My final words on Kostya/Hatton

[TyrantT316]

I think it was basically a combination of Hatton's pressure (youth, determination, fuel from the crowd) and Kostya's bad fight (maybe old age, the crowd, discouragement, and Hatton's style)...

ok maybe I listed a few...but Kostya is a realist and knew he was having trouble dealing with Hatton's style and that Hatton was zapping all of his energy away...

Hatton proved himself tonight...even though Kostya could not land anything MAJORLY flush on the chin, he did land some decent shots that Hatton just walked through...

Kostya has also been fighting Boxers recently who give him room to punch and think...Hatton was just a completely different animal who did not let up...

If it was Hatton's strategy to not throw many body shots, it probably was a good one because he was not as open as we all thought...though I think Kostya just didn't let him land many of those punishing body shots on the ropes...

there were times (few) where Kostya pushed Hatton away and kept him at bay but then got suckered into inside fighting with Hatton seconds later...

I saw hesitation in Kostya when he was asked about a rematch...again Kostya is a realist and knows that his decisions are clouded with emotion during and after a fight and I respect his decision to go home, sleep, and clear his head before making a big decision...

props to both men...props to Hatton for proving his worth to us...and hey...he proved it against the #1 Jr Welter in the world and top 5 P4P Kostya...what better was is that...and he did it pretty impressively through pressure, cutting off Kostya's best weapon(s)...

props to Kostya for being a great champion all of these years...for a guy considered to be one of the greats and top 5 P4P and Undisputed Jr Welterweight champ to travel ALL the way to England to fight a young kid who had yet to prove himself anywhere says a lot about the champion that Kostya is...he could have vacated the IBF title and people would have had not problem recognizing him as the Undisputed Jr Welterweight champ...but he traveled, lost, and was gracious in defeat...even commanding and receiving respect on the microphone from the 98% pro Hatton crowd...

props to both men for just making this fight...I was kind of glad it was in the MEN arena...creates a better atmosphere and energy when watching on television...

wasn't a bad fight either...

great night

*ps, yes it was unfortunate that Kostya quit in the corner...but he is a realist and realized that he could not win the fight through knockout or a decision...I personally do not lose respect for him because he is one of the most honest and gracious fighters in the world...I don't think quitting vs a young and hungry fighter in his own country after taking a beating and feeling you are down should change the respect you've gained since beginning your career 27 years ago...

one thing people need to undersand is that people are different...fighters are different...

Boxing is their life...this is not just some hobby...it is not like taking piano lessons on the side to please your parents...this is their life and what happens in that ring has a profound effect on a fighter...there is no question that Kostya was discouraged and he admitted it...being discouraged in whatever your occupation is may make or break you...it broke Kostya, but the reason why he commands respect and the reason why many like myself still respect him is because of his post fight conduct and his honesty as to what happened...he clearly stated "Ricky was just the better man tonight, he applied a lot of pressure keeping me from landing clean shots, and I felt he was winning the fight"...

you've been a great champ Kostya...some of us still do respect you...and what you've done for us over the years...

toast to Hatton...toast to Zoo

[riz]

should kostya retire hto?

[theironone]

Superb win for Hatton, I thought KT would stop him around the 10th but hoped that Hatton would win on points, KT must have felt he would of gone out on his back in the 12th for him to quit.
It doesn't surprise me either to see some of the comments flying about, Ricky should fight a decent american fighter blah, blah blah!!
Fact is he's beat the no1 so he's the no1 now, he can call the shots.
I'd love to see him travel and defend the title in the US against a big yanky name, but who could blame him if he could get that name over in the UK, his defences will sell out 50,000 over here if he's facing the top men, and it's quids in for all parties involved.
I'm hoping that PBF will fight him next year in a unification (if he gets past Gatti).
Ricky can outwork anyone, his chin is sound so all that we need now is to see him against some real speed.
Personally i think it's a toss up between the top 3 now, Hatton, PBF and Cotto.
I thought it was a good result for boxing all round, a new face who's no 1, exciting to watch, good body puncher, cuts a bit, gets hit a bit too much, but is relentless and has a good chin.
EVERYBODY WINS!!! LOL
WELL DONE RICKY

[Xol]

I like Hatton, but don't like how all 39 of his fights were in his hometown. He needs to get out and explore the world. Take on some new challengers without having his hometown crowd blaring in his ears. See how he takes having a crowd that might possibly boo him and doesn't cheer at every punch he throws, be it a hit or miss.

For KT. Well, not much I can say. He's 36, nearing the end of his career and hasn't fought a decent fight in two years. Not to mention he's been plagued with injuries. If he takes a rematch, he needs to make sure to get some decent tuner fights in first and then take the rematch to his hometown. I still think he's got it. Just needs to shake the 2 lbs of ringrust off first.

[theironone]

Not all of his fights were in his own town, he's already fought in the US but i get the point your trying to make.
KT looked good against mitchell imo