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By Jake Donovan - Just 50 weeks after suffering a knockout loss at the MGM Grand, lineal junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton managed to exorcise past demons with an 11th round stoppage of top contender Paul Malignaggi in the very same Las Vegas arena Saturday night.
The scheduled 12-round main event aired live on HBO.
Both fighters shared a card six months ago, producing very different results. Malignaggi barely escaped with a split decision in a rematch with Lovemore N’Dou in a performance largely affected by his faux dreadlock hairdo literally unraveling before his eyes.
Steps were taken to ensure that no such handicap would surface in this fight. Sporting a freshly cropped dome with various designs, Malignaggi entered the ring with his usual confident demeanor, bouncing up and down during a deliberately slow stroll to the ring, to the tune of a remixed version of “Live Your Life” by Rihanna and T.I”
No fighter lives it up outside of the ring quite like Ricky Hatton. It’s in that spirit that came the Fatman ringwalk for the second straight fight, with Hatton sporting a fat suit while the stroll down the aisle was bookended by “Hi-Ho Ricky Hatton” and the modern day rendition of “Blue Moon” in honor of the Manchester City football club (or soccer to us Yanks).
Once the theatrics ended, the action begun – relatively speaking anyway. Many boxing fans and experts feared a dull clinchfest throughout. Malignaggi would prove to be the greater culprit of the two as the fight wore on, but did his best early to avoid the dreaded Hatton hook-and-hold, employing an effective strategy in the early going, as he was able to catch the Brit coming in. It didn’t always work, as Hatton managed an occasional uppercut and enough right hands to send Malignaggi into retreat mode or even resorting to clinching of his own. [details]
The scheduled 12-round main event aired live on HBO.
Both fighters shared a card six months ago, producing very different results. Malignaggi barely escaped with a split decision in a rematch with Lovemore N’Dou in a performance largely affected by his faux dreadlock hairdo literally unraveling before his eyes.
Steps were taken to ensure that no such handicap would surface in this fight. Sporting a freshly cropped dome with various designs, Malignaggi entered the ring with his usual confident demeanor, bouncing up and down during a deliberately slow stroll to the ring, to the tune of a remixed version of “Live Your Life” by Rihanna and T.I”
No fighter lives it up outside of the ring quite like Ricky Hatton. It’s in that spirit that came the Fatman ringwalk for the second straight fight, with Hatton sporting a fat suit while the stroll down the aisle was bookended by “Hi-Ho Ricky Hatton” and the modern day rendition of “Blue Moon” in honor of the Manchester City football club (or soccer to us Yanks).
Once the theatrics ended, the action begun – relatively speaking anyway. Many boxing fans and experts feared a dull clinchfest throughout. Malignaggi would prove to be the greater culprit of the two as the fight wore on, but did his best early to avoid the dreaded Hatton hook-and-hold, employing an effective strategy in the early going, as he was able to catch the Brit coming in. It didn’t always work, as Hatton managed an occasional uppercut and enough right hands to send Malignaggi into retreat mode or even resorting to clinching of his own. [details]
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