Oliveira: “I Know I Can Whip Ricky.”

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (November 24, 2004) – World-class junior welterweight ‘Sucra’ Ray Oliveira (47-9-2, 22 KOs) hopes to follow the same path to England that fellow Massachusetts boxer ‘Irish’ Micky Ward took three-and a half years ago. Oliveira challenges WBU light welterweight champion Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton (37-0, 27 KOs) December 11 in London under strikingly similar circumstances to Ward’s successful challenge against Shea ‘Shamrock Express’ Neary. Oliveira, like Ward, is being brought to England as an “opponent” for a local, unbeaten hero. Ward was thirty-four when he traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to fight a younger (thirty-one), undefeated WBU light welterweight champion, Neary (22-0, 16 KOs), in London. Micky sported a 34-9 (27 KOs) record and Neary was beat a name opponent from the U.S. in order to position himself for a title fight against Kosta Tszyu, or high profile money fights against top contenders such as Arturo Gatti, Jesse James Leija, Zab Judah and Sharmba Mitchell.

Ward knocked out Neary in the eighth round of their March 11, 2000 WBU title fight in the co-feature of the Naseem Hamed-Vulyani Bungu card on HBO. Ward’s upset victory put him in position to fight five more times on HBO, including his memorable trilogy with Gatti, earning a total of approximately $3-million in purses. None of this would have been possible without Ward beating Neary in his backyard.

Oliveira, thirty-six, follows the same road, so to speak, from Massachusetts to London in order to fight Hatton, 10 years younger than Ray to the day (October 6), for the same WBU light welterweight crown as Ward took from Neary. Hatton, rated No. 1 by the IBF and WBO, is risking his crown and top contender position against a boxer who has never been stopped in his 14-year pro career. Oliveira is the only fighter to defeat present WBA “regular” junior welterweight champion ‘Vicious’ Vivian Harris and he also has wins against former world champions Charles Murray (twice) and Vince Phillips. Most of Ray’s losses have been to former world champions and/or top 10 contenders such as Vernon Forrest, Reggie Green, Ben Tackie, Jake Rodriguez and Zack Padilla.

“I always wanted to fight Micky Ward because I believed I had the style to beat him,” Oliveira said. “I never got the chance. Now I’m in against a guy who fights like a young Micky Ward. Hatton’s tough and he’s a great body puncher, too. But I know Micky Ward very well and Ricky Hatton is no Micky Ward. I believed I could beat Micky; I know I can whip Ricky. Ward got Gatti because he beat Neary. Hatton says he has one eye on me and one eye on Tszyu. Big mistake! I’ve got both eyes on Hatton and after I beat him in his hometown, I’ll start looking at Tszyu, Gatti, (Floyd) Mayweather or any of the top 140-pounders in the world.”