No Hatton is the best real fighter out there...Its a fact he will go toe to toe with any boxer its the same with Joe Calzaghe!! these guys are what the sport is about a dust up not not run and hit like gayweather..
Typeone, i think you are being a tad biased mate. Dont get me wrong, i'm a massive fan of Hatton, but stating that he will go toe to toe with any fighter is just utter rubbish.
Against Urango he did anything but go toe to toe, instead opting to box from the outside and rarely engage him in a brawl. He did this simply because he knew that Urango was physically stronger.
He knew he could instead beat Urango by boxing clever, which is exactly what he did.
Hats off to Hatton against Castillo though. He did a fantastic job on him and surpassed most fans expectations of him.
Ricky will get a new HBO deal for sure and hopefully some quality fights in the near future!
Hahaha. Find me one thread where I have been more than mildly complimentary about Hatton. Try harder.
As for this weird polarization with Hatton fans hating PBF and vice versa, you're painting it black and white. Try reading some of the smarter posters opinions. You'll see subtleties to the opinions that are presented.
Floyd's a great fighter. Probably better than Hatton. Sadly though he has dissappointed me greatly since his lightweight days. His retirement is a loss to boxing but mainly is the confirmation that he will not equal his lightweight exploits.
People who appreciate his skills are fine. Morons who blindly believe he is the greatest to ever walk the planet need to grow up.
A year ago it was Toney.
Before that it was RJJ.
A decade ago it was Tyson.
These 'greats' often pall in the light of hindsight. But it doesn't stop newbies getting excited and crying that the greatest ever walks amongst us.
Great post
Yes...I tip it cuz he won by body blow KO. No I dont support dirt...but I am the kinda guy that will give the guy a nod on the win. He fought dirty but not THAT dirty. No headbutts, eblow smashes, nut shots, etc. This is a big improvement for Ricky and I noticed it so hence the props.
Damed if you do and damed if ya dont. You Brits are never happy.
Am I to take it that you think Hatton is usually a dirty fighter? Well, if you are referring to the Tszyu fight where he inflicted a low blow on the guy, then you might want to consider the succession of low blows dished out by Kostya before Hatton retaliated.
Unfortunately Hatton seems to have developed a reputation on American forums as a dirty fighter. Hattons style dictactes that he is a figther that does the majority of work on the inside, up close and personal. Some of it is bound to look a little scrappy. But in reality, its quite methodical and planned. When fighters fight the way Hatton does, there tends to be clashes of heads, the odd low blow simply because there is not alot of room to manouvre.
His dismatlement of Castillo last night was textbook Hatton, from the pre Tszyu era, something that American fans havent seen much of. He was much more focused, working predominantly on the body shots before figuring out the best way to take his man down. I have seen him do it to countless others, before his HBO days.
Hatton just needs some time to settle into America. It was only his third fight in the States and I think nerves maybe played a part in his lax performances leading into the Castillo fight.
Give it time mate, i'm sure you'll end up liking him in the end!!:boxing:
Despite being one of my favourite fighters, Hamed was as cocky (arrogant) as hell and didnt appeal to many British fans (not me though, i thought he was ace!) and Lewis was about as charasmatic as cement.
Hatton is an approachable kind of guy, genuine, and really cares about the people who come to support him. He grew up in a local community where everyone knew him and his accomplishments and then after Hamed and Lewis were out of the picture, he became the only fighter we had who took up the mantle and fought in America.
Calzaghe hasnt fought in the US yet and some say he never will. Sometimes, just sometimes nice guys finish first.
Saxon,
Floyd was an under-sized 135er/140er a few years ago. He is now an undersized WW who is still smaler than most 140ers.
That being said, if hatton fought flloyd two years ago, he would have faced a smaller and less strong version of floyd. Do I have any "proof" that floyd is stronger today? No. Just like you don't have any "proof" that hatton is stronger than Floyd.
But I think as boxing fans, it is reasonable to assume that since Floyd has put on about seven pounds of lean muscle, and since he has spent the past two years working out and fighting and sparring with very big men, Floyd would have gotten stronger than he was at 135/140.
And if you say that you don't remember Floyd mixing it up at 140/147, it is because you missed this run:
Sharmba - dropped a couple of times & stopped in six rounds
Corley - punished and KD'd three times
Gatti - stopped in six rounds. Vicious beating.
Bruseles - stopped on a vicious bodyshot. While PBF handicapped the SuperBowl with Lampley.
That is the amalgam of PBF's work at 140. i'm confused as to how you can attribute that to "not mixing it up".
Can you please link me to that Oscar quote?
I will find you that link, don't worry Dios.
Those fights you have mentioned are not what I would call 'mixing it up'. Against most of these fighters and Gatti in particular he fought from the outside and simply used his speed, reach and timing to batter his opponents. He dis not stand and trade, which is what we were attributing 'mixing it up' to be. Back in his 130 and 135lb days he would make a genuine effort to push his opponent back and punish them. Given his size and strength differential at the higher weights this is no longer possible, which isn't a problem, as he has had to adapt to the environment he is in.
:boxing: Mayweather has made it clear. It'll be a toe to toe battle. We know we've heard this before, but (Oscar was the much Bigger fighter and puncher). Understand this my fellow boxing "CRITICS". For the style of fight Hatton brings, mayweather will stay in the pocket and punish him. Hatton fans will be banking on his relentless pressure. One thing for sure Hatton is no De La Hoya (He lacks the offensive tools to keep floyd on the defensive) and they are pretty even, as far as weight (Hatton usually comes in at 147, and Mayweather 148).
I dont get where all this talk of Hatton not having the qualities to keep Floyd on the backfoot comes from. Steptwome, you say that Hatton doesnt have that ability and yet Oscar does but I dont seem to remember Oscar doing any of that to Floyd in their fight. Oscar would force him back with the jab but then fail to throw anything of note. IMO, thats what cost him the fight. Had he unloaded on Floyd he may very well have taken the decision or even possibly stopped Floyd.
Everyone knows that Hatton is best when fighting on the inside (ask Tszyu or Castillo), so if the fight is up close and toe to toe then Floyd will be in trouble.
I cant see Floyd wanting to go anywhere near Hatton and simply trying to stay away and use his speed to box him from the outside.
I meant shut Floyd down with the jab, but whatever.
Also, please remember that Floyd trains hard for every fight... including Henry Bruseles. How can he not be working hard for the Hatton fight?
I know Floyd always trains hard for fights even against guys like Brussels who are really no hopers. But this isnt a no hoper he is fighting. It could quite possibly be the toughest fight of his career. Hatton isnt going to run out of gas like Oscar did, he isnt gonna get disheartened like Judah did.
If the dancing competition keeps him occupied till 2-3 weeks before the fight then in mu opinion there is no question that it will impact on him in the fight. Those final couple of weeks training are where you tighten everything up and bring the 10 weeks of previous training to climax. Now, if Floyd is preoccupied with this dancing jig, then there is no way he can be fully prepared for the fight. Its just not humaly possible.
I personally just think that its a terrible mistake on Floyds part. As I said before, this could be his toughest fight of his career, irrespective of whether he trains hard or not.
Sweet Pea was undefeated till he fought a prime Oscar De La Hoya while he was past his prime. and even that fight is a maybe win for him.
his first unvontroversial loss was when he was on crack and fighting Trinidad.
Man, there is some serious lack of knowledge on this forum!
Whittaker lost to Joe Luis Ramirez for the WBC lightweight title as he made the the step up to world level. Pay attention people!!
Anyway, Brandish you sais "I call bullshit, floyd does not show off in the ring, nor does he juke and jive like sweet pea did. there's a reason why floyd is undefeated and sweet pea wasn't"
The reason for that was because Sweet Pea fought a much higher level of opposition to Floyd, plain and simple! You cant seriously compare Castillo or Corrales to Julio Cesar Chavez, Ramirez or Nelson when talking about Lightweight opposition and you can't compare Gatti, Judah or Baldomir to Oscar or McGirt when talking about Welterweight opposition.
Whittaker's resume speaks for itself and consider the fact that 3 of his 4 defeats came when he was shot and in the twightlight of his career. There is no comparrison or argument in my eyes.
Pernell all the way baby!!!
On the contrary, I think that Hatton would have been better off two or three years ago when he had a distinct size/strength advantage on Floyd.
PBF is going to have a wide speed advantage vs Hatton either way. 2005 or today. Ricky concedes that. But now, Hatton's strength advantage has dissipated....yet PBF retains the speed advantage.
And for those who don't think that Floyd is still fast, please remember this: Oscar was sparring with Shane Mosley for weeks. As soon as the fight was over, Oscar said "wow, he's fast".
Where is your proof that Hatton's strength advantage has dissapated? I dont seem to remember Floyd ever mixing it up at 140 or 147 like he could do at 130 or 135. Hatton will clearly be the stronger of the two fighters and the harder puncher. There was a quote from Oscar after the Mayweather fight where he said something to the effect of "I left my chin hanging all night cos everytime he hit me I didnt feel anything so I was quite happy to take some on the chin to land my own".
Mayweather relies on his speed and natural boxing ability at these higher weights, not strength or power punching.
Whittaker for me definitely. He fought better competition in my opinion over his career, so when someone says that he has several defeats, I say "just look at the difference in competition!"
Has Floyd ever faced an opponent with the caliber of Julio Cesar Chavez or Jose Luis Ramirez or Azumah Nelson?? Personally I don't think so. Sweet Pea would have boxed his head off all night. Floyd is small for a welter as it is but Whittaker always looked massive, even at welter.
I would think this would be a major blow for Hatton fans... simply because Castillo is one of the two guys who had a good showing against Pretty Boy Floyd... and Hatton clearly is not going to be able to fight like De La Hoya, so the closest thing he could have used for a blueprint is the Castillo fight.
Castillo doesn't think he can do it.
This sort of makes me think that Castillo realizes that his level of performance in the ring has diminshed.
Hatton is clearly not going to be able to fight like De La Hoya?? good! Then maybe Hatton will take advantage of the oppotunities when he has Floyd pushed against the ropes. Oscar was gassed out by about round 8. Hatton will be there in his face for 12 rounds.
Castillo is entitled to his view and he can say what he wants. However, while I freely admit that Floyd is the bookmakers favourite I think he is going to get a rude awakening on Dec 8th.
He doesnt look focused, and with all this 'Dancin with the Stars' bullshit that he's got involved with, it could all got ass over tit for the pretty boy!