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The fight is now signed, sealed and Ricky Hatton is preparing to deliver the performance of a lifetime to beat the man currently recognised as the best boxer on the planet. Will he achieve his aim?
Its clear that nobody at or around the weight will beat Mayweather by pure boxing. He is too slick for that, and if allowed to pick his shots and box at his tempo and be the dictator he will come out on top verses anybody. But thats OK as Hatton has never planned on a straight up boxing match with Floyd anyway.
We know that Floyd at this point in his career likes to pick his shots and doesnt throw a great lot. He relies on accuracy, and when allowed to walk forward and set his feet he can generate some power. But i guarantee that Floyd will not be walking forward if he fights Hatton, he will have to fight off the backfoot. And there he will lose power and accuracy.
Its also true that Mayweather when coming under fire, covers up, twists an turns and waits for the storm to die down before resuming his own attacks. But the storm wll be unabaiting with Hatton. It simply won't die down, so Floyd will have to throw back or just stay covering up all night.
Mayweather has a great defense and radar we all know that. When tucked up behind his shoulder, he is hard to catch with head shots. But with the way that Floyd stands when in a defensive position, Hatton will be able to step across and land to the body with his favourite left hook.
I think another key point to make is that many fighters have grown frustrated when unable to hit Floyd clean. But Hatton throws that many punches that some will certainly get through and with the amount of punches that Ricky throws he knows that its inevitable that he will also miss alot aswell. So he doesn't get frustrated easily by misses. Hatton's main strength is his work ethic, not his accuracy.
Pace and tempo will be massive in this fight. Hatton will force a pace upon Mayweather that he simply is not used to and it will be interesting to see how he will cope with that. If Mayweather tries to match the pace of Hatton i think he gets worn down but im confident that once Floyd feels the strength of Hatton he will look to cover up. I fully expect to see Mayweather go very defensive and look to steal rounds by little bursts. I just don't see this working against Hatton who is going to be on him for as long as needed and firing away and using his core strength to push and maul Mayweather. People talk about the contracted weight of 147 being a problem for Hatton, but it simply won't be as Mayweather is not a true welter himself. Whatever weight this fight was fought at, Hatton be the stronger man.
Boxing fans are all aware of Mayweather boxing ability and his talent, but so many totally overlook Hattons boxing acumen and smarts. The view of Hatton as a willing come forward slugger is outdated and ignorant. Hatton has plenty of speed himself. He might not skate gracefully around the ring, but the rate at which Hatton can close down the distance between him and his opposition and be in punching range is frightening. Hatton attacks using lots of side to side movement and in and out approach. Mentally and physical its draining for his opposition as they know an attack is coming, but where, when and from which direction they can't be sure. They can never relax, they can never rest. Mayweather needs time, and this is the main thing that Hatton takes away from his rivals.
Another factor is Floyds hands. If his hands are ever going to get hurt its against a guy like Hatton who will make him work and will keep bulldozing in. Mayweather suffered hand trouble against Hernandez, Castillo and Baldomir...all pressure types! He likes to protect his hands by picking his punches and being stingy with them. If he can control a fights tempo he can afford to be careful and protect his fragile hands. But if he is struggling to dictate he's going to have to just throw and not be so controlled, and this is where hand problems could arise.
Finally its also worth noting that this is a fight Hatton and his trainer Billy Graham has been seeking and eyeing up for years and really it is and has always been the main defining fight in Hatton's career. The same cannot be said in reverse. Delahoya was Mayweather's golden grail. He'll be highly motivated for Hatton of course, but not quite to the degree he was for Oscar.
The people predicting Mayweather in a cakewalk are in for a rude awakening come December, Its going to be anything but!
I have full respect for the fighter that Floyd Mayweather is, but the drive, aggression and workrate of Hatton will carry him to a famous victory.
Its clear that nobody at or around the weight will beat Mayweather by pure boxing. He is too slick for that, and if allowed to pick his shots and box at his tempo and be the dictator he will come out on top verses anybody. But thats OK as Hatton has never planned on a straight up boxing match with Floyd anyway.
We know that Floyd at this point in his career likes to pick his shots and doesnt throw a great lot. He relies on accuracy, and when allowed to walk forward and set his feet he can generate some power. But i guarantee that Floyd will not be walking forward if he fights Hatton, he will have to fight off the backfoot. And there he will lose power and accuracy.
Its also true that Mayweather when coming under fire, covers up, twists an turns and waits for the storm to die down before resuming his own attacks. But the storm wll be unabaiting with Hatton. It simply won't die down, so Floyd will have to throw back or just stay covering up all night.
Mayweather has a great defense and radar we all know that. When tucked up behind his shoulder, he is hard to catch with head shots. But with the way that Floyd stands when in a defensive position, Hatton will be able to step across and land to the body with his favourite left hook.
I think another key point to make is that many fighters have grown frustrated when unable to hit Floyd clean. But Hatton throws that many punches that some will certainly get through and with the amount of punches that Ricky throws he knows that its inevitable that he will also miss alot aswell. So he doesn't get frustrated easily by misses. Hatton's main strength is his work ethic, not his accuracy.
Pace and tempo will be massive in this fight. Hatton will force a pace upon Mayweather that he simply is not used to and it will be interesting to see how he will cope with that. If Mayweather tries to match the pace of Hatton i think he gets worn down but im confident that once Floyd feels the strength of Hatton he will look to cover up. I fully expect to see Mayweather go very defensive and look to steal rounds by little bursts. I just don't see this working against Hatton who is going to be on him for as long as needed and firing away and using his core strength to push and maul Mayweather. People talk about the contracted weight of 147 being a problem for Hatton, but it simply won't be as Mayweather is not a true welter himself. Whatever weight this fight was fought at, Hatton be the stronger man.
Boxing fans are all aware of Mayweather boxing ability and his talent, but so many totally overlook Hattons boxing acumen and smarts. The view of Hatton as a willing come forward slugger is outdated and ignorant. Hatton has plenty of speed himself. He might not skate gracefully around the ring, but the rate at which Hatton can close down the distance between him and his opposition and be in punching range is frightening. Hatton attacks using lots of side to side movement and in and out approach. Mentally and physical its draining for his opposition as they know an attack is coming, but where, when and from which direction they can't be sure. They can never relax, they can never rest. Mayweather needs time, and this is the main thing that Hatton takes away from his rivals.
Another factor is Floyds hands. If his hands are ever going to get hurt its against a guy like Hatton who will make him work and will keep bulldozing in. Mayweather suffered hand trouble against Hernandez, Castillo and Baldomir...all pressure types! He likes to protect his hands by picking his punches and being stingy with them. If he can control a fights tempo he can afford to be careful and protect his fragile hands. But if he is struggling to dictate he's going to have to just throw and not be so controlled, and this is where hand problems could arise.
Finally its also worth noting that this is a fight Hatton and his trainer Billy Graham has been seeking and eyeing up for years and really it is and has always been the main defining fight in Hatton's career. The same cannot be said in reverse. Delahoya was Mayweather's golden grail. He'll be highly motivated for Hatton of course, but not quite to the degree he was for Oscar.
The people predicting Mayweather in a cakewalk are in for a rude awakening come December, Its going to be anything but!
I have full respect for the fighter that Floyd Mayweather is, but the drive, aggression and workrate of Hatton will carry him to a famous victory.