By Sammy Rozenberg
A new face has made a statement on the American boxing scene, and that face belongs to Ricky "Hitman" Hatton. The TD Banknorth Garden, located in Boston, Massachusetts was transformed into a replica of Manchester, England as hundreds of pro-Hatton supporters made the trip across the ocean to show their loyalty.
The Hatton supporters were holding their breath until the announcement of the score cards as the fight was harder and closer than most people, including Hatton, thought it would be. In the end, Hatton's effective aggression was the difference to sway some of the rounds in his favor and his conquest of America continues.
There was criticism on Hatton for choosing Luis Collazo as his first opponent in the welterweight division because Collazo had a slick southpaw style that could give him trouble. The critics were right as Hatton at times was being outboxed easily by the faster and physically stronger Collazo.
The fight began with a bang as the first big shot from Hatton put an off-balance Collazo on the floor within seconds of the first round.
A clash of heads in the third-round produced a cut on top of Collazo's head, but did not become a factor in the fight. As the fight progressed, Hatton was the aggressor and Collazo became the more accurate puncher.
Hatton was stunned badly by a combination from Collazo in the final round of the fight and showed his fighting spirit by staying on his feet and fighting back until the final bell. During the course of the fight, both men had their moments, but the relentless style of Hatton kept pushing Collazo back and most judges love to see effective aggression. The final scores were 115-112, 115-112, 114-113, all for Hatton. Hatton now becomes the WBA welterweight champion and a two-division title holder.
After the bout, Hatton admitted that Collazo was the bigger fighter and realized that his body had not yet adjusted to the new weight class.
"He was big, very strong. This is my first fight at welterweight. I need to grow into the weight," said Hatton
Unlike some of his countrymen, Hatton made it clear in 2005 that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of fellow UK icon Naseem Hamed and make his mark in the United States. It became apparent to Hatton in 2005 that he could not become any bigger in terms of his status as a superstar in England. The only way for Hatton to become popular with the American public and land the big fights with popular American fighters, was to actually fight on American soil.
Last June, the torch was passed when Hatton stopped junior welterweight king Kostya Tszyu after 11 rounds of action. Tszyu ruled the 140 pound division for a decade and was favorite to beat the younger and inexperienced Hatton when the two fighters met before a wild crowd in England. It was quite the shocker when Hatton dominated Kostya on route to making Tszyu quit on his stool after the conclusion of the eleventh round.
The win over Tszyu defined Hatton as a fighter and showed that he was one of the more underrated competitors in his weight class. Later that year, Hatton knocked out WBA junior welterweight titleholder Carlos Maussa with a single punch in the ninth round to unify two of three major titles at 140 pounds.
During the course of Hatton's spectacular run in 2005, the entire picture in the 140 pound division changed within a few months as Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Arturo Gatti and most of the other recognizable names within the division moved up to the welterweight level of 147 pounds. The decision for Hatton to move up in weight was an easy one as the opponents who would bring him the most money and further define his career were now campaigning as welterweights.
The next fight for Hatton should not be against a fighter like Floyd Mayweather, Jr. It was clear in the bout with Collazo that Hatton still has to work on a good strategy when fighting a slick boxer, and Mayweather is arguably the best boxer in the game. A fight against Arturo Gatti would present Hatton with the perfect opponent for his swarming in-your-face kind of style. Should Gatti win his bout against WBC welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir in July, the management of Hatton should pursue that bout.
Putting Hatton in the ring with a Floyd Mayweather at this stage of his career would be a mistake, he needs more seasoning and a few more bouts at the welterweight level should better prepare the popular Brit for such a bout.
