In the build up to this fight I've went back and watched Hattons last 3 performances here in the U.S. (I've seen his British fights before as well).
There's a lot of disinformation circulating around here about Hatton's style, and what his strengths/weaknesses are. I think the majority of that comes from close-minded "boxing fans" who are quick to label fighters they have a personal issue with as "bums".
Just a couple things I wanted to make clear, at least on my end of cyberspace.
1.) Ricky Hatton's clinching is not boring. If you need proof of this just watch the fight with Castillo. He clinches an awful lot, I'll agree on that. But it's never to the point of a "Hopkins"(Sorry 'nard, you know I love you). There's always a consistent amount of punches thrown from the inside, and there's never really a break in the action. Unless it's a case when Hatton is clearly exhausted (See last 6 rounds vs. Juan Urango), Hatton's clinches are as entertaining as any i've ever seen.
2.) Ricky's boxing ability is under rated. A lot of people here are quick to label him "one dimensional" because of the way he opts to make a brawl of any fighter he's in the ring with. This is not true, if you need video of his boxing ability watch the first 6 rounds against Urango. In which Hatton showcased a great jab, ability to throw punches from angles, a solid combination of headwork/footwork, and an average amount of speed.
1.) Floyd Mayweather fights one punch at a time. On the rare occasions where Floyd opts to flurry, he looks amazing. But he has a habit of settling back into the same "bait and tag" routine round after round, where he lurks patiently outside your reach, waits for you to engage, and picks his spots to counter. It's a very effective method of embarassing an opponet, but against Hatton I think he'll need to flurry more often.
2.) Floyd Mayweather's fighting style is not boring either. Granted he's not the fighter Hatton is who throws everything in the wind with reckless abandon, but to watch him operate is to truly understand how boxing works. The subtle head feints and shoulder feints coupled with counterpunching and his natural athletic ability make it possible for him to fight the way he does. Much in the same way it made Roy Jones able to do what he did.
BOTTOM LINE: I'd prefer to see Hatton win but I've went on record saying he is a clear underdog and Mayweather dererves ot be favorite. I'm betting on Hatton because it's smart money if he pulls the upset (odds and all). If he loses, I already anticipated it and chalk it up to a gamble.
Hopefully after tonight's fight the tension on the board can settle down and both fighters will get respect from each fighter's respective fanbases. As I'm sure they'll sohw the utmost respect to each other afterwards.
Yea a lot of people claim that Hatton can't box. The first 6 rounds of the Urango fight was a boxing clinic by Hatton. And very entertaining at that. Last 6 rounds were horrible because of Urangos body shots in round 6.
And also yea, Mayweather has a very exciting style. People who say he is boring have never seen his fights with Chavez, Ndou, Augustus, Corrales, or even Judah which was a pretty good fight.
Great!
Excellent post.
Both fighters ought to put on a great performance to finish off the year.
Whoever wins, should relish all the respect and accollades deserving of a match well fought.
Best of luck to both.
Let the games begin! :boxing:
Well from what I know about Hatton he's not gonna try and outbox Floyd like that foolish Arturo Gotti did, The pressure has to be continuous for 12 rounds if Hatton slows down and allows Floyd any space to comfortably throw he's done. We'll get to see who as more will must watch fight
good post, im going with hatton but if mayweather wins ill give him his dues, the blokes a cunt but a bloody good fighter, lets see for deep that well of his is.
Thank you I would have wanted to write this post.
And yes I have been saying this for ages: Mayweather will have to fight against Hatton.
If he can beat Hatton by fighting negative, the show will suffer, but it will mean he is an even better boxer, than I believed so far.
good post. i agree with alot of it. i think pbf has gotten away with alot of hanging out and throwing 1 punch at a time, and has been able to save a ton of energy. if ricky can press him as hard as he did tsyzu than we will see how good of shape pbf is in both mentally and pysicially. i think pbf will have to be far more offensive than he has been the last few yrs or he will be outpointed by rickys shear volume and high work rate. this fight is gonna be great. can not wait!