Ringside Reflections on Hatton–Oliveira.

Last weekend’s Ricky Hatton-Ray Oliveira bout at London’s ExCel Centre confirmed that the WBU champion’s steamrolling of Mike Stewart this past October was no fluke. Again the Manchester man showed a return to form that has created such a phenomenal following of dedicated fans. The unparalleled energy and pure strain of bad intent that were there for Hatton’s 2003 wins over Vince Phillips and Ben Tackie but largely missing in 2004 against Dennis Pedersen and Carlos Vilches, had returned. In some ways, this bout was similar to Hatton-Stewart in that the taller opponents both tried to keep the furious “Hitman” at the end of the jab, where they could use their height and reach advantages to best use. But boxing is all about imposing your vision and will, making your opponent deal with your version of reality and keeping him from “fighting his fight.” There are few in the sport today who can impose themselves on their opponents quite like Ricky Hatton. Bernard Hopkins, James Toney and Kostya Tszyu can all force opponents in the direction that strategically they want them to go but none of them do it with such sustained ferocity as Hatton. Hopkins, Toney and Tszyu are all measured, patient types who break down opposition and strike with real venom later in fights, with obvious exceptions such as Tszyu’s high profile early bomb-outs of Sharmba Mitchell and Zab Judah.

When fighting a quality caliber foe, Hatton tends to be an accumulation specialist, rather than a one-punch knockout artist. He simply wears down the opponent’s stamina and will by his non-stop attacks that apply repeated punishment. Mike Stewart had never been stopped in about forty fights but he was unable to deal with the wall of fire that he was forced to walk through before collapsing in the fifth round. Oliveira had also never been stopped but had, in the course of his fifty-eight fights, traded better company than Stewart. From the outset in London, the thirty-six year old New Englander had proved that he was no washed up welterweight coming down a weight class for one last big payday. Oliveira had impressed Hatton’s veteran corner men Billy Graham, Bobby Rimmer and Kerry Kayes by looking healthy and strong at 140-pounds at the weigh-in the day before the fight.

Hailing from Fall River, Massachusetts, Ray Oliveira had a reputation for not only durability but for being able to throw more punches than had ever been accurately recorded during a fight in the last twenty odd years. He came into the ring among a chorus of derision from the crowd but nothing like he would have received in Hatton’s hometown of Manchester. Oliveira showed spring in his step as he jumped several feet off the canvas in a few pogo-type bounces before turning to face defiantly the audience. Hatton looked grimmer and just plain angrier than usual after his usual loud and raucous ring entrance to the adoring fans in attendance. As ring announcer Michael Pass introduced the combatants, the Mancunian stood in the center of the canvas and just glared at Oliveira. This is a Hatton staple but never have I seen it so menacing. There was a look of utter disconnection on Ricky’s face; one that really summed up his sense of purpose that in his mind there was nothing, absolutely nothing, that was going to stand in his way of securing a fight with IBF champion and recognized divisional kingpin Kostya Tszyu.

Once the bell rang, Hatton began to stalk Oliveira and probe his defenses with a few quick feints and a lot of motion. The two traded a few shots before coming to one of many clinches. While Hatton held the American in a bear hug, Oliveira whaled away with his free arm to Hatton’s ribs. Unlike most opponents of the “Hitman,” Oliveira was determined not to be bullied. After hitting Hatton on a break, Oliveira was on the receiving end of a quick combination to the head and body that sent him to one knee. The look of surprise had worn off his face by that time, as the full effect of what he was in the ring with had hit home painfully. Ricky had remarked to colleague Lee Steele and myself at a light dinner before the fight, that at the weigh-in, Oliveira had clearly felt he wouldn’t be having much of a problem in the fight. Ricky went on to say he thought the American was going to pat him on the head like one would a child.

That may have gone some way to explaining the extra venom in which Hatton went after his opponent, but mainly it was the motivation to realize his goal of fighting Kostya Tszyu as well as becoming the first to stop Oliveira. After the first round knockdown, Hatton tore into his foe like a man possessed, landing hurtful combinations one after another. It wasn’t all one way traffic as Oliveira used his long experience to pick opportune times to catch Hatton with well placed right hands and body shots that did nothing but cause momentary resets to the onslaught. It was amazing to see how many different methods of attack Hatton could pull out of the bag. He would use superb footwork to largely avoid Oliveira’s attempts to catch him coming in and then land an unexpected lead right or an “up-jab” type of punch that looks to be a jab/hook/uppercut all at the same time.

Once inside, the champion and challenger would trade body shots but Hatton’s were usually mixed into baffling sequences of punches that raked Oliveira from head to body and back again. There were a few unintentional low blows by Oliveira that I could see but this was a very rough contest with heads, elbows, forearms and shoulders from both men all figuring their way into the fight. Nothing intentional but when the combatants go at it in such a committed all or nothing fashion, things of that nature just happen along the way. As the match wore on, Hatton just got stronger and Oliveira slowly ebbed into trying to use his ring-craft to simply survive the shelling, although to his credit he never stopped trying to win the fight. Many at ringside remarked that they had never seen anyone take the kind of punishment Oliveira was absorbing and some were starting to wince at each new barrage by the Briton.

In the later rounds the challenger began to show signs of damage and fatigue, much like a city that has been bombed from the air again and again by a particularly persistent enemy. Several times, it looked like Oliveira’s leg buckled momentarily (as always, he wore an elastic brace on one knee) but when he suffered the first of at least two bad cuts, he finally looked like he had admitted to himself that he wasn’t going to win the fight. Hatton continued the assault until the tenth when he nailed Oliveira with a particularly sharp right hand to the side of the head. The game American again took a knee as the crowd roared. I was sitting a few feet off from Oliveira’s corner and I could clearly see him look across the ring at his trainer, smile, wink and shake his head. Referee Mickey Vann caught it too and immediately waved off the bout.

The crowd was going absolutely mad as Team Hatton celebrated in the ring before Ricky and Billy Graham were interviewed on the ring apron by Sky TV. In the press conference afterward, Hatton expressed his desire to fight Kostya Tszyu and said he didn’t care where it happened. After seeing the way he tore through Ray Oliveira as no one had ever come close to doing before, no one in the room full of journalists and fight business professionals had any doubts that Hatton could compete with Kostya Tszyu on the Aussie-Russian’s much higher playing field. Oliveira and Hatton both expressed respect for each other and each declared this fight the most difficult of their careers. Oliveira went on to state that Hatton was a far better fighter than he expected and in his estimation was ready for anyone in the division. When asked how Hatton compared to current WBA titlist Vivian Harris, whom Oliveira beat four years ago, Ray said that Ricky was a much more difficult opponent to fight.

In other action –
Mark Krence was surprisingly declared the winner in his vacant English heavyweight title fight with “Big Bad” John McDermott. McDermott had used his considerable strength and good jab to control the action while Krence was the busier of the two. Wayne Alexander reversed last year’s shock stoppage loss to journeyman Delroy Mellis in a non-title light middleweight affair that had its exciting moments and it’s slow points, too. Featherweight Kevin Mitchell prevailed in a more difficult than it should have been scrap with Welsh tough guy Henry Janes. Mitchell spent too much time in exchanges, neglecting his superior boxing skills but to be fair he did suffer what appeared to be an intentional head but in the first round and looked to be seeking retribution for most of the remaining four round fight. Top British bantamweight Martin Power outgunned Mongolian hard-man Shinny Bayaar over ten in the most entertaining under card bout in the eyes of many in attendance. Also winning their fights were Bradley Pryce, Martin Conception, Lee Beavis, Gokhan Kazaz, Matthew Marsh and Gary Woolcombe.

www.saddoboxing.com

Curtis McCormick can be reached at thomaspointrd@aol.com