Hatton: Still on the Rise or on the Decline?

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=8363&more=1

26.09.06 - By Neil Thompson: 2006 has been a mixed year for Ricky Hatton. On one hand he has become a 2-weight world champion, secured a contract with HBO and continued his unbeaten run. Whilst on the other hand his reputation took a bit of a dent when Luis Collazo was a whisker away from beating the ‘Hitman’. Not only was Ricky almost beaten in Boston but also he has fought only once in 2006 and failed to get a fight with any other elite P4P fighter.

Ricky Hatton is at the crossroads in his career. During a meteoric rise through the junior welterweight division he looked unstoppable with victories over Ben Tackie, Eamon McGee, Ray Oliveira, Micheal Steward, Vince Philips, Mikhail Kripolapov and Freddie Pendleton. Impressive victories such as these earned Hatton a shot at the Australian/Russian legend and linear world champion Kostya Tyszu. Having wiped out Sharmba Mitchell only a few months before, Kostya was a big betting favourite with fans, bookies and sports writers alike.

On 4th June 2005, I attended the fight at the M.E.N Arena and witnessed Hatton outwork, out fight and out-punch Tyszu into submission. This proved what Ricky Hatton fans already knew, that Ricky was the real deal and not the over-hyped and over protected fighter that the ‘haters’ would have you believe.

In November the same year Ricky added the WBA version of the title to the IBF and Ring Championship belts already in his possession, He did this by impressively beating Carlos Maussa. This Colombian fighter was tough, awkward and heavy-handed. He had also previously shocked the boxing world by destroying the respected champ Vivian Harris. When the two champions squared off Hatton got off to a nightmare start by getting cut over both eyes, yet he stayed focused and calm to win every round before flattening Maussa in the 9th. Hatton’s performance may not have shown outstanding boxing skills in beating Maussa, like Miguel Cotto did when beating him, but having won every round, fighting through two badly cut eyes and knocking the Colombian clean out, Ricky’s performance was still superior to the Puerto Rican power puncher.

Ricky had now captured two versions of the 140 lb world championship as well as the even more prestigious ‘Ring Championship belt’. Also, he had made it into most peoples ‘pound for pound’ lists. Only the ‘haters’, jealous of his huge mainstream popularity (which other P4P fighters can only dream about) refused to give Hatton the recognition he deserved. To cap-off a fine year the respected ‘Ring magazine’ made Hatton the ‘Fighter of the Year’ which no British fighter had ever received before.

Ricky’s next assignment would be a move up in weight to challenge for the WBA welterweight title against the unheralded and virtually unknown Luis Collazo. Most Hatton fans thought this would be a walkover yet Hatton was given the fight of his life. Although Hatton gained the decision over 12 hard rounds, many people thought Collazo did just enough to win. Having read many different fight reports and examining the comments left on Eastside Boxing, it appeared the boxing community was split 50 – 50 on who actually deserved the win. I myself had it very, very close and could have gone either way. The fight was too close to be called a ‘robbery’ but I have to admit had it not been for the first round knockdown Collazo would of won.

Hatton did not look good against Collazo, the head movement was missing, and he struggled with Collazo southpaw stance, his height, his strength and his workrate. For the first time in Ricky’s career he was competing with a fighter who could match his own workrate and a fighter he could not dominate as he did to everyone of his opponents at the lower weight class. More alarmingly, Hatton’s technique seemed to have gone backwards. Collazo hit Ricky with every punch in the book and almost stopped him in the last round. How much of this was due to Collazo’s southpaw stance and his ability not be dominated by Hatton’s strength and style I’m not sure. Thankfully Hatton has decided to compete back down at junior welterweight (140 lb). In hindsight he should have stayed there in the first place.

So now he’s lined up to win back his own IBF 140 title against Urango, a fight that should be well within Hatton’s ability to win. Unfortunately this will not be happening until January 2007 which means Hatton has only fought once in 2006. For a fighter who blows up in weight in-between fights, this is not a good sign. If Hatton is successful a super-fight with Jose Luis Castillo is in the works. Hatton and Castillo will apparently share the same bill in January and face each other in the summer. Castillo is a huge test for Hatton, the biggest since his win over Tyszu. Can Hatton put on that kind of performance outside of Britain? Well time will tell. Personally I think it’s a fight Hatton can win as Castillo is made for Hatton, but on the other hand Hatton is made for Castillo. This makes a Hatton v Castillo fight a very intriguing contest. This of cause will leave the newly crowned WBC champ, Junior Witter out in the cold. However, Witter has to understand that Castillo is a bigger name than himself and the Urango fight was arranged before Witter beat Corley. Although a Hatton-Witter fight would be huge in the UK, it wouldn’t have the same appeal on a global scale. Hatton-Castillo is the bigger fight and must take priority.

Whilst I’m on the subject of Junior Witter, I don’t feel Ricky Hatton has too much to worry about. Witter has a similar counter punching style to Kostya Tyszu. Just like Tyszu I don’t feel Witter could handle Hatton’s workrate, fitness and aggression. Witter’s stamina has looked suspect in the past and he hasn’t looked impressive in a long time. Don’t get me wrong, Witter is world class but Hatton is simply better.

Looking to the future, I really hope 2007 is a better year for Ricky Hatton fans than 2006 was. Hatton fighting only once in 2006 has me worried. Is he loosing his drive and ambition? Will this inactivity hamper any future success? Many experts feel a fighter like Ricky needs to fight more regularly, I agree.

In 2007 I expect a dominant performance against Urango, Once that’s out of the way we should get a summer superfight against Castillo. If Hatton comes through that tough fight a unification contest with Junior Witter would give us British fans a night to remember.

Whatever the future holds for Hatton, he needs the big fights to happen as soon as possible. History tells us that most fighters with Hatton’s type of aggressive, offensive all action style do not have a long career. Fighters like Barry McGuighan, Ray Mancini, Mike Tyson, Paul Hodgekinson etc all seem to peak early and burn out by the time they reach 30. Hopefully, the Collazo fight is not an indication that Hatton’s decline has already set in. I do believe Ricky can continue to mix it with the elite for another couple of years. As a Ricky Hatton fan myself, I hope we see the real Ricky Hatton back in 2007.

Thanks for the read ! El Gamo, CC as always ! .

Hatton is on the rise , even if he were falling down ;)! The guy is a thrill ride, and brings it, I have lots of respect for this fighter ! He will always risk losing to win, and will always Thrill the crowd. win or lose.. Thats when you know you have a great fighter, even in defeat, Ricky would show so much heart and determination that he wouldn't lose anything . O0

CC'ed you today,owe you in 24 bro. I agree,Hatton is an exciting fighter but this year has been a HUGE decline compared to last year where he was fighter of the year. What happened to the activity? Poor management too,1 fight at 147 and then back down again?? 2007 will be better though with Urango( a title) and JLC in a mega fight then maybe Corrales or another big name in 2007? That would make up for this year!

tbh if hatton fights castillo and corrales what is he proving? that he can brush up the lightweights as well as the lightwelters? hatton should show some balls and offer cotto out at 147 he knows its right and he was complaing about maturing into 147.........well this is his chance........there is nothing for him at lightwelter except keeping his undeafted record and this is a sign of not showing balls. imo hatton should stay at 147 fight fight luiz and see him off and look for cotto and maybe this could lead to floyd......this was hattons aim and tbh he should go for it.

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Originally Posted by Tam Seddon

tbh if hatton fights castillo and corrales what is he proving? that he can brush up the lightweights as well as the lightwelters? hatton should show some balls and offer cotto out at 147 he knows its right and he was complaing about maturing into 147.........well this is his chance........there is nothing for him at lightwelter except keeping his undeafted record and this is a sign of not showing balls. imo hatton should stay at 147 fight fight luiz and see him off and look for cotto and maybe this could lead to floyd......this was hattons aim and tbh he should go for it.

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Very interesting way of looking at it,Cc.Nice! Hmmm,very true,Hatton should have stayed at 147,I mean the excuse used is that he only had 7 weeks to train,why not train longer and prove he can beat Collazo more covincingly? I hope Cotto never comes back to 147,he was hurting himself and Floyd coming back to 140 is probably highly unlikely too!

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Originally Posted by Tam Seddon

tbh if hatton fight castillo and corrales what is he proving? that he can brush up the lightweights as well as the lightwelters? hatton should show some balls and offer cotto out at 147 he knows its right and he was complaing about maturing into 147.........well this is his chance........there is nothing for him at lightwelter except keeping his undeafted record and this is a sign of not showing balls. imo hatton should stay at 147 fight fight luiz and see him off and look for cotto and maybe this could lead to floyd......this was hattons aim and tbh he should go for it.

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To many big tall Welterweights like Margarito and Paul Williams, It's got nothing to do with lack of balls ,Ricky is like a pitbull when that bell rings . Hatton is one of the ballsier fighters out there, How can you say he does not have balls? .. the lad is short 5"5 and belongs in this Jr welterweight Division, can't change the size ,height god created .. Ricky is not in "true boxing condition "at 147, he is right on at 140 . I commend him and his team for realizing this, and staying at the weight where he belongs at. Why climb in against bigger stronger taller opposition ? 6'1 Paul Williams. 5"11 Margarito.. Even Floyd is 5'8 5'9 . Its like saying Kostya Tszyu had no balls because he stayed at his correct weight? don't make any sense to me at all ?

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Originally Posted by El Gamo

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Originally Posted by Tam Seddon

tbh if hatton fights castillo and corrales what is he proving? that he can brush up the lightweights as well as the lightwelters? hatton should show some balls and offer cotto out at 147 he knows its right and he was complaing about maturing into 147.........well this is his chance........there is nothing for him at lightwelter except keeping his undeafted record and this is a sign of not showing balls. imo hatton should stay at 147 fight fight luiz and see him off and look for cotto and maybe this could lead to floyd......this was hattons aim and tbh he should go for it.

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Very interesting way of looking at it,Cc.Nice! Hmmm,very true,Hatton should have stayed at 147,I mean the excuse used is that he only had 7 weeks to train,why not train longer and prove he can beat Collazo more covincingly? I hope Cotto never comes back to 147,he was hurting himself and Floyd coming back to 140 is probably highly unlikely too!

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The thing hatton has now is that if he goes to light welter which is......he is going to be the favourite to rule the devison when you look at is this way

WBC-Junior Witter..............i do think this will be a good BRITISH fight.....but it wont do much for hatton on the world title front. people will look at hatton is weaker if anything.

WBA- Souleymane M'baye..................wont do anyting but just put another W on hattons record.....we know hatton will win and what does he prove with this fight? another world title.... :laugh: :laugh: >:mad


IBF-Juan Urango- same goes for this guy!

WBO- If cotto is fighting for the WBA belt he will vacate this one so it will proably be sum bum who will pick it up..........hatton if all goes to he lightwelter plan will bag this one.



so i really do think going to light welter will do noat for hatton. look at the welter champs......MUCH BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!! he needs to get a fight against somebody like luiz beat him easily and move on to a bigger name like Paul williams an undeafted prospect...hatton must think to himself this is the right track he should go down it and be a real man

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Originally Posted by Lords Gym

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Originally Posted by Tam Seddon

tbh if hatton fight castillo and corrales what is he proving? that he can brush up the lightweights as well as the lightwelters? hatton should show some balls and offer cotto out at 147 he knows its right and he was complaing about maturing into 147.........well this is his chance........there is nothing for him at lightwelter except keeping his undeafted record and this is a sign of not showing balls. imo hatton should stay at 147 fight fight luiz and see him off and look for cotto and maybe this could lead to floyd......this was hattons aim and tbh he should go for it.

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To many big tall Welterweights like Margarito and Paul Williams, It's got nothing to do with lack of balls ,Ricky is like a pitbull when that bell rings . Hatton is one of the ballsier fighters out there, How can you say he does not have balls? .. the lad is short 5"5 and belongs in this Jr welterweight Division, can't change the and size ,height god created .. Ricky is not in "true boxing condition "at 147, he is right on at 140 . I commend him and his team for realizing this, and staying at the weight where he belongs at. Why climb in against bigger stronger taller opposition ? 6'1 Paul Williams. 5"11 Margarito.. Even Floyd is 5'8 5'9 . Its like saying Kostya Tszyu had no balls because he stayed at his correct weight? don't make any sense to me at all ?

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having fighting balls in the ring is totally differnent to having them out of the ring....hatton has got nothing to prove at 140 he may as well give his all at 147 and atleast try and dominate. what does he prove at 140 when you think about it??

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Originally Posted by Tam Seddon

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Originally Posted by Lords Gym

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Originally Posted by Tam Seddon

tbh if hatton fight castillo and corrales what is he proving? that he can brush up the lightweights as well as the lightwelters? hatton should show some balls and offer cotto out at 147 he knows its right and he was complaing about maturing into 147.........well this is his chance........there is nothing for him at lightwelter except keeping his undeafted record and this is a sign of not showing balls. imo hatton should stay at 147 fight fight luiz and see him off and look for cotto and maybe this could lead to floyd......this was hattons aim and tbh he should go for it.

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To many big tall Welterweights like Margarito and Paul Williams, It's got nothing to do with lack of balls ,Ricky is like a pitbull when that bell rings . Hatton is one of the ballsier fighters out there, How can you say he does not have balls? .. the lad is short 5"5 and belongs in this Jr welterweight Division, can't change the and size ,height god created .. Ricky is not in "true boxing condition "at 147, he is right on at 140 . I commend him and his team for realizing this, and staying at the weight where he belongs at. Why climb in against bigger stronger taller opposition ? 6'1 Paul Williams. 5"11 Margarito.. Even Floyd is 5'8 5'9 . Its like saying Kostya Tszyu had no balls because he stayed at his correct weight? don't make any sense to me at all ?

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having fighting balls in the ring is totally differnent to having them out of the ring....hatton has got nothing to prove at 140 he may as well give his all at 147 and atleast try and dominate. what does he prove at 140 when you think about it??

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Having balls in the ring is what matters tho, Hatton is the most exciting Jr. welterweight going, He beat one of the best Jr. Welterweight champions ever in Kostya Tszyu, , Ricky has nothing to prove to anyone in my opinion, he has done that already . i feel 140 has lots of good fighters in there, how can you discredit the whole division like that.. this ain't the heavyweights mate ! ;)

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Originally Posted by Lords Gym

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Originally Posted by Tam Seddon

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Originally Posted by Lords Gym

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Originally Posted by Tam Seddon

tbh if hatton fight castillo and corrales what is he proving? that he can brush up the lightweights as well as the lightwelters? hatton should show some balls and offer cotto out at 147 he knows its right and he was complaing about maturing into 147.........well this is his chance........there is nothing for him at lightwelter except keeping his undeafted record and this is a sign of not showing balls. imo hatton should stay at 147 fight fight luiz and see him off and look for cotto and maybe this could lead to floyd......this was hattons aim and tbh he should go for it.

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To many big tall Welterweights like Margarito and Paul Williams, It's got nothing to do with lack of balls ,Ricky is like a pitbull when that bell rings . Hatton is one of the ballsier fighters out there,  How can you say he does not have balls? .. the lad is short 5"5 and belongs in this Jr welterweight Division,  can't change the and size ,height god created .. Ricky is not in "true boxing condition "at 147, he is right on at 140 . I commend him and his team for realizing this,  and staying at the weight where he belongs at.  Why climb in against bigger stronger taller opposition ?  6'1 Paul Williams. 5"11 Margarito.. Even Floyd is 5'8 5'9  .   Its like saying Kostya Tszyu had no balls because he stayed at his correct weight?  don't make any sense to me at all ?

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having fighting balls in the ring is totally differnent to having them out of the ring....hatton has got nothing to prove at 140 he may as well give his all at 147 and atleast try and dominate. what does he prove at 140 when you think about it??

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Having balls in the ring is what matters tho, Hatton is the most exciting Jr. welterweight going, He  beat one of the  best Jr. Welterweight champions ever in Kostya Tszyu,  , Ricky has nothing to prove to anyone in my opinion, he has done that already . i feel 140 has lots of good fighters in there, how can you discredit the whole division like that.. this ain't the heavyweights mate !  ;)

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i know the fighters are good...........imo any boxer is good...but you have to look at what is better.........the welter devison is better and hatton imo can do things in this devison as well as the light welters......beating tszyu and now that cotto and mayweather leaft therefore means he aint got much else to prove...so by going to welter he can prove he is the best by fighting the best and he can only do that by staying at 147.

enjoyed the chat Tam Seddon ! Cool click Brother O0

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Originally Posted by Lords Gym

enjoyed the chat Tam Seddon ! Cool click Brother O0

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me 2 mate cc you buti really do hold this opinion high about hatton staying at 147...........going at 140 is the wrong thing imo

kostya Tszyu stayed at 140lb and became a legend, No one said he has no balls for staying there, Why is hatton getting slated for going back to his NATURAL weight?

Yes the better opponents seem to be at welter at the minute but tell me this:

If you are the best at your job and getting paid 'VERY WELL' for it, would you give it up and try a new job which is harder on you phsyically (due to your body shape) just because people say you have no balls if you dont???

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Originally Posted by RHHatton

kostya Tszyu stayed at 140lb and became a legend, No one said he has no balls for staying there, Why is hatton getting slated for going back to his NATURAL weight?

Yes the better opponents seem to be at welter at the minute but tell me this:

If you are the best at your job and getting paid 'VERY WELL' for it, would you give it up and try a new job which is harder on you phsyically (due to your body shape) just because people say you have no balls if you dont???

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If somebody told me you will be remember as a BRITISH legend for staying at welter and my name would be rememberd as being the man who is fighting above his limit i would say yes and take it. hatton will be rememerd as the guy who stayed at light welter and didnt want to prove himself as the guy who wanted to fight at a higher weight class. or he could stay there and be the guy who fought at welter and is a chamion...............look at it like that!

or you could look at it like this..................hatton goes to light welter and dominates the devison which is fair enough.......he eventually cant make light welter and has to go to 147...........by this time nobody will be fighting at 147 they will be at light middle! what does hatton do now? domintate the welters? and fight nobody but bums to do it?

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Originally Posted by Lords Gym

To many big tall Welterweights like Margarito and Paul Williams, It's got nothing to do with lack of balls ,Ricky is like a pitbull when that bell rings . Hatton is one of the ballsier fighters out there, How can you say he does not have balls? .. the lad is short 5"5 and belongs in this Jr welterweight Division, can't change the size ,height god created .. Ricky is not in "true boxing condition "at 147, he is right on at 140 . I commend him and his team for realizing this, and staying at the weight where he belongs at. Why climb in against bigger stronger taller opposition ? 6'1 Paul Williams. 5"11 Margarito.. Even Floyd is 5'8 5'9 . Its like saying Kostya Tszyu had no balls because he stayed at his correct weight? don't make any sense to me at all ?

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Was just about to post the same thing

Some fighters are suited to a weight - Billy Graham has said his optimum weight is light welter therefore he stays at Light Welter.

As for JLC, hardly a Lightweight now is he :D

KT never moved and he is a future hall of famer

Ricky will move up for the right fights

Cotto can't be made beacuse Arum wants him in with Castillo and he has already said he would move back up for Floyd

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Originally Posted by 7777

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Originally Posted by Lords Gym

To many big tall Welterweights like Margarito and Paul Williams, It's got nothing to do with lack of balls ,Ricky is like a pitbull when that bell rings . Hatton is one of the ballsier fighters out there, How can you say he does not have balls? .. the lad is short 5"5 and belongs in this Jr welterweight Division, can't change the size ,height god created .. Ricky is not in "true boxing condition "at 147, he is right on at 140 . I commend him and his team for realizing this, and staying at the weight where he belongs at. Why climb in against bigger stronger taller opposition ? 6'1 Paul Williams. 5"11 Margarito.. Even Floyd is 5'8 5'9 . Its like saying Kostya Tszyu had no balls because he stayed at his correct weight? don't make any sense to me at all ?

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Was just about to post the same thing

Some fighters are suited to a weight - Billy Graham has said his optimum weight is light welter therefore he stays at Light Welter.

As for JLC, hardly a Lightweight now is he :D

KT never moved and he is a future hall of famer

Ricky will move up for the right fights

Cotto can't be made beacuse Arum wants him in with Castillo and he has already said he would move back up for Floyd

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he can say that all he wants but the fights hatton NEEDS are at 147 and cum on every1 must know that

Now many of you said that Ricky would be bigger & better at welterweight but he wasn't even close! I agree, the man has heart but lacks the skill to compete at 147, cuz they can box better & hit harder!

Fight JLC & Chico is a good idea but you have to realize they are smaller fighters so all in all what does that prove? To me it tells me that he can't beat no one that is bigger than him which many of the great fighters have done for years!

But still Hatton will do great at jr. welter

All I know is, if Ricky can't move up 7 pounds and make some noise, he should be removed from all Pound for Pound lists. He is not a true top pound for pound fighter like Mayweather.

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Originally Posted by NorthSideX4

But still Hatton will do great at jr. welter

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we know he will do well thats the hole point he will do to well. in ways people are trying to make hatton sound crap but he isnt he can cope with 147 imo he just needs to mature into the weight.........those were his own words he said colloza has had years i had 7 weeks...well he has time now!

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Originally Posted by NorthSideX4

Now many of you said that Ricky would be bigger & better at welterweight but he wasn't even close! I agree, the man has heart but lacks the skill to compete at 147, cuz they can box better & hit harder!

Fight JLC & Chico is a good idea but you have to realize they are smaller fighters so all in all what does that prove? To me it tells me that he can't beat no one that is bigger than him which many of the great fighters have done for years!

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Dude JLC is 5"8 and Corrales is 5"11 whereas Hatton is 5"6. Doesnt seem smaller to me .....

Anyone ever heard of a 5"6 man doing great at welter, only one i can think of is Duran and hes still 5"7

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Originally Posted by bgordon

All I know is, if Ricky can't move up 7 pounds and make some noise, he should be removed from all Pound for Pound lists. He is not a true top pound for pound fighter like Mayweather.

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I disagree,staying at one weight and beating the main guys there(which Hatton MAY do) is just as impressive as moving up. Calzaghe,Hopkins until recently,Rafael Marquez etc are all P4P fighters who have had most of their success at one weight. Just my opinion,obviously everyone has their own criteria for P4P.

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Originally Posted by Tam Seddon

or you could look at it like this..................hatton goes to light welter and dominates the devison which is fair enough.......he eventually cant make light welter and has to go to 147...........by this time nobody will be fighting at 147 they will be at light middle! what does hatton do now? domintate the welters? and fight nobody but bums to do it?

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Tam,
for sake of this discussion lets name a few guys at 147 and tell me what your opinion is on how Hatton would fare against those guys

CARLOS BALDOMIR
FLOYD MAYWEATHER
ANTONIO MARGARITO
ZAB JUDAH
LUIS COLLAZO (REMATCH)
KERMIT CINTRON
OKTAY URKAL
ARTURO GATTI
PAUL WILLIAMS
CARLOS QUINTANA
MIGUEL COTTO
SHANE MOSELY

JUST TO NAME A FEW
INTERESTED TO SEE YOU FEEDBACK

may take a long time but ill do it ;)

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Originally Posted by JT Rock

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Originally Posted by Tam Seddon

or you could look at it like this..................hatton goes to light welter and dominates the devison which is fair enough.......he eventually cant make light welter and has to go to 147...........by this time nobody will be fighting at 147 they will be at light middle! what does hatton do now? domintate the welters? and fight nobody but bums to do it?

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Tam,
for sake of this discussion lets name a few guys at 147 and tell me what your opinion is on how Hatton would fare against those guys

CARLOS BALDOMIR
FLOYD MAYWEATHER
ANTONIO MARGARITO
ZAB JUDAH
LUIS COLLAZO (REMATCH)
KERMIT CINTRON
OKTAY URKAL
ARTURO GATTI
PAUL WILLIAMS
CARLOS QUINTANA
MIGUEL COTTO
SHANE MOSELY

JUST TO NAME A FEW
INTERESTED TO SEE YOU FEEDBACK

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Carlos Baldo..........and can definately see this one going the distance no doubt in that one. hatton will have to come up with something to take on baldo cos as we do no he aint exactly floyd and he is a bit 1D so he will have to do something different and be the guy throwing the punches dictating the pace. if he gets below on the punch rate and if hatton is 1D i dont see hatton doing much. this will be a good fight but i really could see hatton winning on points.

Floyd mayweather this is one i aint to sure about hatton i really do think he will get in trouble and be outpointed. he would have to throw that left body shot like no other and try and stop floyd cos i really do not think he can match him...his superior fighting skills may be a bit to much for him. but hatton being the underdog may suit him............i DONT think hatton would win this one.


Antonio Margarito.......this would be a war and a test of who wants it more. Balls would be something, if hatton can show he can take his punches and throw back this could go either way. i do think tony has got more power being the bigger man but if hatton can get in side him and penetrate his high guard and hit that body we could really see a good fight here.

Zab Judah............ depending on how zab judah shows up to this one can mean alot.if focused zab turns up hatton will have to be on his toes and expect to be throwing alot of punches. if hatton gets his tactics right and keeps to his game plan i could see hatton winning this one on points. but the way judah turns up for the fight will mean alot. but i do feel that hatton could surely take out judah.

Luiz Collazo...............really do feel a more focused hatton would turn up to this one and not let luiz fall into a way he wants to fight getting inside him and keeping a higher guard and not getting hit with anything silly i do think it would be another hatton UD.....dont forget JT he still did win the last fight!

Kermit Cintron.............. i have not seen him fight so i cant comment on this one!

Oktay Urkal................. he is old and not done anything at welter i can see hattons shots really hurting this guy and him getting tko'd

Arturo Gatti................. Hatton would have to expect another war here but its not anything he has to worry about. good combos against gatti would slow him down. i do think hatton would have to bare that one in mind cos the big singles would not do much against him. Gatti is getting old he aint looking the same he use to be and maybe this could lead to a hatton tkoing him. hatton would be able to take gattis punches i think.

Paul Williams..........TOUGH one for hatton. he would have one thing to do in this fight throw ALOT of punches or get KTFO!!!!!!!!! paul is far to tall for hatton and hatton would have no choice but to get inside him and throw alot to his body. the conditoning of williams will be vital in this fight..but if he uses those long arms hattons gona be in trouble. this would be one of the hardest fights hatton would face. but if he gets inside well keeps his guard up and is always throwing and clinching and muscleing this guy we could see maybe a tko.but i do no fancy hatton in this one tbh!

Carlos Quintana............ i have not seen him fight so i cant comment.

Miguel Cotto................Another war! hatton would have to get inside him again and it will a case of who wants it more again. Miguel i think would be the stronger guy but its nothing hatton cant handle. this could go either way with competitve rounds and who ever has got the better conditing and determination to win and wants keep there record will have to do alot of work for this one. could go either way i think.

Shane Mosley.............he is getting old but i dont think this would stop him. but would getting to 147 be a problem for him? maybe he would lose alot of power i am not to sure... i do favour shane in this one...purely because of experience..but hatton could still cause him problems and he would have to be on his toes all nite.



JT by reading this you can see that the fights hatton would have would be exciting and not boring......if hatton stays at 140 he would beat every1 and you know that! but if he stays at 147 he can have these fights and set himself a challenge...as i was saying before about how will we rememeber hatton? if he fights at 147 and fights those fights me persoanlly will think he is hungry and looking to beat the best and if he goes to 140 i would think fair enough wants to be a champ undeafted champ prove his point.......but ill think to myself what if hatton stayted at 147 fought those harder fights showed he was the man took on baldo gatti etc and this would lead to floyd! that is what hatton wants and he aint gona get it at 140! the MEGA fights he said he wanted are not at 140! there at 147! this wll take america by surprise and the anly way he is gona conquer if he goes down the 147 route........................ ;D

i was enjoying this topic ;D

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Originally Posted by bgordon

All I know is, if Ricky can't move up 7 pounds and make some noise, he should be removed from all Pound for Pound lists. He is not a true top pound for pound fighter like Mayweather.

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Well its about styles. Mayweather can do what he likes, cos he's that good. Nobody on here is saying hatton is a better boxer than floyd. But hatton's style only allows him to be competitive against opponents that are roundabout the same size. He uses a very aggressive bullying style. U never see the bully at primary school, pushing around the bullies at high school now do ya!!!!! The truth is, his style will not be effective against the likes of margarito and williams simply because they are too big. I'd do the same as hatton, i'd stay down at light welter and fight the big name fighters such as Corrales, castillo and cotto (if it happens at 140), then risk losing his '0' against lesser known bigger fighters such as margarito and williams. Nobody outside of hardcore boxing fans know anything about williams or margarito. The only fight he should move up to 147 is mayweather.

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Originally Posted by Tam Seddon

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Originally Posted by RHHatton

kostya Tszyu stayed at 140lb and became a legend, No one said he has no balls for staying there, Why is hatton getting slated for going back to his NATURAL weight?

Yes the better opponents seem to be at welter at the minute but tell me this:

If you are the best at your job and getting paid 'VERY WELL' for it, would you give it up and try a new job which is harder on you phsyically (due to your body shape) just because people say you have no balls if you dont???

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If somebody told me you will be remember as a BRITISH legend for staying at welter and my name would be rememberd as being the man who is fighting above his limit i would say yes and take it. hatton will be rememerd as the guy who stayed at light welter and didnt want to prove himself as the guy who wanted to fight at a higher weight class. or he could stay there and be the guy who fought at welter and is a chamion...............look at it like that!

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i can see your point of view but after careers are finished not a lot of people look at it like that, i mean b4 bhop done his light heavy miracle no 1 was saying he would of been better if he had moved up a division,

any ways cant be bothered to elabourate on that, i think hattons career isnt on the decline or on the rise i think its stalled some wot, hes gonna stay dead middle til nxt year where i feel hel prove his worth, getting corrales n castillios scalps is a an achievement, i dont care if there coming up from light weight, i know hatton has been inactive and only had 1 fight at welter, but he only took that fight because juan lazcano pulled out, he never had any intention of staying there [unless floyd fight was sorted], things will happen for him [win or lose] hes only gonna get bigger [no not his belly, or chubby face] i mean his career.

Haven't read the other posts yet - but in reply to the thread title......

He's had 1 mediocre performance in 40 and hardly ever lost a round, so can't really say he's on decline!!

I would say his career is in need of a boost. And its true that a move back down to 140 might not provide that instant spark of fame or revenue or what ever.... But the truth is, Hatton is a light welterweight and nothing more. This isnt a detraction from his stock or ability as a fighter. Im just underlining the fact that what Ricky Hatton does in the ring, works best at 140.

So im assuming that longevity is the agenda for hatton and is the reason he backed away from the real Welters.

In all honesty im not overlly excited about Hattons decision but i understand and fully agree with it.