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Ricky Hatton has predicted that former opponent Luis Collazo will give pound-for-pound icon Sugar Shane Mosley, 43-4 (37KOs), all he can handled when they clash for the WBC’s ‘interim’ welterweight championship in Las Vegas Saturday night.
Former three-division world champion Mosley, 35, meets Collazo, 25, in fascinating experience v youth collision at the Mandalay Bay Casino (HBO) and reigning junior welterweight king Hatton will be a very keen observer, having fought 12 bitterly contested rounds with Collazo last May.
Hatton was the boss in the early goings of the Boston brawl for the WBA 147lbs belt, even dropping New Yorker Collazo, 27-2 (13KOs), in the opening seconds. But Collazo came on like an express train in the later rounds and seemed on the verge of putting the Hitman down in the final round.
Afterwards, Hatton said he had underestimated the size and strength advantage a natural welterweight would have on him; especially as he’d moved up from his natural 140lbs division on seven weeks’ notice.
Hatton moved back down to 140lbs afterwards.
Hatton told SecondsOut: “After my fight with Collazo I said he’d be avoided like the plague - it shows you the type of champion Shane Mosley is in that he’s agreed to take Collazo on like this.
“I think it’s a wicked fight and one I’ll definitely be watching myself.”
The Hitman gives his old rival a great chance of scoring what would be the first major upset of the New Year.
He said: “It would be pretty ****ing ****** of me to try and bull**** everyone by saying that Louie didn’t give me a hell of a hard fight. I went into that fight respecting him as a world champion anyway but I came out with even more respect for him. He’s a wicked fighter and I am genuinely happy that he’s got a chance to re-establish himself and hopefully make some good money.”
Having spent 12 round on the business end of it, Hatton analyzed Collazo’s fighting style thusly: “Collazo’s got the best of both worlds with his style: he is a slick southpaw who can be hard to catch flush and he’s got some nice angles but, as well, he can stand there and fight you if need be.
“But I think he’s got to do something to Mosley in the first couple of round because if Mosley gets his timing and distance on you he’ll blast you apart all night like he did to (Fernando) Vargas last year.”
However, the Hitman stops just short of predicting an outright win for Collazo over the future Hall of Famer.
He explained: “As my fight with Collazo went on, I felt like I was in with a fighter who was that little bit bigger than me. It wasn’t much at first but later on I noticed it. I think the boot is on the other foot now with Mosley coming down from light middleweight and Collazo, maybe after doing very well early on, may begin to feel that Mosley’s got that little bit extra weight behind him.
“But it’s a fight I can’t wait to see, to be honest.”
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