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Hatton vs Collazo aftermath:
Rafael's remark: Hatton's American invasion almost turned into a disaster on the shores of the Charles River, but the consensus 2005 fighter of the year from England did just enough to pull out the decision victory in a very, very close (and exciting) fight.
His HBO debut started brilliantly as he dropped Collazo immediately in the first round, but any notion that this would be a quick night quickly evaporated when the tough-as-nails Collazo rallied and started winning rounds before his performance culminated with the 12th round, in which he badly rocked Hatton. The knockdown of Collazo, coupled with Collazo's inability to knock Hatton down in the 12th despite hitting him hard, turned out to be Hatton's margin of victory.
The win gave Hatton his third world title in a second weight class. The first two came in 2005, when he stopped future Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu to win the recognized junior welterweight championship before he unified belts against Carlos Maussa.
Although Hatton was successful in his move up, it was pretty obvious midway through the fight that Hatton might be best served by going back to 140 pounds, where he is more powerful. However, the money fights against Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Arturo Gatti would be at welterweight, and those are the fights that boxing fans are looking forward to.
As for Collazo, the loss did more for him than any of his previous wins. He is now on the boxing map and would be welcomed back by HBO for the right fight. Although he and his team complained bitterly about being robbed and demanded a rematch, they should take a deep breath and relax. Collazo wasn't robbed. He lost a close fight. Period. He should look no further than his bout last year against Jose Antonio Rivera, in which Collazo won the belt in the first place. How did he do it? On a split decision in an even closer fight than Saturday's in Rivera's hometown, and he never gave Rivera a rematch.
From the Mayorga-Mosley undercard:
Rafael's remark: It's about time Collazo got back in the ring. The former welterweight titleholder, robbed of his belt by Ricky Hatton in May 2006, later lost to Shane Mosley in a lopsided decision in February 2007. During the fight, Collazo badly injured his hand and needed surgery, which led to a long layoff. He didn't fight again until winning a low-profile, untelevised bout on the Roy Jones-Felix Trinidad undercard in January. Another layoff ensued, but he got back in action by stopping Jordan, who took the fight on one day's notice, with a right hook at 2:28 of the eighth round. The victory sets up Collazo for another title opportunity. He is the mandatory challenger for Berto's title. They likely will meet in early 2009 in a fight that should pose a good test for Berto.
Rafael's remark: Hatton's American invasion almost turned into a disaster on the shores of the Charles River, but the consensus 2005 fighter of the year from England did just enough to pull out the decision victory in a very, very close (and exciting) fight.
His HBO debut started brilliantly as he dropped Collazo immediately in the first round, but any notion that this would be a quick night quickly evaporated when the tough-as-nails Collazo rallied and started winning rounds before his performance culminated with the 12th round, in which he badly rocked Hatton. The knockdown of Collazo, coupled with Collazo's inability to knock Hatton down in the 12th despite hitting him hard, turned out to be Hatton's margin of victory.
The win gave Hatton his third world title in a second weight class. The first two came in 2005, when he stopped future Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu to win the recognized junior welterweight championship before he unified belts against Carlos Maussa.
Although Hatton was successful in his move up, it was pretty obvious midway through the fight that Hatton might be best served by going back to 140 pounds, where he is more powerful. However, the money fights against Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Arturo Gatti would be at welterweight, and those are the fights that boxing fans are looking forward to.
As for Collazo, the loss did more for him than any of his previous wins. He is now on the boxing map and would be welcomed back by HBO for the right fight. Although he and his team complained bitterly about being robbed and demanded a rematch, they should take a deep breath and relax. Collazo wasn't robbed. He lost a close fight. Period. He should look no further than his bout last year against Jose Antonio Rivera, in which Collazo won the belt in the first place. How did he do it? On a split decision in an even closer fight than Saturday's in Rivera's hometown, and he never gave Rivera a rematch.
From the Mayorga-Mosley undercard:
Rafael's remark: It's about time Collazo got back in the ring. The former welterweight titleholder, robbed of his belt by Ricky Hatton in May 2006, later lost to Shane Mosley in a lopsided decision in February 2007. During the fight, Collazo badly injured his hand and needed surgery, which led to a long layoff. He didn't fight again until winning a low-profile, untelevised bout on the Roy Jones-Felix Trinidad undercard in January. Another layoff ensued, but he got back in action by stopping Jordan, who took the fight on one day's notice, with a right hook at 2:28 of the eighth round. The victory sets up Collazo for another title opportunity. He is the mandatory challenger for Berto's title. They likely will meet in early 2009 in a fight that should pose a good test for Berto.
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