Castillo vs. Hatton?

[psychopath]

Without having to drain himself in weight, I'm picking up Castillo.

This is gonna be close because it's gonna be hard for both to knock each other out so Ill say it will go down to the scorecards.

[freedom213]

this said it all for your credibility\knowledge. you have no ****ing clue

hatton knows **** about boxing. he thinks its Wrestling

totally agree, can any of the hatton fans suggest a fight where Ricky demonstrates this boxing ability or for that matter any signs of adapting a different style in a fight?

[Addison]

totally agree, can any of the hatton fans suggest a fight where Ricky demonstrates this boxing ability or for that matter any signs of adapting a different style in a fight?

That's a fair question.

I haven't seen enough of Hatton..

[freedom213]

If Castillo isnt drained there could be some serious hell to pay for Ricky who everyone knows will try to take it to the inside. One thing most people underestimate is the jab of Castillo which is not only quick and pretty accurate but the type of jab that hurts opponents and makes them start to doubt whether or not they want to work inside anymore. From what Ive seen of Hatton he is pretty much a strong swarmer/pressure fighter with a high work rate who lots of fighters find difficult to deal with. He was effective against Kostya because he was the type of fighter who needed some room to work. Not so with Castillo, who is hands down one of the best on the inside. If Hatton had more power he'd have more of a chance but I think this fight is a big mistake for Ricky. His only saving grace will be if Castillo is rusty from the layoff.

[GEOFFHAYES]

can any of the hatton fans suggest a fight where Ricky demonstrates this boxing ability or for that matter any signs of adapting a different style in a fight?

In the Ray Oliveira fight, Hatton blows you away with his technical skill. The way he positioned his hands made it difficult to see what punch was going to be released next, and he constantly beat Oliveira to the punch, too. It was just a great display of technique, timing and handspeed, and it was an assault from all sides. Oliveira had said beforehand that he was going to school him, out-box him badly etc etc, but it was he getting out-boxed and schooled and beaten to a pulp. Oliveira had set CompuBox records for ammount of punches he threw, yet he could barely get any shots off against Hatton.

The Ben Tackie fight shows his ability to change tactics for a fight (working on the outside instead of the inside), and the Eamonn Magee fight shows his ability to switch tactics during a fight. Every time Magee leaned back up on the ropes I expected him to counter the **** out of Hatton.. then I see a couple head feints, a combo, a step back and a jab as he came back

[Katz]

Castillo by late KO....

[Castillofan]

In the Ray Oliveira fight, Hatton blows you away with his technical skill. The way he positioned his hands made it difficult to see what punch was going to be released next, and he constantly beat Oliveira to the punch, too. It was just a great display of technique, timing and handspeed, and it was an assault from all sides. Oliveira had said beforehand that he was going to school him, out-box him badly etc etc, but it was he getting out-boxed and schooled and beaten to a pulp. Oliveira had set CompuBox records for ammount of punches he threw, yet he could barely get any shots off against Hatton.

The Ben Tackie fight shows his ability to change tactics for a fight (working on the outside instead of the inside), and the Eamonn Magee fight shows his ability to switch tactics during a fight. Every time Magee leaned back up on the ropes I expected him to counter the **** out of Hatton.. then I see a couple head feints, a combo, a step back and a jab as he came back

Geoff, I understand what you're saying and respect your knowledge here. But look at the fighters you are mentioning to draw the comparisons.

Magee, Tackie and Ray "I'm dead but I won't lie down" Oliveira.

Hatton may have looked the goods in those fights, but when you consider what those fighters were at the time, who gives a ****?

Hatton is a real package but he has never performed at the top level.

If Magee wasn't still smoking in training and drinking like a fish most of the time, he might have beaten Hatton.

[GEOFFHAYES]

Geoff, I understand what you're saying and respect your knowledge here. But look at the fighters you are mentioning to draw the comparisons.

Magee, Tackie and Ray "I'm dead but I won't lie down" Oliveira.

Hatton may have looked the goods in those fights, but when you consider what those fighters were at the time, who gives a ****?

Hatton is a real package but he has never performed at the top level.

If Magee wasn't still smoking in training and drinking like a fish most of the time, he might have beaten Hatton.

Yeah, but in the Tackie and Oliveira fights, the way Hatton positioned his hands you just couldn't tell what punch was going to be released next - and that's from a spectators point of view! I really feel Hatton in that kind of form, using that kind of technique beats anyone. He was punching from the shoulder more in those fights, sure, where usually he is the ultimate leverage puncher, but man, the way he was releasing his punches, if I was a fighter in there with Hatton I would not be able to deal with that because I wouldn't be able to tell what punch was going to be released next - nobody would, only on instincts IMO. It was awesome stuff!

[Castillofan]

Yeah, but in the Tackie and Oliveira fights, the way Hatton positioned his hands you just couldn't tell what punch was going to be released next - and that's from a spectators point of view! I really feel Hatton in that kind of form, using that kind of technique beats anyone. He was punching from the shoulder more in those fights, sure, where usually he is the ultimate leverage puncher, but man, the way he was releasing his punches, if I was a fighter in there with Hatton I would not be able to deal with that because I wouldn't be able to tell what punch was going to be released next - nobody would, only on instincts IMO. It was awesome stuff!

Tell you what - Hatton is a top fighter, but Castillo, in my opinion is just bred from a different era. Pulling that stuff off with next to no threat in front of you is one thing, but Castillo is going to bring thr meatgrinder and credit to Hatton, that is what he wants. Hatton has always known that his shelf life is not as long as some other fighters, so he has to get the job done over the best fighters. If he can beat Castillo on his own ground, that will be something else. It won't be cute or technical, it will be war. We'll just have to see how it goes.

[GEOFFHAYES]

Yes, it will be war. Both are come-forward fighters, ofcourse.

But Hatton doesn't fight without method. He's a counter-puncher, a counter-puncher who doubles up the hook and switches to the body when possible that makes him exciting, steps off to loads up shots when he can, and so on. But he doesn't simply stand and trade and make it a battle of strength, if he did then Castillo would win. If Hatton kept it in the phone booth, straight ahead, square-on, he'd make life very hard for himself and probably be out-worked (wouldn't have that little room he needs to load or pounce and get his shots off right) in every round and stopped on cuts.