweather, a Las Vegas resident, won by technical knockout in the 10th round.

The vast majority of the crowd of 16,500 loudly sang along with Tom Jones as he belted out "God Save the Queen," then boos and whistles rained down on Tyrese.

Dylan Gresty, from Chester, England, wrote to say not every Hatton fan booed and whistled during the anthem.

Still, what transpired shamed him, especially after he and his mates had received such warm hospitality, he said, everywhere leading up to the fight.

"I would like to offer Floyd and his team my apologies," Gresty wrote.

Thomas Donegan wrote that he watched Saturday's anthem "in horror" and offered a similar blanket apology to Americans.

"It is unfortunate that there seems to be an element in British society that has such little respect for other people and countries," he wrote. "Please do not think these reprobates represent the majority of us."

Immediately after his victory, in the ring, Mayweather said Hatton was still a champion in his heart.

"Mayweather was respectful to (Hatton)," Thomas wrote, "respect that some of those moronic British fans could learn from."

Saward, 44, operates a sports travel company in London and has visited Las Vegas to watch title fights since 1989. He shrugged when the booing started.

"I knew it wouldn't go our way," he said, "that Mayweather would win."

He was impressed that Tyrese, whose debut album in 1998 went platinum, overcame the booing, stuck with the song and finished strong.

"He really came through. He rose above it all," Saward said. "Our two countries have always stood side by side, and I was devastated by what happened."

Sun reporter Jeff Haney contributed to this report.