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Las Vegas was under a foreign invasion as thousands of British boxing fans made the long trip to support Ricky Hatton (42-0, 30 KOs) as he defeated Juan Urango (17-1-1, 13 KOS) to regain the IBF junior welterweight title at the Paris Casino.
It was an inevitable meeting for Hatton and Urango. In 2006, Hatton abandoned his IBF 140-pound title to move up to the welterweight division to challenge WBA welterweight champion Luis Collazo. Coincidently, the Collazo bout was also Hatton's debut on HBO. After twelve rounds of action, Hatton did not perform like the young, exciting fighter that was coming to America to challenge the elite welterweights of the worlds.
He was lucky to survive twelve rounds with the underrated Collazo to capture the WBA title by way of a unanimous twelve round decision. As Hatton was being hit with negative press from his meeting with Collazo, a young Juan Urango was walking through opponents in the junior welterweight division on route to winning the vacant IBF 140-pound title.
Several months after the fallout of his failed invasion of the welterweights, Hatton openly admitted that he was too small to continue fighting in the 147-pound division. He made a quick career decision to move back down to the junior welterweight division to challenge Urango for the IBF title he never lost in the ring.
During the fight, Urango appeared to be the physically stronger fighter, but was never able to get himself into the fight. He was slow on his feet and was never able to follow-up an occasional good right hand that would land flush. In the fifth round, Urango was able to find some success by landing some very sharp bodyshots that hurt Hatton. [details]
It was an inevitable meeting for Hatton and Urango. In 2006, Hatton abandoned his IBF 140-pound title to move up to the welterweight division to challenge WBA welterweight champion Luis Collazo. Coincidently, the Collazo bout was also Hatton's debut on HBO. After twelve rounds of action, Hatton did not perform like the young, exciting fighter that was coming to America to challenge the elite welterweights of the worlds.
He was lucky to survive twelve rounds with the underrated Collazo to capture the WBA title by way of a unanimous twelve round decision. As Hatton was being hit with negative press from his meeting with Collazo, a young Juan Urango was walking through opponents in the junior welterweight division on route to winning the vacant IBF 140-pound title.
Several months after the fallout of his failed invasion of the welterweights, Hatton openly admitted that he was too small to continue fighting in the 147-pound division. He made a quick career decision to move back down to the junior welterweight division to challenge Urango for the IBF title he never lost in the ring.
During the fight, Urango appeared to be the physically stronger fighter, but was never able to get himself into the fight. He was slow on his feet and was never able to follow-up an occasional good right hand that would land flush. In the fifth round, Urango was able to find some success by landing some very sharp bodyshots that hurt Hatton. [details]