Thread: Hatton's dilema

What next for Ricky Hatton

Does he move up to welterweight?

Should he just clean up at light-welter and then retire?

Let's have a look

Welterweight

Shane Mosley

To me Hatton needs to avoid this fight unless he can get shane down to 140 which i very much doubt. Shane has too much speed and power. He's probably a bit too big for Hatton as well. To be honest if Hatton was to somehow pull out a victory, there would be too many ready made comments like Shane is shot etc so its probably not really worth it.

Miguel Cotto

I think Hatton does have the edge in hand speed and footwork. Cotto can be hurt but so can Hatton when he faces a naturally bigger man. Both fighters are relentless abd i think Cotto would carry quite a lot more power at 147. If this could be made at a catchweight i would lean towards Hatton but at 147 Hatton is facing a struggle.

Floyd Mayweather

I think Hatton seriously has to go for this fight. He has a chance. I don't see floyd discouraging him or hurting him. Floyd looks great when being followed around the ring by a clueless fighter (baldomir and even Corrales was doing all the wrong things when they fought). We've seen how he looks when being pressured by someone who is naturally good at it (castillo), let's see how he looks when facing somebody who is brilliant at it. I just think this is the one fight that Hatton would really be up for and while i admit there is a gap in technical skill, i still think Hatton can put on enough pressure to make the fight competitive and a struggle for Mayweather. If he loses this fight he doesn't really lose much. However if he gets schooled he does.

Tony Margarito

I reckon Margarito is Hatton's biggest chance to shine but also his biggest risk. Tony aint exactly well known in the UK. If he wins there will be a sense of 'so what, bring on mayweather.' It would be an exciting fight but somehow Margarito's power could get to Hatton....it all depends on how Hatton deals with the extra 7 pounds. This would be equeally as exciting as the Cotto fight in my book but a bigger risk resulting in less reward so if he is thinking about getting in the ring with a serious banger, it might as well be Cotto and not Margarito.

Honourables....

Cintron and Judah

I can see Hatton beating both of these but apart from it being a tune up fight for a big stint at welter, i don't think it helps Hatton that much. The major players at Welter are streets ahead of these 2 so if Hatton struggled in the slightest he would probably have to return to 140 which is not something he would want to do again.



Light-welters

M'baye

I actually think this is the most likely option providing warren will play ball. Let's face it, its an easy fight for Hatton. M'baye is a weak champion. It would sell out most indoor arena's in the UK with the exception of Wembley. It would be a nice little homecoming for Ricky...and it would give him confidence and another alphabet title which is always nice.

Paulie

I see this fight being a bit of a struggle early on but i see Hatton getting to grips and pretty much having his way with 'the magic man.' Paulie is decent but he doesn't have the power to make himself a real force which is a shame because he has very good boxing skills. I just imagine this fight being a fight for the UK to stage and in the UK the refs are likely to be less leniant which is great news for Hatton. I see hatton taking this one by possible late stoppage or fairly wide points win 116-111 ish.

Witter

As much as i hate Witter this fight is going to be one of 2 things. Witter is either going to buckle under hatton's pressure and really struggle before surrendering OR Witter is going to get inside Hatton's head and give him a lot of trouble stylewise. Hatton would really need to stick to his gameplan and drag Witter into deep waters. I do think Witter has suspect stamina and he has looked naff lately...he's not very accurate at world level so providing hatton moves his head and uses his own strenghts he wins this one pretty easily. Only problem is 'how is the fight going to happen?' Hatton hates Witter and won't give Witter the oppurtunity to make big bucks....which IMO opinionh is fair enough. To get big bucks you have to work hard for it. IMO just beating Harris isn't enough. I mean Maussa beat Harris. Witter needs to beat Harris and possibly someone like Torres and Hatton possibly even needs to lose a fight for this to happen.

Torres

IMO this is a really exciting fight.....possibly the most exciting at 140. Torres needs another decent showing or big win for this to happen tho. He was so close to stopping Cotto and i think Hatton will have picked that up and i imagine be very careful against Torres early on. Cotto's body attack/low blows did the damage and i think a Hatton body attack at 140 is stronger than Cotto's at 140.

D-Hop

While D-Hop is turning out to be very solid i just don't see this fight ever materialzing......unless B-Hop gets some big wins under his belt. I think D-Hop should fight the winner of Witter - Harris. At the minute this fight doesn't really wet many peoples appetite. It would still sell out MEN in manchester but any opponent named for Hatton's homecoming would so the same. I think this fight is a step backwards but then again aren't all fights at 140? This fight lacks the excitement to make up for the step in the wrong direction.


140 - 150

Oscar

Apart from money, i really don't see the point in this fight. What does it prove if Hatton wins? Not a lot....he's not exactly likely to knock de la hoya out....therefore he won't eclipse Mayweather unless he puts on a complete clinic....which he won't. There is also a good chance hatton loses....again comes down to size and strength. At 5'5 hatton doesn't stand much chance of hurting someone who has been in with Bernard Hopkins....unless Oscar was weight drained. Hatton's work rate late on....if he gets that far could edge it for him but if he loses, the Mayweather fight goes out of the window so to conclude.....

Hatton should push for the Mayweather fight. Maybe take a 'safe' fight at 140 to keep active (M'baye maybe, to get one over on warren)?

If he cannot get the Mayweather fight he should go for Paulie, aim to impress more than Cotto did, and then challenge Cotto at a catch weight. If he beats Cotto and he still can't get Floyd, he might aswell retire.

What does everybody think?

31 views and no replies.....took me about 4 hours to write. God man

First off have a for your effort, I can sympathise with pouring your heart and soul into a thread only to see it literally free fall straight to the bottom of the page with absolutely no interest at all, it's happened to me many times :P

Anyways onto your analysis.

I think Hatton does indeed have a dilmena and that is that the best fighters, the biggest names and the most money are all to be made at 147 lbs.

However as we saw against Collazo, Hatton's style doesn't translate well to the higher division as his biggest assets, strength, aggression and an ability to just bully and overpower his opponents are nullified somewhat when he's the smaller man.

I don't see any possible way Hatton could overpower guys like Mosely, Margarito and Cotto at 147 and I'm sure that Hatton and his team know that hence the reason they went back to 140.

Now at 140 there really isn't any opposition of merit, Hatton has already conquered and any fights at that weight just don't add much to his legacy.

Therefore I think the smart plan for Ricky would be to look to the lightweights and try and tempt one of them up.

A fight with Juan Diaz would be explosive, Casamayor would be a tough fight and no fighter deserves a big fight more than Casamayor imo he's been the forgotten man of boxing for too long.

Junior Witter represents a huge domestic clash for Hatton and of course there are 4 world title belts to collect so still some fights to be made.

My own opinion of the best fights for Ricky right now are.

1. Juan Diaz/ Joel Casamayor. Either of these guys would make for a great fight, Juan Diaz would be a great HBO fight, although I think this should happen next year, let anticipation build.

2. Malignaggi. Right now the biggest threat to Hatton, and the most popular 140 lb fighter with HBO. Would make for a great event.

3. Junior Witter. I really think this fight has to happen. I believe it's inexcusable for the best domestic fighters not to fight each other, it's denying the public of a domestic megafight.

4.M'Baye, Torres, Harris. M'Baye and Torres both hold titles, Harris is a really exciting fighter and if he beats Witter would have to a contender. I think one of these guys is the most likely next opponent for Hatton, Torres or Holt if Torres beats him especially.

Regarding Floyd Mayweather, in my opinion this the fight at 147 that would make the most sense for Hatton to try and fight. Mayweather is the best, he's also the best payday and he's not much bigger than Floyd so his style wouldn't be too much nullified in the way it would against Margarito or Cotto.

Looking into the future I think a final fight showdown with Amir Khan could me mouthwatering stuff in a couple years. The Peterson brothers are also likely to be in the mix soon

Kendal Holt is a rising star in the division now too--and will be up there with the others you mention if he beats Torres (which I think he will). But still, none of those guys add a thing to Hatton's resume. The only way he could approach ATG status would be by moving up and beating the big stars at 147. Unfortunately for him, I don't think he stands a chance at beating any top 5 WW. So a dilemma indeed.

Originally Posted by Bilbo

First off have a for your effort, I can sympathise with pouring your heart and soul into a thread only to see it literally free fall straight to the bottom of the page with absolutely no interest at all, it's happened to me many times :P

Anyways onto your analysis.

I think Hatton does indeed have a dilmena and that is that the best fighters, the biggest names and the most money are all to be made at 147 lbs.

However as we saw against Collazo, Hatton's style doesn't translate well to the higher division as his biggest assets, strength, aggression and an ability to just bully and overpower his opponents are nullified somewhat when he's the smaller man.

I don't see any possible way Hatton could overpower guys like Mosely, Margarito and Cotto at 147 and I'm sure that Hatton and his team know that hence the reason they went back to 140.

Now at 140 there really isn't any opposition of merit, Hatton has already conquered and any fights at that weight just don't add much to his legacy.

Therefore I think the smart plan for Ricky would be to look to the lightweights and try and tempt one of them up.

A fight with Juan Diaz would be explosive, Casamayor would be a tough fight and no fighter deserves a big fight more than Casamayor imo he's been the forgotten man of boxing for too long.

Junior Witter represents a huge domestic clash for Hatton and of course there are 4 world title belts to collect so still some fights to be made.

My own opinion of the best fights for Ricky right now are.

1. Juan Diaz/ Joel Casamayor. Either of these guys would make for a great fight, Juan Diaz would be a great HBO fight, although I think this should happen next year, let anticipation build.

2. Malignaggi. Right now the biggest threat to Hatton, and the most popular 140 lb fighter with HBO. Would make for a great event.

3. Junior Witter. I really think this fight has to happen. I believe it's inexcusable for the best domestic fighters not to fight each other, it's denying the public of a domestic megafight.

4.M'Baye, Torres, Harris. M'Baye and Torres both hold titles, Harris is a really exciting fighter and if he beats Witter would have to a contender. I think one of these guys is the most likely next opponent for Hatton, Torres or Holt if Torres beats him especially.

Regarding Floyd Mayweather, in my opinion this the fight at 147 that would make the most sense for Hatton to try and fight. Mayweather is the best, he's also the best payday and he's not much bigger than Floyd so his style wouldn't be too much nullified in the way it would against Margarito or Cotto.

Looking into the future I think a final fight showdown with Amir Khan could me mouthwatering stuff in a couple years. The Peterson brothers are also likely to be in the mix soon

Thanks Bilbo, CC in 24

I was going to mention about Kahn but with him being under Frank Warren it all depends on what Warren thinks Kahn is ready for. Kahnh and Hatton seem like pretty good mates as well. It would be an entertaining fight though.

I agree that trying to tempt a lightweight up is probably the best option. Diaz would be very entertaining and i reckon the strength advantage would be pretty decent for Hatton against any lightweight. I think he should avoid Casamayor......i know joel deserves a big fight but i see this as being a banana skin for Hatton mainly because Casamayor is a slick southpaw.

I feel Malignaggi is only big performance away from being a big star so maybe if Paulie can grab another belt at 140 it would create a lot of interest. Maybe the division will 'hot up' again by this time next year. I still think clearing up at 140 is his best option if he cannot either get Cotto at a catch weight or Mayweather at 140-147.

Yeah good effort mate, Mayweather has been calling his ass out last night so that may well be the fight. Hope so anyway.

CC good effort,

Totally agree with most your points, especially about the oscar fight being pointless.

Maybe Hatton could knock him out though with a body shop a 'la Hopkins style

Originally Posted by ono

Originally Posted by Bilbo

First off have a for your effort, I can sympathise with pouring your heart and soul into a thread only to see it literally free fall straight to the bottom of the page with absolutely no interest at all, it's happened to me many times :P

Anyways onto your analysis.

I think Hatton does indeed have a dilmena and that is that the best fighters, the biggest names and the most money are all to be made at 147 lbs.

However as we saw against Collazo, Hatton's style doesn't translate well to the higher division as his biggest assets, strength, aggression and an ability to just bully and overpower his opponents are nullified somewhat when he's the smaller man.

I don't see any possible way Hatton could overpower guys like Mosely, Margarito and Cotto at 147 and I'm sure that Hatton and his team know that hence the reason they went back to 140.

Now at 140 there really isn't any opposition of merit, Hatton has already conquered and any fights at that weight just don't add much to his legacy.

Therefore I think the smart plan for Ricky would be to look to the lightweights and try and tempt one of them up.

A fight with Juan Diaz would be explosive, Casamayor would be a tough fight and no fighter deserves a big fight more than Casamayor imo he's been the forgotten man of boxing for too long.

Junior Witter represents a huge domestic clash for Hatton and of course there are 4 world title belts to collect so still some fights to be made.

My own opinion of the best fights for Ricky right now are.

1. Juan Diaz/ Joel Casamayor. Either of these guys would make for a great fight, Juan Diaz would be a great HBO fight, although I think this should happen next year, let anticipation build.

2. Malignaggi. Right now the biggest threat to Hatton, and the most popular 140 lb fighter with HBO. Would make for a great event.

3. Junior Witter. I really think this fight has to happen. I believe it's inexcusable for the best domestic fighters not to fight each other, it's denying the public of a domestic megafight.

4.M'Baye, Torres, Harris. M'Baye and Torres both hold titles, Harris is a really exciting fighter and if he beats Witter would have to a contender. I think one of these guys is the most likely next opponent for Hatton, Torres or Holt if Torres beats him especially.

Regarding Floyd Mayweather, in my opinion this the fight at 147 that would make the most sense for Hatton to try and fight. Mayweather is the best, he's also the best payday and he's not much bigger than Floyd so his style wouldn't be too much nullified in the way it would against Margarito or Cotto.

Looking into the future I think a final fight showdown with Amir Khan could me mouthwatering stuff in a couple years. The Peterson brothers are also likely to be in the mix soon

Thanks Bilbo, CC in 24

I was going to mention about Kahn but with him being under Frank Warren it all depends on what Warren thinks Kahn is ready for. Kahnh and Hatton seem like pretty good mates as well. It would be an entertaining fight though.

I agree that trying to tempt a lightweight up is probably the best option. Diaz would be very entertaining and i reckon the strength advantage would be pretty decent for Hatton against any lightweight. I think he should avoid Casamayor......i know joel deserves a big fight but i see this as being a banana skin for Hatton mainly because Casamayor is a slick southpaw.

I feel Malignaggi is only big performance away from being a big star so maybe if Paulie can grab another belt at 140 it would create a lot of interest. Maybe the division will 'hot up' again by this time next year. I still think clearing up at 140 is his best option if he cannot either get Cotto at a catch weight or Mayweather at 140-147.

great points by both bilbo and ono.. i think you guys pretty much covered hatton's delima cc" for biblo and ono

i agree malignaggi needs one more belt for it too be a pretty big fight w/ hatton

casamayor is who i think he should fight first then a unified title holder in malignaggi...

then i think he has to go up to face mayweather or cotto to become an all time great...

i agree w/ bilbo his biggest assets will be taken away largely at 147 but with his work rate, hand speed, and tenacity WILL GIVE PROBLEMS TO THE 147 ELITE..