Hatton's victory over Tszyu, how great is it now?

[Abe Attell]

We all know that by the time Hatton fought Tszyu, Kostya was 35, coming off of two serious injuries, and a big layoff of 2 years...though he came back and destroyed Mitchell, it was to short to see if Kostya was healthy enough to last past the mid point.

I bring this up because of the recent victory Hopkins had over Tarver; Tarver's victory over Jones Jr.; and even Taylor's victory over Hopkins.

In all cases, the fighter was of mid 30's range, trying to make weight which seemed like it took something out of them, in Kostya's words, "I felt Flat."

We all saw the difference in how gased Roy was in the fight with Tarver, and how he didn't seem the same again.
Bernard's refusal to keep the same pace he and everyone was accustomed to seeing...and Kostya's scary pictures from the weigh-in that made him look like Christian Bale in the Machinest.

Kostya vs Hatton; Bernard vs Taylor; Jones Jr. vs Tarver; Hopkins vs Tarver....all fights where the loser seemed to not come in at a healthy weight at that particular point in their career.

Then, Hopkins, who has been trying to make weight at 160, where he looked like a faded fighter in the past 4 years or so, moved up to 175, and looked fresh; though Tarver wasn't exactly putting any pressure on him, but even still, Bernard was moving and throwing again like he was young.

I just wonder, what would a Hatton vs Tszyu fight look like if you could put in a younger, healthier version, or even at 35, a 147lb version of Kostya.

[dino]

its not great at all..tszyu was rusty after the long lay off..and it was a typical hatton fight ..hold the guy and throw punches

[maxorido]

skill wise tszyu looked good, he was landing alot of his counter shots but i would have liked to see him use that defense and footwork that he used when he was an amatuer. if you watched tszyu's career closely and know a little about human physiology then it was pretty obvious to see that tszyu was flat. as soon as i saw him shadow boxing before his ring walk i said "hmmm he looks awful drained". i would love to see a rematch at 147, but it's too late because tszyu is getting older, and hatton wouldn't give him the fight anyway.

[hellfire508]

Tszyu's timing wasn't as good, he was a little slower, and he did seem "flat". He didn't seem motivated at all.

Hatton fought very dirty, and got away with it. That low blow was a disgrace, and the holding etc was appalling. Nonetheless, he used the correct game plan, which was to get inside to nullify the right cross. He would get inside before Kostya could land it with full power.

I think if the fight was in the US, Kostya would have won. But that's just me. Tszyu was still a very, very good fighter, and not shot by any means. He was definately on the slide though.

[deliveryman]

lol, that low blow was pretty bad.

[enadeus]

At first I thought it was great, beacuse I've never seen a Hatton fight. The way he pressured him, and put him out of his game. But then, I realized that this is what Hatton does every ****ing fight, the guy has no strategy. That and he holds and fouls a ton.

[eazy_mas]

Tszyu knew he was going to lose the match even before he entered the ring.

If Tszyu went through the 12 round the they will for sure rob him because of his safty and the safty of the judges as for Hatton that was one breakthrough for him. it a kickstart for his career in boxing.
by the 10th round Tszyu started gaining control and the fight was shifting toward him but why he stoped I dont know.

[Bonafide]

Ricky Hatton is one of the dirtiest boxers in the game today. He does nothing but punch and hold , grab...punch and hold some more. At least p4p king BHopkins is suttle and saavy about it, and has other skills in his repertoir. Hatton does this in most, if not all of his fights. It's the only way he knows how to fight.

[DLT]

Look guys, I realize there's alot of hate for Hatton on here but its not fair to take that win from him. Tszyu was older but he still just killed Mitchell a few months earlier. This is a different situation then Tarver & Jones because Tszyu never went up in weight.

Then you can start asking other questions if you want to get real deep in it. You can say, who has Tszyu ever really beat besides Zab? In the Zab fight he was even looking bad until that big punch.

I think Hatton beat a game Tszyu and he beat the same Tszyu that beat Mitchell. If Hatton wouldve fought Tszyu the same night that Tszyu fought Mitchell then Hatton still wouldve beat him. He is a bad matchup for Tszyu. He is fast and a pressure fighter. Tszyu hasnt faced anyone that put him on his heels since the Vince Phillips fight. Ever since then he has faced mostly bokers that are scared of him and most arent that good anyway.

If you want to take Hatton's win away then to me, you can take away Tszyu's whole career. I honestly dont believe that Tszyu looked any different in that fight then any other fight. He was just facing a guy who was just as big, faster, just as strong, and even more relentless.

Then you guys want to talk about being dirty? Tszyu has always been one of the dirtiest guys in boxing and he always uses rough house tactics. Now he gets a taste of his own medicine and you say its not fair? Hatton beat him fair & square and wouldve beaten him anywhere at any point in his career

[Undefeated]

It's about time everyone is thinking what im thing. I've mentioned that Hatton was a dirty fight for quite some time now.