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Guzman Willing To Settle Differences With Hatton In The Ring
Upon hearing the news that trainer Lee Beard was in the United States looking into a possible gig with undefeated Joan Guzman, former lineal super lightweight king Ricky Hatton was swift and to the point with his reply: “F*** Guzman!”
The two-word statement was enough to get Guzman’s attention, and enough to offer a two-word response of his own, one that doesn’t require censorship.
Fight Hatton.
It’s a fight that wasn’t previously on the mind of Guzman (29-0-1, 17KO) when he brought in Beard for an audition while seeking new head trainers.
In fact, there wasn’t any fight on Guzman’s mind at the time, merely ways to improve on his most recent performance, one widely believed to be the worst of his lengthy career as he was lucky to escape with a draw in his vacant title fight with Ali Funeka last November.
The Dominican has long been regarded as one of the best technicians in the game, and looked like it for much of the earlier rounds against Funeka. But things quickly unraveled and never got any better for Guzman, who came dangerously close to being stopped late in the fight before finding a way to cross the finish line.
Consistency and in-ring activity have long served as the Achilles heels in a career that has seen title reigns in two separate weight classes but never that one breakthrough fight that has allowed his marketability to catch up to his skill set. He and his team had the sense to embrace this reality and act upon it before mapping out their plans for 2010 and beyond.
Insert Beard, who is rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the best cornermen in the game today. The greatest endorsement for what he brings to the corner for any given fight came from none other than Freddie Roach, who refers to Beard as “one of the best trainers out there and doesn't get the proper recognition for his talents.”
Guzman recognized not only his talents but what he’s been able to do in the past three years for Ricky Hatton, a fighter whom the Dominican has always held in high regard.
The respect still remains, although it’s hard to overlook the fact that the feeling clearly isn’t mutual from the Hatton side.
“I’ve always respected Ricky Hatton,” says Guzman, who first became familiar with his career while temporarily living in the UK earlier in the decade. “But I take great offense to what he said about me.
“There’s a time and place for everything, though.”
To translate – Guzman isn’t looking for a war of words, but simply a war in the ring.
Apparently, Hatton is already having second thoughts about what was previously said, both his take on Beard “abandoning” both his brother (Matthew) and him. A previous report had Hatton expressing grave disappointment over Beard trekking off to the states to join Guzman’s camp, allegedly leaving Matthew in limbo with just two weeks to go before his next fight.
Hatton, who now serves as a full-time promoter in the UK, has since released a statement wishing Beard well and claiming to understand why Beard left when he did.
The truth is, he doesn’t understand.
According to Beard, Matthew Hatton was well aware of the trainer’s plans to head to New York City to see if he would be a good fit for Guzman, and that nothing was set in stone other than going stateside for a tryout. Matthew didn’t want to stand in his way since his next fight is a tune-up not requiring special preparation.
There was obviously no conflict with Ricky’s schedule, since he’s currently vacationing in Australia and not scheduled to return to the ring until June, at the earliest.
Nor did it seem to be of much concern to Hatton when it came to training for one of the biggest fights of his career.
“If Hatton thought Lee Beard was being disloyal to him, why did he appoint Mayweather Sr. as his head trainer for one of the biggest fights of his career?” wonders Jose Nuñez, Guzman’s longtime manager and close friend. “Lee wasn't complaining about the fact that Mayweather got paid $1,000,000 to do close to nothing for his career while he’s faithfully been with Ricky for the past three years.”
It was Nuñez who opted to bring in Beard for an audition, to see how well the trainer would blend with his fighter. The early returns were off the charts.
“As a head trainer, all of his fighters remain undefeated. He’s even quicker than Mayweather on the pads. He’s young, ambitious, and determined. He picks up on the mistakes of the fighter immediately and corrects them. Those are some of the many things that caught my eye about him.”
What also caught Nuñez’ eye was the fact that Beard had time on his hands since none of clients had any big fights in the hopper.
Guzman, on the other hand, has a potential fight lined up with former lightweight king Joel Casamayor and would like to have all of his ducks in a row prior to opening training camp. The fight isn’t yet official, with certain stipulations to be agreed upon before any signatures can be applied to the final contract.
If the two sides come to terms, the fight will most likely land on the televised undercard of the April 3 pay-per-view rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr.
The key part of that statement is “if,” as in, nothing is yet officially in the books. Whatever is decided, Guzman has decided that he wants Lee Beard along for the ride – and if Hatton still has a problem with it, there’s a simple enough solution.
“If Hatton has such a problem with Lee training Guzman things can be settled in the ring,” insists Nuñez. “We have no problem with fighting in Manchester on Sky TV at any catchweight. Guzman and Hatton both have the same promoter (Golden Boy Promotions); if necessary Team Guzman will bypass the Casamayor fight and train to fight Hatton.”
Not only does Guzman embrace the idea of a Hatton fight, but also returning to a place he continues to hold near and dear to his heart. It would also give his team – including Beard – to clear the air on what took place, and not to allow it to be interpreted as disrespecting a nation.
“I don’t want anyone in the UK upset at Lee or me,” requests Guzman. “I’ve learned first-hand that the British boxing fans are true fans that go above and beyond to show support to their fighters. I lived there for two years and won my first championship title there. I will never forget the support the people of the UK gave me. I hope they continue to support Lee, no matter whose corner he’s in.”
Given where Hatton and Guzman stand in their careers and on this present situation, it’s clear that Beard will land in the corner of the one who’d rather fight his rivals then f*** ‘em.
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Originally Posted by Fenster
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