By Jake Donovan

The card was designed to build momentum for a possible showdown later in the year between linear junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton and alphabet titlist Paulie Malignaggi. Neither fighter did much to create instant anticipation, as both managed wins in a pair of fights that weren't easy on the eyes.

Hatton's bout with un-retired American challenger Juan Lazcano went largely as expected, winning the majority of the rounds to take a unanimous decision in a clinch-filled encounter. Malignaggi's night didn't quite go as scripted, struggling to a split decision in a return go against Lovemore N'Dou in the televised co-feature.

Both bouts were aired live from Manchester, England on VERSUS, in a rare Saturday afternoon boxing telecast.

The first round appeared to be one giant clinch, with little happening between the two. Hatton controlled the action during the rare moments the two fighters weren't joined at the hip, though managed to get tagged with a jab flush enough to bloody his nose.

There was less clinching in the second round – always a positive sign for any Hatton fight, though not necessarily replaced by sustained action. Hatton came out far more purposeful in the third, landing a jab upstairs and a left hook to the body. An attempted follow-up was thwarted by a slippery logo, which caused Hatton to slip to the canvas. The clinching resumed midway through the round, though mixed in with enough two-way action – including a strong finish by Lazcano to make it the most enjoyable frame of the fight through the first three.

Hatton looked to take the fight to Lazcano in the fourth, beginning the round with a flurry before being locked up and shoved from behind by the Sacramento (CA) native. Momentum briefly shifted, as Lazcano was able to land a few right hands, but Hatton would regain control on the strength of his body attack.

It was much of the same in the fifth round, though Lazcano managed to stand tall toward rounds end, matching Hatton punch for punch while effectively fighting off of the ropes. Hopes of carrying it over into the sixth quickly disappeared, as Hatton dominated the frame behind body shots and right hands upstairs.

To his credit, Lazcano managed to land a punch every time it appeared Hatton was beginning to beat the fight out of him. It happened at the end of the sixth, when Lazcano landed a right hand in an otherwise dominant Hatton round, and again in the seventh, when a right hand off of the ropes briefly interrupted a big flurry from the hometown hero. But the moments were few and far between for the road team, as the fight soon approached the point of no return on the scorecards.

A clinch at center ring was how the eighth began, though quickly followed by a flurry from both fighters. Neither landed anything of consequence, finding far more comfort in tying each other up in giving referee Howard Foster a busy night's work. The clinching stopped long enough for Lazcano to land a left hook upstairs that hurt Hatton in the final minute of the round, making for some anxious moments. Hatton recovered and landed two right hands while Lazcano was pinned on the ropes before finishing the round with an uppercut.

The ninth round began with a nice exchange, with Hatton landing two body shots and Lazcano countering with a combination upstairs. Hatton appeared closer to timing Lazcano in efforts to catch him with a left hook while coming in, but more excessive clinching prevented that – or anything else – from happening.

Bizarre is the only way to describe the tenth round, at least without offering an accusation of foul play taking place.

Hatton was in control of the round until getting caught with a left hook coming in – the same exact punch he looked to land on Lazcano the entire fight. Hatton was stunned, and struggled to clinch in desperate efforts to regain his senses. He'd eventually get his wish and then some, when the referee inexplicably called time, first to send both fighters to a neutral corner, then allowing Hatton to return to his corner to have his shoe re-laced.

The highly questionable call by the referee robbed Lazcano of any chance to pull off the upset, struggling mightily in the final two rounds. A straight right hand found its way to Lazcano's chin for the first significant punch landed in the 11th round, though not before no fewer than two clinches had taken place. Plenty more would occur after the sequence, as the 12th and final round couldn't come fast enough in this fight.

The 12th was all Hatton, as Lazcano seemingly had nothing left to offer, other than to finish on his feet. That never seemed to be in question, nor did Hatton winning the fight, which he did handily, even if the judges' scores suggested they were in auto-pilot mode when filling out their cards. Scores of 120-110, 120-108 and 118-110 weren't suggestive of what took place in the ring , though the right guy obviously won in the end.

For Hatton, it was his first win in nearly a year, and the fourth successful defense of his linear junior welterweight crown, as he improves to 44-1 (31KO).

Lazcano drops to 37-5-1 (27KO) with the loss, his second straight. The bout was his first in 15 months, coming out of semi-retirement to accept what was easily the biggest assignment of his career. He might prove to be a tough out for most of today's junior welterweights, but his performance offered little suggestion that he fares any better than a steppingstone in the twilight of his career.

The co-feature saw Paul Malignaggi beat Lovemore N'Dou for the second time in as many fights, though nowhere near the level of dominance he enjoyed in their first match eleven months ago. It was a virtual shutout in a marginally entertaining fight then; this time around offered a split decision in an unwatchable affair marred by clinching, injuries and bad hair – and very little reason to anticipate a potential Hatton-Malignaggi showdown anytime soon.

Malignaggi worked mostly behind the jab in the opening round, while N'Dou sought openings for his straight right hand. Things got interesting once Malignaggi's hair extensions become undone about midway through the round, momentarily affecting his vision. N'Dou was able to drop a straight right hand on Paulie's jaw, though the Brooklynite took the punch well. It was tit-for-tat the rest of the round, with Malignaggi occasionally flurrying and N'Dou landing enough jabs and right hands to take the round.

With his hair now wrapped up in tape, obstructed vision was no longer an issue for Malignaggi. It wasn't quite smooth sailing as was the case in their first fight, but Paulie was beginning to time N'Dou's shots in the second round. A one-two got Malignaggi's attention late in the second, but was immediately countered with a left hook that backed up N'Dou to the ropes, where he was forced to put on earmuffs to defend against a round ending flurry.

The third round saw Malignaggi repeatedly beat N'Dou to the punch, though he received a brief scare midway through the round. An overhand right momentarily wobbled the defending titlist, to where his glove grazed the canvas. Referee Mickey Vann didn't rule a knockdown, instead warning N'Dou for rabbit punching. It was more of the same in the fourth, save for the fouls, as Malignaggi controlled the tempo largely behind his jab while N'Dou was unable to get anything going.

The fifth threatened to run the same as the two preceding rounds until N'Dou was able to uncork a long right hand with about a minute left in the round. Malignaggi stutter stepped backwards, but quickly recovered. N'Dou couldn't follow up quick enough to make it count, but was able to land a left hook later in the round that kept his familiar foe honest.

It was back to hit-and-don't-get-hit in the sixth for Malignaggi, and again in the seventh until once again getting tagged by a straight right. This one seemed to hurt the Brooklynite, who immediately clinched, but not before N'Dou was able to nail him with three more shots.

The bad hair day resurfaced in the 8th round, leading to a delay of nearly a minute, drawing raucous boos from the Manchester crowd, who had little love for Malignaggi to begin with. Sadly, it became the story of the round, with little else happening in the three minute frame.

Trainer Buddy McGirt had seen enough, and ordered his corner to cut off the extensions in between the 8th and 9th rounds. Malignaggi was no longer distracted by the excess hair, but hardly regained control of the fight. What little action took place in the ring was overshadowed by the crowd beginning their rendition of "Hatton Wonderland."

It wasn't even a boxing wonderland in the final three rounds, marred by clinching and nothing in the way of fluidity from either fighter. Malignaggi did enough in the 11th to win the round and preserve his lead, capping the round with a right hand shot to the body. Both fighters had their moments in the final round, but not enough to prevent the boo-birds from chiming in at fights end, which was further fueled by Malignaggi playing to the crowd while awaiting the reading of the scorecards.

A brief scare came with the first card, which read 115-114 for N'Dou. That tally was overruled by the other two judges, whose scores of 116-112 and 116-113 gave Malignaggi his fourth straight win, though second straight close call.

It was revealed after the fight that Malignaggi (25-1, 5KO) re-injured his right hand for the umpteenth time, the latest instance coming in the sixth round. When an anticipated Hatton showdown will come depends largely on how soon the Brooklynite's hand can heal, for which a reasonable estimation should come about once the severity of the injury is determined.

The show was presented by Punch Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions, in association with DiBella Entertainment for the co-feature.

Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.