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FRANK WARREN BREAKS DOWN MAYWEATHER-HATTON.
Frank Warren Breaks Down Mayweather-Hatton
By Mark Vester
In his recent FRANKLY SPEAKING column, promoter Frank Warren seemed to lean towards Floyd Mayweather Jr., giving the opinion that Ricky Hatton is at a disadvantage on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas. Although he wants Hatton to pull it off, he sees a lot of hurdles for Hatton to overcome in the fight.
Warren took a look at Hatton's two biggest wins, over Kostya Tszyu and Jose Luis Castillo, and felt neither of them were going to beat Hatton in the first place. In Tszyu, Warren saw an ageing fighter who there for the taking, and Castillo was a shot fighter looking for an exit.
"Hatton scalped Kostya Tszyu to confirm he belongs with the best, but I always fancied him to win because I felt the Aussie was there to be beaten. Injury prone, ageing and inactive, Tszyu was always vulnerable against a fighter who could fight on the inside with a high work rate. He was made for Hatton," Warren said. "That was probably Hatton's last really good showing, Ricky himself said prior to the Castillo fight his performances were well below par as he failed to look the part when he beat Juan Urango, Luis Collazo and Carlos Maussa in three consecutive world title fights for three different belts. And while everyone is raving about his last win, over former world lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo, he was a shot fighter. Hatton caught him with a great body shot, but Castillo definitely looked for a way out."
Warren says Mayweather is the first world class fighter, currently in their prime, that Hatton has faced in his entire career. If Hatton is not up in the fight by the sixth-round, Warren says he'll be in trouble.
"The Hitman won't find things so easy against Mayweather, the first world class fighter in his "prime" that he has faced. Unless he has a lot of movement when he comes forward, he'll get picked off by the Pretty Boy, who is an excellent sharp-shooter with lightning fast hands and footwork. And I've noticed recently that Hatton tends to hit and hold when he's on the inside, rather than really let the punches go as he used to," Warren said. "Will that work against Mayweather? Unless he jumps on him in the first three or four rounds and really dominates, he'll find himself being out-boxed and completely out of the fight. This isn't a contest that Hatton will come into late on - if he isn't on top by the sixth, he's in trouble."
Hatton is ready to work Mayweather's body, but Warren feels Hatton is the one who is more prone to body punishment and thinks the welterweight limit of 147 will come into play. If not for the big payday, Warren doesn't think Hatton would have moved up to 147.
"The American has been a welterweight for the last two years, and is comfortable at 147 pounds, so much so that he even went up to light-middleweight to tackle Oscar De La Hoya. And despite Hatton's struggle to make 140 pounds, he is only really a light-welterweight. Those extra seven pounds could make a hell of a difference. I offered to make Hatton-Mayweather when Floyd was still a light-welterweight and Ricky was promoted by me, but it was turned down," Warren said. "After the Collazo fight Hatton's trainer, Billy Graham, said he was against the fight and has always said that he would never allow Hatton to fight against a genuine welterweight, but is happy to let him face Mayweather because he started out at 130 pounds. But let's get real, how can you compare Collazo with Mayweather? And Mayweather's not been a super-featherweight for six years, and he's boxed at welterweight since stopping Sharmba Mitchell in November 2005. Win, lose or draw, Hatton is still a light-welter."
"The real reason he's stepping up? Because he's going to get paid big money, the same reason why he was prepared to walk away from promoter Dennis Hobson and allow De La Hoya's Golden Boy to promote the fight. Mayweather is a hurtful puncher who can also take a good shot, and although both boxers have been down before, I think Hatton may be the more vulnerable of the two, especially to the body."
Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingscene@hotmail.com
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Originally Posted by Fenster
Same from me mate cc if Mayweather wins my sig changes for 6 months I think.
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