Hatton is Not a P4P Level Figher

[me2007]

i dont agree with all this p4p stuff. There seems to be more pound for pound boxers than there are weight classes.

The reason I hate this so much is because its meaningless...fighters move up and down weights because boxing politics has ruined the sport so much, it is the only way to get ahead of the competition.

Until they have one champion at each weight, i will continue to look upon these p4p tags with great scepticism.

Why should Hatton have to move up a weight to prove himself, whilst giving his opponent a huge advantage in natural strength.

If promoters and governing bodies did their jobs properly there would be no need for this p4p crap that gets thrown around by everyone.

Wise up WBA, WBC, WBO, IBA, IBF ABC, XYZ you are killing this great sport.

Get all the light welterweights into a series of elimiation bouts and find out who is the best light welter. Do the same for each weight....then all these ****** pound 4 pound posts will go where they belong...THE BIN!!!

[Brother Blues]

I don't know the original poster,Sin...but I could not agree with his well-written post more.
Hatton I have respect for as a fighter,because he gets the most out of his mediocre abilties.Of course like most English fighters,his opponents are carefully picked.Which,is great for him and his fans.But please,don't put this guy on level of truly great P4P fighters.He is,as is Calzghe...a good 'local' champ.The baddest man in Manchester,no doubt...

I got a chuckle out of the poster who said his victory over the washed up Kosta was the greatest moment in English boxing...LMBAO!!!

Must be tough over there....

I also think the posters are funny who make excuses for Hatton move back down to 140 instead of moving up to face bigger name fighters.
Moving back down suits Hatton fine.At 140,the competition is less...he can stay there and clean up against a weak division,make money and talk crap about the big boys avoiding him.
It will also enhance his 'local' championship.Which is all great strategy,but please don't give me any P4P for this guy.

He has a big heart,little talent,great management and fanatical fans...but don't try to sell me world class.

[me2007]

I sensed a lot of hate for UK fighters from your post, hating things is a sign of weakness...

lets discuss what you are so afraid of....or will you hate me too for disagreeing?

[hugh grant]

P4p is a guideline. World class is subjective. Kostya was p4p rated so if Hatton beats him surely he deserves his p4p position. It is a simple equation to me, but not to others it appears. Collazo was a champ. urango was a champ.Kostya was a champ. If it isnt the champs who are world class, who is so called world class?

[kayjay]

. Calzghe...a good 'local' champ.

You just discredited yourself completely

[cortdawg25]

Duran and Hatton have the exact same frame? Dude, your just being silly.

Hatton is the most skilled British fighter in history, and NOBODY will beat him at 140lbs. Infact, the only person I'd pick him over Hatton at 140 is Duran.

LMAO!!!!

[The Wire]

Ricky Hatton's recent opponents and performances leave something to be desired, this I will admit. But the Kostya Tszyu win PROVED he was world class, to argue that point seems fairly ridiculous to me. And Luis Collazo was fighting a different fighter in Mosley and he broke his thumb early in the fight - how can that NOT have had an effect? Plus Mosley was a light middle coming down as opposed to a light welter coming up. But I won't deny that his performance was fantastic and certainly didnt show Hatton in a good light, but the facts remain - Hatton did beat Collazo, had him down early in his first serious fight in the States. Against Urango he won nearly every round, but then so did Ben Rabah so anything less (and the way he faded alarmingly was a worry).

Hatton may not be the fighter some of us felt he was after Tszyu. However, to say that he's not world class is simply not born out by the facts - you do not win 4 legitimate world titles without being world class. His next opponent is a futures hall of famer and a pound for pound talent. Let's see how he does - if he wins convincingly then I think you definitely have to put him back in the p4p mix. But his performances of late have not been what we would hope of Hatton. If he doesnt convince against Castillo then I would agree, serious questions must be asked. But to right him off now is frankly ridiculous. Mosley himself looked poor until the first Vargas fight, and in fact even in the Vargas fight he wasnt at his best. Now look at him.

Overall, Hatton's career includes wins over Tszyu, Collazo, Tackie, Phillips, Magee, Oliveira and Urango, who are all decent fighters and Tszyu the undisputed champ. But I agree that he needs to step up his opposition, and that is certainly happening with Castillo. And I dont understand how people are saying that Castillo is shot. For one we don't know how good Ngoudjo is. Second, Castillo has a habit of not convincing in the smaller fights and then turning it on for the big occasions. Look at his performance against Reyes, then against Coralles. Look at him against Casamayor, then against PBF. He has only looked poor for one fight. He's not shot, so if Hatton beats him it's a huge win.

[.Mik.]

Instead of focusing on assumptions and rumours about how he lost to Collazo and ran back down to JWW, or how Kostya was past his best, how about we go for the facts:

1). Hatton is undefeated. Having won 42 of his 42 fights.

2). Ricky Hatton is a 2 division champion.

3). Ricky Hatton has held multiple titles including the much coveted 'Ring belt'.

4). Ricky Hatton DID defeat Luis Collazo by a clear unanimous decision.

5). Ricky Hatton DID defeat Kostya Tszyu.

6). When he beat Kostya Tszyu, Kostya was currently riding high on the P4P list, despite never changing divisions. (see point 2).

7). Coming into the fight, Tszyu had just knocked out highly rated Sharmba Mitchell in 2 rounds.

8). Kostya Tszyu had not lost in his previous 13 bouts before fighting Hatton (almost all of which had been title bouts).

9). Since the Tszyu fight, Hatton had fought two champions on long winning streaks, one of which was undefeated.

10). After the Hatton fight, Luis Collazo lost a unanimous decision to highly rated Shane Mosely, in a fight where Collazo had broken his wrist (or arm) quite early into the fight.

These are the facts. Lets stay away from conjecture, speculation and rumour. Its pointless comparing performances because results are all the counts. The result is that Ricky Hatton has won every fight he has fought and that some of those fights have been against champions and 1 of those fights was against a guy who was widely considered to be top 5 (even top 3) within the P4P list and that guy had never fought outside of his weight class (which Hatton now has). So what possible factual justification for him not being a P4P level fighter?

[Guest]

Pound for Pound has never meant an ability to move between weight divisions. It is an entirely subjective argument about whether or not a fighter, if weight were not a factor, would be able to beat other fighters. If weight were not a factor then Hatton would be up there with a chance of beating anyone. His style, tenacity and energy are the things in his locker than can overwhelm his performance.

My point is that just about every other fighter who is considered top 10 P4P in the sport right now has gone up and fought at the highest level in the next division up without a problem. P4P is supposed to represent the best fighters in the sport. I just don't see how you can be so great at one division and then be so average by adding 7 pounds to your frame.

The only other fighter considered P4P that has stayed in one division his entire career is Calzaghe, another UK fighter. Strangely enough, his resume is criticized just as harshly as Hatton's. The problem with UK boxing is that very few of their fighters ever try to attain greatness. Like someone said earlier, they are happying being the "baddest man" in their backyard. Fighters who are truly looking for greatness will fight the best opponents in their division then move up and try to conquer another division. You think Oscar de la Hoya would have such a great resume if he never moved up past 135? I think any true P4P level fighter should be able to compete with the best fighters in at the very least 2 divisions...

[King Koyle]

I have him in my P4P rankings because of some of his accomplishments.Mainly the Tsyzu victory..But in the original sense of the word "P4P"(skills),I don't really think he belongs there either.He has a lot of heart,and a tricky style to figure out,that's about it though.But until he's beaten convincingly(sp?) you gotta give the man some respect.