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Ricky “the Hitman’ Hatton has warned rival champion Miguel Cotto not to slip up on the silky smooth skills of undefeated Paulie Malignaggi this weekend if he wants to keep their dream-bout alive.
Cotto, the Puerto Rican WBO junior welterweight title holder who has long been linked with Hatton, fights speedster Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden, New York this weekend.
And Hatton will be keeping a close eye on the action.
“I’m really looking forward to this fight,” said the reigning WBA welterweight champion and undisputable ruler of the junior welterweight division. “Malignaggi is tricky, very quick and has some great moves. I think Malignaggi could really cause Cotto some problems with his speed and I think he“ll do very well in the fight.”
The Hitman added: “Cotto needs to raise his game because he’s struggled to impress in his last two, three fights. Hopefully Cotto will come through this and in impressive fashion because he’s someone I’ve been linked with for years now and – sooner or later – I think we’re going to fight each other. I“ve always thought me and Cotto would get it on at some point.”
And Hatton’s trainer Billy Graham has studied unbeaten Cotto very closely for precisely that reason. He, too, believes the Puerto Rican powerhouse has a serious task ahead of him this weekend.
“I think Cotto is a brilliant fighter,” Graham said. “He’s clever and he’s lethal with his hooks. But he’s not a junior welterweight, he shouldn’t be there anymore, that is obvious. If he gets beat because he’s struggling to make the weight this weekend it would be a travesty on the part of his management.”
While “the Preacher’ is a big fan of Cotto’s, he believes the WBO 140lbs (10stone) champion is not operating at 100% at the weight.
He said: “Cotto really hasn’t got much in the tank – not at this weight. He’s survived some rocky moments recently because of his talent, but he’s getting into these situations in the first place because he’s weak at the weight.
“I think it’d be a real hard fight with Ricky winning anyway, but I’d especially take Cotto at junior welterweight in a heartbeat. At junior welterweight, Cotto doesn’t have enough strength to live with Ricky Hatton beyond the opening rounds.”
Graham stopped short of predicting an upset this weekend in New York, but said: “If Paulie Malignaggi can get some work out of Cotto (tire him out), he gives himself a real chance of nicking it on points.”
