Hatton survives Collazo, wins WBA Belt

Hatton survives Collazo, wins WBA Belt By Ryan Songalia, Photo courtesy WBA Europe 5-14-2006 http://www.wbaeurope.com/Boxeadores/ricky_hatton_Nov2005.jpg Ricky Hatton wrestled the WBA welterweight title from the clutches of Luis Collazo in a rugged, highly competitive fight. Hatton, now 41-0 (30 KO), handled the pressure of fighting in America for the first time in 8 years very well and earned a hard fought unanimous decision over the Brooklyn native Luis Collazo, who falls to 26-2 (12 KO). Fighting out of Manchester, England, this was Hatton's first fight in his opponent's home country since fighting on the undercard of the Naseem Hamed-Wayne McCullough encounter in 1998. It was an all action affair in front of a lively, bipartisan crowd in Boston, MA. Hatton, moving up in weight to 147 lbs., came out strong and knocked Collazo down in the first 20 seconds of the bout. It came on a left hook that Collazo was not anticipating, but seemed to be more of a balance issue than a world shaking shot. Hatton dominated the first round, as Collazo seemed to be less comfortable with the physical nature of Hatton's attack. He would continue to appeal to the referee throughout the first quarter of the fight, but to no benefit. Collazo came back well in the second round, and made it a close round that he might have won. The third round was a big one for Hatton, as it seemed his body work was beginning to wear down Collazo. Collazo also suffered a cut high on his forehead from an accidental clash of heads, but it didn't become a serious factor in the fight. In the 4th round, Collazo started to take control of the fight, landing the cleaner harder shots as Hatton began to slow down in his aggression. It was all Collazo in the fifth round, who was becoming more and more effective with the right hook. He appeared to stun Hatton with a barrage of right hooks and straight left hands against the ropes. At this point in the fight, it appeared that Collazo's style was giving Hatton a great deal of difficulty. Collazo's fast hands and combination punching was making him more effective fighting in close than he had been in earlier rounds. Hatton, sensing the momentum swinging in Collazo's favor, began to pick up his workrate and resumed his body work that had fallen flat in the previous 3 rounds. Hatton began to simply outwill his opponent, smothering him with his aggression and body shots. The ninth and tenth rounds were very close, as both men were trading vicious shots in close quarters. Collazo was showing his heart and determination on the biggest stage of his career, and was not here for a paycheck. Hatton made a huge statement in the eleventh round, rocking Collazo momentarily and clearly winning the round. The twelfth and final round was a brilliantly exciting stanza, as Collazo hurt Hatton very badly with a left-right combo and nearly put Hatton onto the seat of his pants. Hatton reacted professionally and held on until he got his head cleared, and even found the energy to return fire. While Collazo hurt Hatton and decisively won the round, Hatton's ability to fight back towards the end of the round and making it only a 10-9 round. When the judges announced the scores, the cards read 115-112 by two judges, while the third had it 114-113 all for Hatton. I scored the fight 114-113 for Collazo, preferring Collazo's quicker combinations and clearer punches. While many may feel that Collazo won the fight, there were alot of close rounds that Hatton may have edged by being the aggressor throughout. Hatton was very impressive in this fight, showing that he can outwill and outhustle opponents to compensate where he falls short in technical skill. When he was in danger of letting the fight slip away, he picked up his superhuman workrate and pressure and won the close fight on sheer will power and aggression. And as has become his trademark, he was in fantastic shape and showed a very sturdy chin. In defeat, Collazo impressed the fans and pundits alike, proving himself as a serious contender at welterweight who may wind up winning another title belt in the future. He exhibited a great deal of boxing talent, internal fortitude, and underrated punching power. He is a dangerous opponent for any of the top fighters in the welterweight division. Hatton now has a world of options for his picking, and a title belt to use as bait for some of the superstars in the division. After his impressive performance in a fight I did not believe he could win, I would make him a prohibitive favorite over everyone in the division, with the lone exception of Floyd Mayweather Jr. WBO kingpin Antonio Margarito, 33-4-1 (24 KO), would be one of the most explosive style matchups in boxing. Long ranked as the top guy at 147, he has yet to be afforded an opportunity to prove himself against the elite welterweights. Margarito's high activity and punching power would make for a truly breathtaking encounter in one of boxing's hottest divisions. This fight may simply come down to conditioning, and we have never seen Margarito pressured and beaten to the body. Margarito would not be as accurrate as Collazo was because of his lack of hand speed, but he would get alot of work done with his physical strength and Hatton's still head. This fight may wind up being a violent, wildly entertaining bout with both fighters hitting the canvas in a twelve round effort. My pick would be for Ricky Hatton to win a razor thin decision, catipulting "The Hitman" up into the boxing stratosphere as one of it's brightest stars. Hatton MD. Floyd Mayweather Jr., 36-0 (24 KO), is the biggest name in the welterweight division. Universally recognized as the pound for pound best in professional boxing, Mayweather would present the toughest challenge for the undefeated brawler. Hatton did however help to sway public opinion in his favor by the way he was able to blunt the usually mobile Collazo's movement with his relentless pressure and physical style. Hatton showed in his first major fight against a slick fighter that he could give a pure boxer like Mayweather a world of trouble by just jumping in on his man and making him fight three minutes of every round. Mayweather, who currently owns the IBF welterweight title, will be fighting a rematch with Zab Judah later this year, a fight he is expected to win. Hatton-Mayweather Jr. is the biggest fight in boxing right now, and Hatton may wind up being even money with Mayweather if they ever fight. This is a tough fight to pick, as Hatton is a stronger fighter, whereas Mayweather has the better technique. If I had to make a pick, I'd go with Mayweather because he has been in tough fights against similar opposition, namely Jose Luis Castillo. Mayweather SD12 The winner of the Carlos Baldomir-Arturo Gatti fight in July will be the recognized welterweight title by Ring Magazine's account. I believe that Hatton would wear down Gatti, 40-7 (31 KO), who after all these wars will not be able to handle the all out assault that is the Ricky Hatton formula for success. Hatton would wear Gatti down to the body and stop him in the last third of the fight. Baldomir, 42-9-6 (12 KO), simply does not posess the boxing skill or power necessary to hold off Hatton's rushes, and would be swamped and stopped in the middle rounds. Ricky Hatton shined brightly in moving up in weight to annex a welterweight title belt, and a foothold in the most intriguing division in boxing. In his first fight as part of a 5 fight deal with HBO, he survived the toughest test of his career in outslugging Luis Collazo. Hatton moves onto bigger fights, and reignited one of boxing's most glamorous divisions. Ryan Songalia is a syndicated weekly columnist. If you would like to reach him, his e-mail is mc_rson@yahoo.com.