Wish they fought in '85...
Would have been a different result.
Hagler was just a bit past his best in '87. I am a big Hagler fan and admit if their was a rematch in '88 it would have been a similar result.
I agree with you. No question Hatton's resume far outweights Witter. However, I don't think that permits us to totally discredit Witter given the context of the division, in which precious few legitimate threats exist.
And Witter is the WBC strap holder. I guess suddenly the belts are no longer an object of affection for Hatton?
I won't totally discredit him, however the belt he won was vacant...not sure how or why Corley was chosen...his previous 2 opponents had 63 losses!
Don't get me wrong, Witter's belt is meaningless despite its history. But previously Hatton spoke of unification, of belts justifying contests. Now it doesn't suit him he's neglected those aspirations.
With N'Dou, M'Baye and Witter holding three belts, he's essentially buggered for obvious opponents.
Torres and Harris are probably his preferred 140 option though I suspect Spadafora, Bojado and Juan Diaz will soon join that list.
Certainly before Mosley, Mayweather or Oscar do.
True about 140 possibilities (besides Witter and Harris) but I think a possible rematch with Collazo at 147 could actually happen, as the jump back up could be an option. Of course he would then lose to anyone in the top 10 apart from maybe Baldomir, Gatti or Cintron.
For every person that thinks PBF will win you will have one who thinks Hatton would prevail. This has to be made. Hatton would do well because he has the youth and fitness to b punching PBF for 12 rounds. DLH showed his age a bit in the later rounds.
If PBF retires and Hatton goes on to achieve amazing stuff it wont look good for PBF that he didnt choose to box the guy.
I doubt about the ratio of believers being one to one, even here in Manchester. Ricky is my favourite fighter but at any weight above 140 he would lose. Very true that a slightly younger DLH does not tire after 9 rounds, as if he didn't I think the decision goes the other way. It is a shame the fight probably won't happen because PBF did not "beat the best at 140" but then again it does not matter to him now. Give PBF credit and praise for taking shots from a 154 pounder...his chin is probably his most underrated quality.
Witter has beaten no one worth mentioning. He does not knock out many people either. He could not beat Hatton by decision due to Hatton's work rate so how could he possibly win?
The bookies are not usually wrong either, as if the fight was actually made Witter would be an overwhelming underdog.
For all you Hatton haters, he is definately a cut above Witter end of story.
the only thing valuev has on wlad is that hes undefeated,but that means jack shit
Good point made, however, if they fought, would you not wory about Wlad's chin...although Valuev may not be a big puncher, he would have that chance. I think Vitali would take him out for definate.
he wll hit hatton alot and move out of the way and catch hatton coming in 99% of the time. i am thinkin hatton is gonna have many bad cuts to deal with, and floyd will capitalize on them.
This scenerio is definately possible. But due to the fact that the fighters do not like each other, PBF could get caught trying to slug it out with Hatton simply because he thinks he will be able to anyway. Of course if this happens, you could also see Hatton KO PBF in the middle rounds. However, the later the fight goes the better Floyd will get against a tiring Ricky. Ricky needs to punch hard, connecting early on..........Can't wait!
No one can take Mayweather out of his defensive style no one. Not even the hype of a DLH fight. He will pick Hatton apart slowly but surely. He will only throw when there are obvious opennings. Hatton is not that fast in comparsion to Mayweather so I see Hatton missing a lot. And being countered with uppercuts a lot when he lunges in.
If Hatton does do alot of missing he will be in deep deep trouble. I can't see Hatton "ballooning" between his last fight and Floyd, as he really wants this fight badly. I think he will train like never has before and I think he will be prepared for a career defining fight. This is not an automatic win for Mayweather.
Marvin makes a good point I suppose...Having said that, the current welterweight division has some potential to come close to the depth, talent and excitement to the 80's...
Regarding RJJ, chances are he would have definately beaten Nigel Benn. But then again Gerald McClellan was a big favourite aginst Benn in '95...
I think RJJ gives Benn the same kind of treatment he dished out to James Toney.
That said you cant get careless against Benn because its when he is hurt that he is at his most dangerous.
Roy Jones would have to be motivated for that fight and not get cocky, because when Benn hits em they usually stay hit.
Good post.
I am not trying to compare JM with RJJ, all I am saying is basically Benn would not be an easy fight for RJJ, Benn would have a chance albeit a small chance as Jones was approaching his prime and Benn was starting to go past it. Benn took McClellan's best shots its worth noting...
I'm def going to the next hatton fight abroad, whether it would be new york or vegas, Hatton vs Cotto would be fantastic, two of my favourite fighters going at it, it would be a great fight.
I would love to go myself. It would be an incredible fight. May the best man win.
I think if you have PR's and english hooligans in the same arena there will be more fighting outside the ring than in it
No. Too much respect from the English anyway. I believe that most Brits think an awful lot of Cotto. Even as a big fan of Ricky's, if you love boxing, you must love Cotto fights as well!
You would have to say that Pryor's game was KT's worst nightmare going by his 2 losses. Mind you, Pryor's been put on his ass before and I don't think any of the guys he faced hit quite as hard or as accurately as Tszyu, so you could never totally discount him.
Good point made although I think Pryor would have avoided KT's big right hand bomb with his speedy movement. He would have been his worst nightmare indeed, but if KT connected then maybe.
Pryor was the best 140 pound fighter in history.
Definately. I remember him in his day and his resume does have some quality other than Arguello. He was avoided by the 147's I seem to remember...The younger fans can always visit youtube and watch this amazing fighter in action!
Kostya T would have been overwhelmed by Pryor. He beats PBF at 140 as well. He beats my current favourite Hatton as well by late TKO I should imagine.
His resume's not that lacking. He has Cervantes on there too, who's arguably the next best LWW that ever lived.
Kameda was a big southpaw, and undefeated at the time. Pryor could also take a punch from the bigger and hard hitting Arguello which is another reason why Kostya T would not beat him. Pryor was the complete package.
I have been following him since the beginning, i.e. local paper (Tameside Advertiser) but started taking much more notice of him when he beat Thaxton in 2000 and more so when he beat Krivolapov on Sky Sports. The Krivolapov fight was impressive, as the Russian had only 2 losses at the time and had a chin of granite. I knew then he would eventually win a major title. I have seen him fight live twice at the MEN against Aldo Rios and Carlos Vilches. I have also met him at a local charity event last year...What a nice guy...
The only fighters out of the welters that Hatton would have a chance at (at 147) is Baldomir, possibly Cotto and funny enough possibly Mayweather. He would not last more than 5 or 6 rounds against Cintron, Margarito, or Williams.
It has been a while since I have seen a division so deep with top fighters.
In terms of talent Hatton is leagues above the likes of Cintron, Margarito and Williams. He just doesn't have the reach and height to beat the latter two though.
He'd still butcher Cintron.
I am not comparing talent. I am a huge Hatton fan but if he he fought Cintron he would simply lose badly. This guy is huge and could potentially knock Hatton into next week. Although he did in fact win against Collazo, he was out on his feet in the last round. If it were a 15 rounder, Hatton would have a loss on that perfect record. (I do believe though that he would beat Collazo if they met again)
The fight, if it ever really happens, would certainly not go the distance. The fight could be stopped due to Ricky being cut early, or Ricky could knock PBF very late on by wearing him down. Although I am a big fan of The Hit Man, I feel at 147 Ricky would be too slow, which is why PBF would love to fight him. The fight never happens ever at 140, which would favour Ricky...The only ones that could beat PBF at 147 is Cotto and maybe Paul Williams. Ricky has the third best chance though.
Sorry to break into the argument mismatch of the century, but does anyone know whether Floyd's WBC 147 title will be at stake?
The fight is not a mismatch. Get real mate.
There is nothing to indicate that the rematch with Judah wouldn't look like the last eight rounds of the Judah fight.
Witter just isn't on Mayweather's level. Nobody but you thinks he is.
dave, I don't understand something. You are a Hatton supporter. Hatton says that mayweather is a great fighter. He has always said that. I would THINK that Ricky knows a bit more about boxing than you do. Why would YOU denigrate PBF's abilities?
Especially since they are going to fight. If this "pussy" and "garbage fighter" were to beat hatton ("IF"), what does that say about Ricky?
Feel me, mate?
As I mentioned before (I hate to name drop) about Pryor. I have had this conversation with Ricky himself and agreed that Pryor probably was the best LWW (Chavez too)
Pryor is around 4 or 5 to me.
I'm a stickler for the resume. What were your results? And against who? That is why I am such a supporter of RJJ. say what you will now, but he dominated TWO first-ballot HoFers in their primes and at their best weights.
At the end of the day, it's going to be hard to call PBF an all-time great at any single weight. Maybe the best argument is at 130. But if he beats Hatton and the winner of Mosley-Cotto, then there can be no argument about his inclusion on any shortlist of GOATs.
I'm not putting him above SRR. But I'm entertaining any SRL vs PBF discussion. For sure.
A definate ATG at 130 no question. Beating the unskilled Gatti for a title at 140, beating Baldomir and an out of form DLH (although it was close) leaves his resume wanting at the higher weights.
You asked me my opinion. I will tell you that I would pick Mayweather to soundly beat Tszyu at 140. Why belittle me for a boxing opinion?
I have given you a skill-based response. Now, if you are going by resumes, I will ask you what Pryor's resume was. And you will struggle to give me his "greats beaten" other than a fading Arguello.
Would you pick Tszyu over Duran at anywhere from 135 to 147? How about Tszyu/Meldrick?
I would actually pick Duran over Tszyu at any weight but that is not the debate.......Its about a career at 140 or at least I thought it was. I take back the get a life comment (although it really was not that malicious)
Pryor beat everyone in front of him. Nevernmind Arguello was fading. I watched that fight on closed circuit TV live.....one of the greaest fights ever (to me anyway)
Graham just signed Hattons life away...47-1 is what he will be...
Mayweather-Gatti = Mayweather-Hatton..
How on earth can you compare Gatti to Hatton is beyond me. Hatton is a lineal champion who soundly beat one of the great LWW of all time. He won one of the major belts at 147 already (UD for Hatton whether you like it or not). Gatti never had half the talent Hatton has.
If it turns into a slugfest becuse of the genuine hatred for eachother then the fight is a coin toss. Hatton could badly hurt PBF as PBF could cut Hatton up. The smart money WILL be a PBF UD (he does not KO many these days at higher weights, he is a small guy like Hatton) The good chance for an upset is a middle round stoppage for Hatton before he runs out of gas late on.