Ricky Hatton to fight Oktay Urkal next.........

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/5048832.stm

Smash 8)

Urgh, unless we're told when he beats Urkal he'll defend against, or move down to face Cotto, Im dissapointed.

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Originally Posted by AC-Cobra

Urgh, unless we're told when he beats Urkal he'll defend against, or move down to face Cotto, Im dissapointed.

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gonna duck Collazo I see.....I expected as much....coward....

I wouldn't say that Hatton is a coward, he's just being a smart businessman. But considering the fact that Morales gave Pac a rematch, Taylor gave Hopkins a rematch, RJJ gave Tarver a rematch, Corrales gave Castillo a rematch, and even PBF gave Castillo a rematch, it's kind of disappointing that Hatton couldn't be a man about it and give Collazo another shot. Then again, it's easy to fight anybody when you've got nothing to lose, but when you've got everything to lose it's hard to fight anyone.

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Originally Posted by bigragu

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Originally Posted by AC-Cobra

Urgh, unless we're told when he beats Urkal he'll defend against, or move down to face Cotto, Im dissapointed.

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gonna duck Collazo I see.....I expected as much....coward....

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Wouldnt say coward. Heres my reasonable explanation for why Ricky shouldnt do it.

If Ricky has his head screwed on straight, he knows he cant beat the big hitters of the WW division. Margarito is just to big IMO among others. Therefore he will only fight at WW for the big fights, Floyd, Cotto etc, because he has to because they wont stay at 140 to face him.

Now, obviously, Urkal is far from a big fight. Im not happy with this decision, Im not going to defend it. The only reason I can think of him doing it is because he has fought for 3 consecutive titles, maybe now its time for a defence or two. If this is his reasoning, he may not be able to give Collazo a rematch as the WBA or whoever it is will strip him if his next fight is not Urkal.

Now if Ricky fights Urkal, wins, and stays at welter holding onto a paper title and fighting easy targets and ducking people, Ill sway to your view. At the moment though, it may just be a case of nothing else is viable.

Didn't HBO sign him to a 3 fight deal? I don't think these were the fights they had in mind.

I really don't want to see this fight, not when their is alot of big fights that could happen.

Hatton is coming dangerously close to becoming a boxing disgrace.

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Originally Posted by smashcrusher

Hatton is coming dangerously close to becoming a boxing disgrace.

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Be sensible, he beat a living legend, is an undefeated world champion. So he doesnt give one guy a rematch and hes a boxing disgrace? Screw your head back on.

He should give Collazo a rematch at some point, but because he doesnt does not make him disgraceful, he won the fight.

And every boxer faces mandatory's like Urkal, blame the sanctioning bodies.

Think before you speak.

Easy Crusher. "Disgrace" is a bit hyperbolic at this juncture. WBA manditory, not a fight of choice. Hatton can't catch a break with the sanctioning bodies - he's vacated 2 titles already this year because he sought bigger fights and everybody crucified him for not defending. Now he seeks to defend and people are calling him a disgrace. Tough crowd.

A good argument for a Urkal fight is that it would give him some latitude to pick his next fight (Cotto's step up to 147 or PBF). Keeping a belt at 147 is the only carrot he'd have for either of them.

If he were to be stripped he'd have no belt and then he'd be relying on Floyd or Cotto to be willing to risk their belts against Rick. Having the WBA title makes either opponent more likely - unification for Floyd, title shot at welter for Cotto. The tough part is selling this fight to HBO. Unless they're interested in having Hatton get in a fight that he can show much better in then this opponent doesn't offer much. I don't know where a Hatton / Urkal fight sells tickets other than in England - and in that case you're dealing with the whole time zone thing.

Maybe Hatton / Urkal as a co-feature on a Cotto card in September in NYC would set the stage for a big tear-up between Ricky and Miguel in early 2007. That would probably be the best business move for the network and it'll go a long way to repair the Hatton image leading into that fight.

Then the winner gets PBF at 147 in May/June of 2007.

Sounds like a winner to me. It's a tough situation he's in now. This might be the only way to make any of the other fights happen, a beltless Hatton is tough to sell to a reigning champion - especially when he wouldn't be anyone's mandatory.

In my opinion Ricky has a couple of choices here: He fights Urkal or he gets stripped. And if he gets stripped he'll want to make it worth his while. If he could get a big prestige fight like PBF or Miguel Cotto (or even Diego Corrales) then sod the belt. If he can get a big money fight with Gatti then again, sod the belt. If he can't, why would he give Collazo an unsanctioned rematch for nothing whatsoever?

Cowardice? You have to remember that this is a business.

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Originally Posted by AC-Cobra

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Originally Posted by bigragu

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Originally Posted by AC-Cobra

Urgh, unless we're told when he beats Urkal he'll defend against, or move down to face Cotto, Im dissapointed.

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gonna duck Collazo I see.....I expected as much....coward....

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Wouldnt say coward. Heres my reasonable explanation for why Ricky shouldnt do it.

If Ricky has his head screwed on straight, he knows he cant beat the big hitters of the WW division. Margarito is just to big IMO among others. Therefore he will only fight at WW for the big fights, Floyd, Cotto etc, because he has to because they wont stay at 140 to face him.

Now, obviously, Urkal is far from a big fight. Im not happy with this decision, Im not going to defend it. The only reason I can think of him doing it is because he has fought for 3 consecutive titles, maybe now its time for a defence or two. If this is his reasoning, he may not be able to give Collazo a rematch as the WBA or whoever it is will strip him if his next fight is not Urkal.

Now if Ricky fights Urkal, wins, and stays at welter holding onto a paper title and fighting easy targets and ducking people, Ill sway to your view. At the moment though, it may just be a case of nothing else is viable.

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ok...I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.....I'll wait and see what he does after this fight before I begin slamming him again...Coward might have been a little too much....does ducking work?....

Its a shame he has to fight Urkal but business is business and as champ you have to fulfill certain obligations, this being one of them. At least he'll get to showcase what he's really made of as a full blown welter. All in all it could be worse, he could be fighting Sharmba Mitchel!

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

Its a shame he has to fight Urkal but business is business and as champ you have to fulfill certain obligations, this being one of them. At least he'll get to showcase what he's really made of as a full blown welter. All in all it could be worse, he could be fighting Sharmba Mitchel!

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How would fighting Sharmba Mitchell be worse?

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

Its a shame he has to fight Urkal but business is business and as champ you have to fulfill certain obligations, this being one of them. At least he'll get to showcase what he's really made of as a full blown welter. All in all it could be worse, he could be fighting Sharmba Mitchel!

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How would fighting Sharmba Mitchell be worse?

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He'd be sloppy 3rds, two of hattons biggest rivals have faught and beaten him well, Mitchell is really a 140 fighter, with hatton fighting another genuine 147 (more fights than sharmba at 147) we'll get to see his true credentials, from a boxing fans perspective its a better prospect.

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

Its a shame he has to fight Urkal but business is business and as champ you have to fulfill certain obligations, this being one of them. At least he'll get to showcase what he's really made of as a full blown welter. All in all it could be worse, he could be fighting Sharmba Mitchel!

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How would fighting Sharmba Mitchell be worse?

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He'd be sloppy 3rds, two of hattons biggest rivals have faught and beaten him well, Mitchell is really a 140 fighter, with hatton fighting another genuine 147 (more fights than sharmba at 147) we'll get to see his true credentials, from a boxing fans perspective its a better prospect.

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Sharmba Mitchell is a very good fighter, not at the top tier, but very good, he is also a much more marketable name in America (where most of the paying fight fans are) his only two losses in the last 5 years are to PBF and Kostya Tszyu
I consider myself to be a boxing fan (you may disagree) but I would rather see Mitchell than Urkal. I can definately respect the mandatory defense thing though. Just don't slam Mitchell he has had a pretty good career 57-5-0 and never ducked anyone.................

To all Hatton fans....There are quite a few people that just don't like Hatton. They want to see him lose. They won't be happy with just about any opponent, but they will be happy against opponents they honestly think he'd lose to (which is far fewer than they admit.) Were he to beat these opponents, which is likely, they would claim he wrestled for the win. Hatton being a coward is one of my favorite arguements. Lets call Valuev a slick boxer with excellent speed while we're at it. You can't win with them. Don't worry about it ;)

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Originally Posted by Entragian

To all Hatton fans....There are quite a few people that just don't like Hatton. They want to see him lose. They won't be happy with just about any opponent, but they will be happy against opponents they honestly think he'd lose to (which is far fewer than they admit.) Were he to beat these opponents, which is likely, they would claim he wrestled for the win. Hatton being a coward is one of my favorite arguements. Lets call Valuev a slick boxer with excellent speed while we're at it. You can't win with them. Don't worry about it ;)

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Typical Hatton fanatic crap.

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Originally Posted by Entragian

To all Hatton fans....There are quite a few people that just don't like Hatton. They want to see him lose. They won't be happy with just about any opponent, but they will be happy against opponents they honestly think he'd lose to (which is far fewer than they admit.) Were he to beat these opponents, which is likely, they would claim he wrestled for the win. Hatton being a coward is one of my favorite arguements. Lets call Valuev a slick boxer with excellent speed while we're at it. You can't win with them. Don't worry about it ;)

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So are you saying that Urkal would be a better fight than Mitchell?

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

Its a shame he has to fight Urkal but business is business and as champ you have to fulfill certain obligations, this being one of them. At least he'll get to showcase what he's really made of as a full blown welter. All in all it could be worse, he could be fighting Sharmba Mitchel!

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How would fighting Sharmba Mitchell be worse?

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He'd be sloppy 3rds, two of hattons biggest rivals have faught and beaten him well, Mitchell is really a 140 fighter, with hatton fighting another genuine 147 (more fights than sharmba at 147) we'll get to see his true credentials, from a boxing fans perspective its a better prospect.

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Sharmba Mitchell is a very good fighter, not at the top tier, but very good, he is also a much more marketable name in America (where most of the paying fight fans are) his only two losses in the last 5 years are to PBF and Kostya Tszyu
I consider myself to be a boxing fan (you may disagree) but I would rather see Mitchell than Urkal. I can definately respect the mandatory defense thing though. Just don't slam Mitchell he has had a pretty good career 57-5-0 and never ducked anyone.................

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Yeah, no diss to Mitchell, its simply that I think Hatton would rather not fight someone that PBF recently dominated, and he'd take a lot of sh*t from the same type of people that would say that Hatton SHOULD fight Mitchell, I think Mitchell is/(was?) a better fighter than Urkal, but at least Urkal is a bit more intresting as he is something that we haven't seen beaten by the recent 140 movers to 147 elite (He beat Harris first time round and was unlucky 2nd time). The comment about real boxing fans definatly wasn't aimed to you killersheep or anyone else with knowledge and open views, more to the sad click p4p top 10 on this site and the contenders to the crown ;)

Well, Urkal is game and could actually give Hatton some trouble, though i think Hatton will ultimately win

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

Its a shame he has to fight Urkal but business is business and as champ you have to fulfill certain obligations, this being one of them. At least he'll get to showcase what he's really made of as a full blown welter. All in all it could be worse, he could be fighting Sharmba Mitchel!

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How would fighting Sharmba Mitchell be worse?

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He'd be sloppy 3rds, two of hattons biggest rivals have faught and beaten him well, Mitchell is really a 140 fighter, with hatton fighting another genuine 147 (more fights than sharmba at 147) we'll get to see his true credentials, from a boxing fans perspective its a better prospect.

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Sharmba Mitchell is a very good fighter, not at the top tier, but very good, he is also a much more marketable name in America (where most of the paying fight fans are) his only two losses in the last 5 years are to PBF and Kostya Tszyu
I consider myself to be a boxing fan (you may disagree) but I would rather see Mitchell than Urkal. I can definately respect the mandatory defense thing though. Just don't slam Mitchell he has had a pretty good career 57-5-0 and never ducked anyone.................

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Yeah, no diss to Mitchell, its simply that I think Hatton would rather not fight someone that PBF recently dominated, and he'd take a lot of sh*t from the same type of people that would say that Hatton SHOULD fight Mitchell, I think Mitchell is/(was?) a better fighter than Urkal, but at least Urkal is a bit more intresting as he is something that we haven't seen beaten by the recent 140 movers to 147 elite (He beat Harris first time round and was unlucky 2nd time). The comment about real boxing fans definatly wasn't aimed to you killersheep or anyone else with knowledge and open views, more to the sad click p4p top 10 on this site and the contenders to the crown ;)

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Umm.. You do realize that Urkal has spent his whole career at 140 as well, he's not a natural welter and he's no test whatsoever at 147, if that's really where Hatton is going to stay... But you think it would be worse to fight someone that PBF just dominated than someone Vivian Harris pretty much dominated?? I don't think so.

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Originally Posted by albsur2006

I wouldn't say that Hatton is a coward, he's just being a smart businessman. But considering the fact that Morales gave Pac a rematch, Taylor gave Hopkins a rematch, RJJ gave Tarver a rematch, Corrales gave Castillo a rematch, and even PBF gave Castillo a rematch, it's kind of disappointing that Hatton couldn't be a man about it and give Collazo another shot. Then again, it's easy to fight anybody when you've got nothing to lose, but when you've got everything to lose it's hard to fight anyone.

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Not all of those were direct rematches though

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by Entragian

To all Hatton fans....There are quite a few people that just don't like Hatton. They want to see him lose. They won't be happy with just about any opponent, but they will be happy against opponents they honestly think he'd lose to (which is far fewer than they admit.) Were he to beat these opponents, which is likely, they would claim he wrestled for the win. Hatton being a coward is one of my favorite arguements. Lets call Valuev a slick boxer with excellent speed while we're at it. You can't win with them. Don't worry about it ;)

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So are you saying that Urkal would be a better fight than Mitchell?

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Yes, who wants to see him fall over numerous times again, after Tszyu hammered him in to the canvas he stopped being a viable contender right there.

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Originally Posted by p4pking

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

Its a shame he has to fight Urkal but business is business and as champ you have to fulfill certain obligations, this being one of them. At least he'll get to showcase what he's really made of as a full blown welter. All in all it could be worse, he could be fighting Sharmba Mitchel!

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How would fighting Sharmba Mitchell be worse?

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He'd be sloppy 3rds, two of hattons biggest rivals have faught and beaten him well, Mitchell is really a 140 fighter, with hatton fighting another genuine 147 (more fights than sharmba at 147) we'll get to see his true credentials, from a boxing fans perspective its a better prospect.

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Sharmba Mitchell is a very good fighter, not at the top tier, but very good, he is also a much more marketable name in America (where most of the paying fight fans are) his only two losses in the last 5 years are to PBF and Kostya Tszyu
I consider myself to be a boxing fan (you may disagree) but I would rather see Mitchell than Urkal. I can definately respect the mandatory defense thing though. Just don't slam Mitchell he has had a pretty good career 57-5-0 and never ducked anyone.................

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Yeah, no diss to Mitchell, its simply that I think Hatton would rather not fight someone that PBF recently dominated, and he'd take a lot of sh*t from the same type of people that would say that Hatton SHOULD fight Mitchell, I think Mitchell is/(was?) a better fighter than Urkal, but at least Urkal is a bit more intresting as he is something that we haven't seen beaten by the recent 140 movers to 147 elite (He beat Harris first time round and was unlucky 2nd time). The comment about real boxing fans definatly wasn't aimed to you killersheep or anyone else with knowledge and open views, more to the sad click p4p top 10 on this site and the contenders to the crown ;)

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Umm.. You do realize that Urkal has spent his whole career at 140 as well, he's not a natural welter and he's no test whatsoever at 147, if that's really where Hatton is going to stay... But you think it would be worse to fight someone that PBF just dominated than someone Vivian Harris pretty much dominated?? I don't think so.

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You mean like Floyd taking on natural light welter Mitchell who Tszyu battered

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Originally Posted by ross

You mean like Floyd taking on natural light welter Mitchell who Tszyu battered

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Har har Good call and a cool click for you sir. :coolclick: As much as I enjoy watching PBF fight with class and guile he hasn't exactly picked more than one difficult welter opponent at this weight in Zab judah.
I think Collazo would smash Judah just like tszyu did.
I also think poor old loveable gatti is FAAAAAR beyond his useby date, he's just too old and too slow at the very top level.
Cotto may end up being a more natural welter than either PBF or Hatton.

Either way anyone who calls Ricky hatton a coward is a disgrace.
That is utter garbage.
You don't have to like or appreciate his rough 'n ready style but the guy ALWAYS comes forward even when he's getting whacked (which is most of the time :D) and he never runs away.
Ricky may be many things in the ring but he is never EVER cowardly.
The man beat Collazo in his own backyard.
He put him on the canvas and took his title off him.
Move on people, don't let your hatred cloud your judgement.
What does Collazo have to bring to the table now??
He doesn't have a belt and Ricky is still undefeated.
In boxing, you look forward, not back.
Urkal is mandatory and Hatton needs two things, he needs to keep his belt with a good solid and preferably exciting win and he needs a few more fights at Welter before trying to catch up with Mr Mayweather.
Hatton is not the most atractive fighter but he doesn't need to be attractive to be exciting or to win fights.
A lot of people never liked Marciano's rough n 'ready come forward brawling style but it was effective and he carved out a legacy of undisputable quality.
Give Hatton a break guys, I can't imagine how many long knives a very likeable young man who doesn't smack talk is going to get from some people on this forum should he dare lose a match. ::**

I'm a Hatton fan but am slightly dissappointed. I would much rather see him fight Collazo again,I mean what will this fight prove? What happened to the list Hatton was talking about? I think Collazo deserves a chance again for tow main reasons,firstly he gave Hatton a chance and secondly,Hatton haters will always question why he did not give him a rematch.

Im sorry im the biggest Hatton fan, but this is bullshit, first off now it's ok to fight mandatorys?? What happened to his mandatorys at 140, they were seen as not worth while so he dropped the belts, but Urkal is seen as an easy fight which it most probably will be this guy got exposed twice by Vivian Harris, also i thought Hatton didnt fancy it at 147??

We go from fighting possibly Castillo/Corrales to Urkal??

The only thing i can think of is to keep busy, but this fight is worthless if you ask me especially if Hatton wants to operate at 140 in ther future.

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Originally Posted by skel1983

Im sorry im the biggest Hatton fan, but this is bullshit, first off now it's ok to fight mandatorys?? What happened to his mandatorys at 140, they were seen as not worth while so he dropped the belts, but Urkal is seen as an easy fight which it most probably will be this guy got exposed twice by Vivian Harris, also i thought Hatton didnt fancy it at 147??

We go from fighting possibly Castillo/Corrales to Urkal??

The only thing i can think of is to keep busy, but this fight is worthless if you ask me especially if Hatton wants to operate at 140 in ther future.

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He hasn't said he was staying at Welter or Light Welter. He said he felt he was a natural lightwelter but would stay where the big fights were.

He gave up two belts to move up a weight, it would be daft to move back down after one fight.

He has to take a mandatory if he wants to retain the belt, WBA only sanctioned the Collazo fight if the winner fought Urkal within 120 days. Retaining the belt gives him more bargaining power for future fights against other Welters, especially if Cotto moves up aswell.

From a business point of view there is little point in fighting Collazo again because it wouldn't be for a belt, just a pointless fight and a risky one after the 1st fight (although I don't think Hatton would make the same mistakes twice)

I personally think he deserves a mandatory fight back in Manchester hopefully and a potentially easier fight. His last 3 fights have been World title fights.

Then onto Cotto/Castillo/Mayweather et al

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Originally Posted by 7777

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Originally Posted by skel1983

Im sorry im the biggest Hatton fan, but this is bullshit, first off now it's ok to fight mandatorys?? What happened to his mandatorys at 140, they were seen as not worth while so he dropped the belts, but Urkal is seen as an easy fight which it most probably will be this guy got exposed twice by Vivian Harris, also i thought Hatton didnt fancy it at 147??

We go from fighting possibly Castillo/Corrales to Urkal??

The only thing i can think of is to keep busy, but this fight is worthless if you ask me especially if Hatton wants to operate at 140 in ther future.

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He hasn't said he was staying at Welter or Light Welter. He said he felt he was a natural lightwelter but would stay where the big fights were.

He gave up two belts to move up a weight, it would be daft to move back down after one fight.

He has to take a mandatory if he wants to retain the belt, WBA only sanctioned the Collazo fight if the winner fought Urkal within 120 days. Retaining the belt gives him more bargaining power for future fights against other Welters, especially if Cotto moves up aswell.

From a business point of view there is little point in fighting Collazo again because it wouldn't be for a belt, just a pointless fight and a risky one after the 1st fight (although I don't think Hatton would make the same mistakes twice)

I personally think he deserves a mandatory fight back in Manchester hopefully and a potentially easier fight. His last 3 fights have been World title fights.

Then onto Cotto/Castillo/Mayweather et al

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Its pointless to move down after one fight??

But he was aiming to fight Castillo/Corrales winner at 140?? The only reason he isnt now is because oof the oending action against Castillo he cant wait around.


The thing is he only fights twice a year its not as if he is fighting legends every 3 months, he has fought KT and now Collazo, Maussa was a tomato can if we are honest, like i say i wouldnt mind this fight if there was no other options but there is plenty.

Hatton was looking for a big fight. None were forthcoming so he took the mandatory. He didn't take his IBF mandatory because he had a chance to unify the belts - and was set to do so against Vivian Harris (considered one of the best in the division) until Maussa destroyed him. He didn;t take his WBA mandatory because he had a chance to step up in weight and hold titles in more than one division. Right now he's looking for a big money fight (Against Castillo - Corrales, PBF, Cotto, Gatti etc) and none are forthcoming. So instead of hanging around and twiddling his thumbs he's taken a mandatory challenger.

Taking on Urkal is different to taking on Souleymane M'baye as Ricky has been fighting challengers of that caliber at 140 for years. Urkal is a different division, Hatton hasn't defended his title at Welter yet, so it's part of the learning curve for him.

And it's also a good way of showcasing Ricky's skills.

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Originally Posted by skel1983

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Originally Posted by 7777

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Originally Posted by skel1983

Im sorry im the biggest Hatton fan, but this is bullshit, first off now it's ok to fight mandatorys?? What happened to his mandatorys at 140, they were seen as not worth while so he dropped the belts, but Urkal is seen as an easy fight which it most probably will be this guy got exposed twice by Vivian Harris, also i thought Hatton didnt fancy it at 147??

We go from fighting possibly Castillo/Corrales to Urkal??

The only thing i can think of is to keep busy, but this fight is worthless if you ask me especially if Hatton wants to operate at 140 in ther future.

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He hasn't said he was staying at Welter or Light Welter. He said he felt he was a natural lightwelter but would stay where the big fights were.

He gave up two belts to move up a weight, it would be daft to move back down after one fight.

He has to take a mandatory if he wants to retain the belt, WBA only sanctioned the Collazo fight if the winner fought Urkal within 120 days. Retaining the belt gives him more bargaining power for future fights against other Welters, especially if Cotto moves up aswell.

From a business point of view there is little point in fighting Collazo again because it wouldn't be for a belt, just a pointless fight and a risky one after the 1st fight (although I don't think Hatton would make the same mistakes twice)

I personally think he deserves a mandatory fight back in Manchester hopefully and a potentially easier fight. His last 3 fights have been World title fights.

Then onto Cotto/Castillo/Mayweather et al

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Its pointless to move down after one fight??

But he was aiming to fight Castillo/Corrales winner at 140?? The only reason he isnt now is because oof the oending action against Castillo he cant wait around.


The thing is he only fights twice a year its not as if he is fighting legends every 3 months, he has fought KT and now Collazo, Maussa was a tomato can if we are honest, like i say i wouldnt mind this fight if there was no other options but there is plenty.

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cc you're right. It's the fact that he has other options that makes this fight least appealing.
If he wants to keep his title, I'm sure a bit of bargaining with the WBA would allow a Collazo rematch, it would be a good fight for him if he really wants to stay in the WW division. With the extra time to prepare for the higher weight I'm sure he'll produce a much better performance, which would do him the world of good psychologically as well knowing that he can handle a proper WW.

The other immediate option now is Cotto, since Castillo will be out of their fight now with a possibble suspension. If Cotto's handler's thought he was ready for Castillo then why not Hatton? IMO Cotto may fancy a shot at the hitman at WW since he is renowned for struggling to make the weight, and also seeing how sluggish Hatton looked at the same weight.

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Originally Posted by skel1983

Its pointless to move down after one fight??

But he was aiming to fight Castillo/Corrales winner at 140?? The only reason he isnt now is because oof the oending action against Castillo he cant wait around.


The thing is he only fights twice a year its not as if he is fighting legends every 3 months, he has fought KT and now Collazo, Maussa was a tomato can if we are honest, like i say i wouldnt mind this fight if there was no other options but there is plenty.

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6 fights in two years = 3 fights a year

3 defences

12/06/04 - Vilches
01/10/04 - Stewart
11/12/04 - Oliveira

3 World title fights (on the bounce)

04/06/05 - KT
26/11/05 - Maussa
13/05/06 - Collazo

Regardless of whether he made noises about Castillo he is entitled to a mandatory in my opinion and why not take an easier mandatory at Welter, gives him an additional fight to get adjusted and then crack on with Cotto/Mayweather at Welter

As much as I would love to see it Collazo brings nothing to the table. Urkal would have to accept step-aside money again, HBO would have to sanction it and so would the WBA and Collazo would want more money. Don King made sure Collazo got well paid in the first fight instead of including a rematch clause. His look out from now on I'm afraid.

Taking a mandatory makes sense for Hatton, fight in Manchester, adjust to the weight see whats what

After beating Tszyu cause Hatton's style doesn't warrant a long career he was looking for the big "star" fights - Mayweather, Cotto, Corrales, Gatti etc - and was going to achieve his boyhood dream of topping bills in Vegas, New York etc.... He's fought Maussa, Collazo and is now looking to fight Urkal

Whatever the reasons and however things have played out in determining the course his career has taken its understandable that some of his fans are disappointed in the way things have gone/going.

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Originally Posted by p4pking

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by yoitsdan

Its a shame he has to fight Urkal but business is business and as champ you have to fulfill certain obligations, this being one of them. At least he'll get to showcase what he's really made of as a full blown welter. All in all it could be worse, he could be fighting Sharmba Mitchel!

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How would fighting Sharmba Mitchell be worse?

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He'd be sloppy 3rds, two of hattons biggest rivals have faught and beaten him well, Mitchell is really a 140 fighter, with hatton fighting another genuine 147 (more fights than sharmba at 147) we'll get to see his true credentials, from a boxing fans perspective its a better prospect.

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Sharmba Mitchell is a very good fighter, not at the top tier, but very good, he is also a much more marketable name in America (where most of the paying fight fans are) his only two losses in the last 5 years are to PBF and Kostya Tszyu
I consider myself to be a boxing fan (you may disagree) but I would rather see Mitchell than Urkal. I can definately respect the mandatory defense thing though. Just don't slam Mitchell he has had a pretty good career 57-5-0 and never ducked anyone.................

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Yeah, no diss to Mitchell, its simply that I think Hatton would rather not fight someone that PBF recently dominated, and he'd take a lot of sh*t from the same type of people that would say that Hatton SHOULD fight Mitchell, I think Mitchell is/(was?) a better fighter than Urkal, but at least Urkal is a bit more intresting as he is something that we haven't seen beaten by the recent 140 movers to 147 elite (He beat Harris first time round and was unlucky 2nd time). The comment about real boxing fans definatly wasn't aimed to you killersheep or anyone else with knowledge and open views, more to the sad click p4p top 10 on this site and the contenders to the crown ;)

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Umm.. You do realize that Urkal has spent his whole career at 140 as well, he's not a natural welter and he's no test whatsoever at 147, if that's really where Hatton is going to stay... But you think it would be worse to fight someone that PBF just dominated than someone Vivian Harris pretty much dominated?? I don't think so.

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Plz dont talk about a blown up 140 because pbf has fought nothing but Blown up 140's and now hattons doing something wrong......

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Originally Posted by ross

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by Entragian

To all Hatton fans....There are quite a few people that just don't like Hatton. They want to see him lose. They won't be happy with just about any opponent, but they will be happy against opponents they honestly think he'd lose to (which is far fewer than they admit.) Were he to beat these opponents, which is likely, they would claim he wrestled for the win. Hatton being a coward is one of my favorite arguements. Lets call Valuev a slick boxer with excellent speed while we're at it. You can't win with them. Don't worry about it ;)

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So are you saying that Urkal would be a better fight than Mitchell?

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Yes, who wants to see him fall over numerous times again, after Tszyu hammered him in to the canvas he stopped being a viable contender right there.

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But Tszyu creaming Urkal on 6/23/01 was different? That was four months after the first Mitchell fight

8) Thread

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Originally Posted by 7777

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Originally Posted by skel1983

Its pointless to move down after one fight??

But he was aiming to fight Castillo/Corrales winner at 140?? The only reason he isnt now is because oof the oending action against Castillo he cant wait around.


The thing is he only fights twice a year its not as if he is fighting legends every 3 months, he has fought KT and now Collazo, Maussa was a tomato can if we are honest, like i say i wouldnt mind this fight if there was no other options but there is plenty.

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6 fights in two years = 3 fights a year

3 defences

12/06/04 - Vilches
01/10/04 - Stewart
11/12/04 - Oliveira

3 World title fights (on the bounce)

04/06/05 - KT
26/11/05 - Maussa
13/05/06 - Collazo

Regardless of whether he made noises about Castillo he is entitled to a mandatory in my opinion and why not take an easier mandatory at Welter, gives him an additional fight to get adjusted and then crack on with Cotto/Mayweather at Welter

As much as I would love to see it Collazo brings nothing to the table. Urkal would have to accept step-aside money again, HBO would have to sanction it and so would the WBA and Collazo would want more money. Don King made sure Collazo got well paid in the first fight instead of including a rematch clause. His look out from now on I'm afraid.

Taking a mandatory makes sense for Hatton, fight in Manchester, adjust to the weight see whats what

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im going on calender year mate, 2005 he fought twice 2006 will be the same meaning in the last two years he has fought 4 times.

Collazo brings nothing to the table you say??

How about the fact that alot of people think he lost the fight?? He should go in there silence all the doubters fans and everyone to do with boxing, and alot of the pros which i have read on Boxing Talk 90% say Collazo won the fight.

Hatton for me is in a posistion where belts shouldnt mean nothing, he has a big enough name and brings enough money to the table to be worrying about Mandatorys, it's all about legacy for me and i think Ricky feels the same.

Tell me this Billy Graham was ranting and raving after the fight saying no one listened to me Ricky aint a Welterwieght trust me they will listen next time, so whats changed?? I tell you whats changed the next opponent at WW is a has been tomato can, dont get me wrong i love everything about Ricky Hatton, but prior to the Collazo fight he was talking about 8 more fights and named the fighters, so wheres Urkal come from????

What i dont get mate is what is the point of this fight at WW?? I thought he was a 140 his camp were telling everyone after the Collazo fight, so go back down and fight Cotto or someone worthwhile, i dont understand this fight if he feels his future lies at 140.

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Originally Posted by skel1983

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Originally Posted by 7777

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Originally Posted by skel1983

Its pointless to move down after one fight??

But he was aiming to fight Castillo/Corrales winner at 140?? The only reason he isnt now is because oof the oending action against Castillo he cant wait around.


The thing is he only fights twice a year its not as if he is fighting legends every 3 months, he has fought KT and now Collazo, Maussa was a tomato can if we are honest, like i say i wouldnt mind this fight if there was no other options but there is plenty.

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6 fights in two years = 3 fights a year

3 defences

12/06/04 - Vilches
01/10/04 - Stewart
11/12/04 - Oliveira

3 World title fights (on the bounce)

04/06/05 - KT
26/11/05 - Maussa
13/05/06 - Collazo

Regardless of whether he made noises about Castillo he is entitled to a mandatory in my opinion and why not take an easier mandatory at Welter, gives him an additional fight to get adjusted and then crack on with Cotto/Mayweather at Welter

As much as I would love to see it Collazo brings nothing to the table. Urkal would have to accept step-aside money again, HBO would have to sanction it and so would the WBA and Collazo would want more money. Don King made sure Collazo got well paid in the first fight instead of including a rematch clause. His look out from now on I'm afraid.

Taking a mandatory makes sense for Hatton, fight in Manchester, adjust to the weight see whats what

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im going on calender year mate, 2005 he fought twice 2006 will be the same meaning in the last two years he has fought 4 times.

Collazo brings nothing to the table you say??

How about the fact that alot of people think he lost the fight?? He should go in there silence all the doubters fans and everyone to do with boxing, and alot of the pros which i have read on Boxing Talk 90% say Collazo won the fight.

Hatton for me is in a posistion where belts shouldnt mean nothing, he has a big enough name and brings enough money to the table to be worrying about Mandatorys, it's all about legacy for me and i think Ricky feels the same.

Tell me this Billy Graham was ranting and raving after the fight saying no one listened to me Ricky aint a Welterwieght trust me they will listen next time, so whats changed?? I tell you whats changed the next opponent at WW is a has been tomato can, dont get me wrong i love everything about Ricky Hatton, but prior to the Collazo fight he was talking about 8 more fights and named the fighters, so wheres Urkal come from????

What i dont get mate is what is the point of this fight at WW?? I thought he was a 140 his camp were telling everyone after the Collazo fight, so go back down and fight Cotto or someone worthwhile, i dont understand this fight if he feels his future lies at 140.

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Two words for staying at WW.........Cash Money
The money definately is in the WW division at the moment

The money and cash??

the only money maker id Floyd, and he is the only fighter who phycially i think Hatton could deal with, Margorito dont bring more moeny than a Cotto or Castillo fight, if Hatton fights any big boy at WW for me he goes in a big underdog, only Mayweather makes sense but he wont get that fight on for at least a year, baffles me.

Gatti/Baldomir is probably another one at WW but if he is fighting Urkal i got a feeling the winner of Gatti/Baldomir would laready have been beaton by the time Hatton becomes available again.

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Originally Posted by skel1983

The money and cash??

the only money maker id Floyd, and he is the only fighter who phycially i think Hatton could deal with, Margorito dont bring more moeny than a Cotto or Castillo fight, if Hatton fights any big boy at WW for me he goes in a big underdog, only Mayweather makes sense but he wont get that fight on for at least a year, baffles me.

Gatti/Baldomir is probably another one at WW but if he is fighting Urkal i got a feeling the winner of Gatti/Baldomir would laready have been beaton by the time Hatton becomes available again.

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In WW........
Hatton v. Mayweather, Margarito, Judah, Gatti, Baldomir, Mitchell, or Williams would be PPV

At 140........
Hatton v. Cotto (planning on going to 147 after Malignaggi), Castillo (may be banned), Malignaggi (May be in a coma) ,Casamayor would be PPV

Trust me the money is in Welterweights