by Joe Carnicelli
More than 13,000 boxing fans jammed into Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas Saturday night expecting to see a war. What they got instead was a rout.
Cheered on by more than 10,000 chanting, singing, flag-waving Brits, England’s Ricky Hatton remained unbeaten with a four-round demolition of veteran tough guy Jose Luis Castillo of Mexico. Hatton’s non-stop in-your-face style quickly wore down Castillo and the end came ironically enough from a Mexican boxing staple, a wicked debilitating left hook to the liver that left Castillo unable – or unwilling -- to regain his feet. Referee Joe Cortez counted out Castillo 2:16 into round four.
Hatton went on the offense from the opening bell, landing 20 of 58 punches in the first round to just 10 of 44 for Castillo, who seemed unable to keep his swarming opponent away. Hatton continued to apply pressure in the second round as he attacked Castillo’s body successfully with left hooks and landed 21 of 63 total punches to just 13 of 44 for Castillo.
Castillo mounted a bit of a rally in the third round, the only competitive round of the fight. He began to connect with uppercuts as Hatton lowered his head to rush forward but Hatton apparently was unfazed by Castillo’s punches. Hatton again was punishing Castillo’s body consistently and the frustration began to show on the Mexican warrior’s face.
Castillo had been warned for low blows twice in the opening three rounds and Cortez deducted a point early in the fourth. Castillo tried to make up for the deficit by attacking Hatton but the much quicker Brit deftly stepped to his left and unleashed the left hook that probably ended Castillo’s career, at least as a viable attraction. Castillo took a few short steps backward and collapsed and showed very little real effort to get to his feet.
“It was a perfect shot,” said Castillo “He got me real good. “I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t get up.”
Hatton, who had looked very mediocre in his two previous fights, turned in an impressive effort as he ran his record to 43-0 with his 31st knockout and put himself into contention for some major pay-per-view fights against big-time opponents. Hatton landed 81 of 220 total punches, including 76 of 201 power shots and five of only 19 jabs.
“I felt that I haven’t been the Ricky Hatton that everyone knew,” said Hatton. “Tonight you saw more of the Ricky Hatton that I’m used to. In England I’m known as an action fighter and I wanted to show that here. I felt from the start that I was the stronger fighter and I felt he wouldn’t be effective backing up. That’s what I tried to do, put on the pressure and back him up.
“I’m looking to take on the best now. There are a lot of big fights out there but ultimately my goal is Floyd Mayweather Jr. He’s regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter, so who wouldn’t want to fight him?”
Castillo, who barely defeated Canadian Herman Ngoudjo in his last fight, turned in another forgettable effort. He landed 58 of 192 punches, including 47 of 151 power shots and 11 of 41 jabs as he fell to 55-8-1. A long history of wars and his memorable battles with Diego Corrales apparently have taken their toll on Castillo.
