By Jake Donovan
Despite the crowd’s greatest efforts to will the combatants to a more entertaining affair, little action came of Friday evening’s welterweight tilt between Lovemore N’dou and Matthew Hatton.
Twelve rounds of clinching and mauling resulted in a fairly scored split decision draw for the main event at the at the Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke, England
N’dou weighed in at 145 lb, while Hatton was at the welterweight limit of 147 lb.
Hatton raced out of his corner at the opening bell, but it would be more than a minute before he’d land anything of note, a right uppercut at center ring. N’Dou spent most of the round either circling the ring, or clinching any time to the two were at close quarters.
Action threatened to pick up in the second, though very few clean punches landed for either fighter. N’dou was far busier than was the case in the prior round, occasionally connecting with his signature right hand. None appeared to provide immediate damage, though enough to open a small nick just outside of Hatton’s left eyelid.
The crowd was finally given something to cheer about in the third, with both fighters throwing with meaner intentions. A Hatton right hand drew a rise from his countrymen, though N’dou later responded with a straight right of his own. Hatton threw several 1-2’s but was often short on both ends. A clinch towards round’s end resulted in a clash of heads, with N’dou drawing a warning from referee Marcus McDowell.
Both fighters attempted to establish their jab as a weapon in the fourth, though N’dou’s stick was more effective in dictating the pace and distance. Hatton abandoned his jab mid-round, instead doubling up on his left hook, though to no greater success as N’dou proved to be a difficult target to catch clean.
Hatton picked up the pace early in the fifth, flicking his jab while fighting in reverse, desperate to change up his luck. N’dou walked him down and bullied his way inside, but was twice warned for punches straying south of the border. More clinching ensued before Hatton offered a shoeshine late, landing twice to the body in his greatest efforts to steal the round.
Consecutive Hatton right hands landed clean upstairs midway through the sixth, his lone bright spot in what was otherwise a brilliant round of boxing for N’dou. Trainer Lee Beard gave Hatton a pep talk in between rounds, attempting to spark a sense of urgency in a fight his charge was allowing to slip away.
The pep talk didn’t seem to take, though neither fighter resembled a ball of energy early in the seventh. Action was sparse enough for the third man to break apart the two and demand that they engage in combat. Hatton picked up the pace later in the round, flurrying in the corner and then again along the ropes in the final 20 seconds.
In a fight that had controversial decision written all over it from the moment it was inked, N’dou flirted with disaster in the eighth, drawing another warning for low blows but somehow was spared a point deduction. It was about as eventful as the round would become, save for Hatton losing his gumshield and the crowd later belting out a chorus of “Hatton Wonderland.”
Things threatened to spiral out of control for Hatton in the ninth. N’dou was frequently landing in combination to the head and body, seemingly creating a wider margin on the scorecards. Hatton enjoyed a bounce back round in the tenth, alternating combination punching and smothering N’dou on the inside to prevent the Australian from getting off his punches.
N’dou immediately targeted the body in the 11th, causing Hatton to step back and thus nullifying his inside attack. Referee Marcus McDonnell remained a busy man, constantly having to intervene during repeated clinches. N’dou did his part to make a fight of it, letting his hands go and forcing Hatton to play catch up.
Trainer Lee Beard once again attempted to light a fire underneath Hatton, demanding that Hatton “take no f***ing risks.” Hatton obliged to the best of his ability, letting his hands go in what was one of his best rounds of the fight.
N’dou proved to be his own worst enemy, doing enough to keep Hatton honest, but not letting his hands go nearly enough to win over the judges on the road. Proof was provided several moments after the final bell, leaving both fighters feeling dejected after learning that non winner was produced.
Scores were 115-114 N’dou, 115-114 Hatton and 114-114 even.
N’dou’s record moves to 47-11-1 (31KO). Somehow, he remains in possession of fringe welterweight hardware, despite boasting an abysmal record of 2-3-1 over his last six.
Hatton remains unbeaten through his last five, though goes home empty handed as his career ledger now stands at 37-4-2 (14KO). While it’s clear where all of the boxing talent in the family resides, the younger Hatton remains the family’s only active boxer at the moment.
Older brother and former 140 lb. king Ricky Hatton served as the evening’s lead promoter under his promotional banner, aptly named Hatton Promotions. His present weight is unknown, though the excess of chins indicates little roadwork has taken place since his crushing second round knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao earlier this year.
The undercard saw an entertaining, albeit brief scrap between middleweight journeymen Paul Sameuls and Cello Renda. Three knockdowns were produced before Samuels prevailed with a third round stoppage.
Samuels truly pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hate, surviving knockdowns in each of the first two rounds. The second knockdown of the bout came during the rarest of occurrences. Renda missed with an overhand right, but had his left cocked. Samuels went under and back up, ready to launch a left of his own.
Both fighters connected with left hook, resulting in a rare double knockdown. Renda was quicker to his feet while Sameuls took the full mandatory eight, though proved to be the fresher of the two by rounds end, wearing down his foe before pouring it on in the third.
A flurry along the ropes left Renda defenseless, prompting an immediate stoppage.
Samuels snaps a two-fight losing streak as he advances to 20-7-2 (12KO). Renda’s three fight win streak comes to a close as he falls to 18-8-1 (11KO).
Both bouts aired on Sky Sports; N’dou-Hatton aired live, while Samuels-Renda was offered via tape-delay.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.