The fans flocked to the Bernard Hopkins-Howard Eastman fight having been promised fireworks.
What they got was a consummate display of ring-craft from the champion, happy to play matador to Eastman's tormented bull.
It was not thrilling and Eastman may gripe, but why go into the trenches when you can orchestrate the war from behind the lines like some scheming general?
Hopkins, 40, will have been mindful of bigger battles ahead, the final push in a career that has spanned 17 years and included 20 defences of his world middleweight crown.
The 34-year-old Eastman says Hopkins has offered him a rematch, but the truth is "The Executioner" has bigger fish to fry.
A fight against young pretender and fellow American Jermain Taylor, so impressive on the undercard in Los Angeles, would be a sure-fire money spinner and capture public imagination Stateside.
And Hopkins is likely to fight the winner of May's clash between Felix Trinidad and Winky Wright before calling time on a magnificent career.
With consensus light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson also in the frame, Eastman will have to wait until Hopkins retires before landing a third world-title tilt.
Not that the "Battersea Bomber" fluffed his lines in front of the Hollywood greats and boxing legends sat at ringside.
The champion was just too cute, squirting out of corners like a bar of soap when Eastman tried to cut down the ring and launching lightning-quick sorties before retreating from range.
Like the 13,000-strong crowd at Staples Center, which greeted the cagey opening with boos, Eastman expected a dust-up and struggled to adapt when Hopkins got on his bike.
When Eastman was lured into an attack, Hopkins would unleash short hooks and jabs before dumping rights over the challenger's low-slung left.
Hopkins used to be a feared puncher but has developed into a wily veteran - that is why he is still fighting at the age of 40 and why he looks 10 years younger.
Eastman is unlucky to have shared an era with one so great but if he can keep himself active while Hopkins winds down, his time will come again.
Post-Hopkins, the middleweight canvas will be patchy and Eastman, who won admirers in Los Angeles with his strong heart and chin, can make his mark.
MMIX
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