Mayweather v Hatton will be the biggest AND best fight of 2007!

[donnydarkoIRL]

For me Israel Vas vs. Rafa 2 gets FOTY...

See Hatton V Magee, Hatton V Tackie, Hatton V Philips.

Hadit been another poster i may have SC'd him already

I agree. In those fights he was tested in different ways and did change up his game to come out on top of those opponents... Lets face it, every fighter has their own strengths and their styles and you don't expect them to change styles that much during a fight... I think he's proved though that he can drop a certain tactic if he find's its not working in his favour in a particular fight.. If a tactic he is using (as straight forward as it may be)is allowing him to feel he's got the upper hand on an opponent, then he's going to stick with that.. So far his style has served him well...
Floyd will test him no doubt and he will have to adapt.. but he'll still be working within his style and working with his strengths.. If they aren't enough in the end, i'm not sure changing styles by a large amount during a fight with such a precision boxer as Floyd would serve him any better.

On ething i feel may aid his cause greatly is the right uppercut he employed in the Castillo and Urango fights to great success...His low left hook is of course his most famed punch but for me, the right uppercut was just as valuable

[bzkfn]

For me Israel Vas vs. Rafa 2 gets FOTY...

I know why you said that, but I guess it depends on what you like. Twas a superb fight, but I loved the Taylor fight because in round 2, I was sure it was over. Taylor looked awesome, and was awesome, but right up until he caught Taylor, I didn't see the KO coming. I had Taylor up on the scorecards at the time, so it made it even more dramatic. I was literally on the edge on my seat throughout.

[donnydarkoIRL]

For me Israel Vas vs. Rafa 2 gets FOTY...

I know why you said that, but I guess it depends on what you like. Twas a superb fight, but I loved the Taylor fight because in round 2, I was sure it was over. Taylor looked awesome, and was awesome, but right up until he caught Taylor, I didn't see the KO coming. I had Taylor up on the scorecards at the time, so it made it even more dramatic. I was literally on the edge on my seat throughout.

Yeah it was one roller coaster of a fight thats for sure!
Pavlik may actually be in strong contention for Fighter of the year, beating both Miranda and Taylor by KO!

[bzkfn]

For me Israel Vas vs. Rafa 2 gets FOTY...

I know why you said that, but I guess it depends on what you like. Twas a superb fight, but I loved the Taylor fight because in round 2, I was sure it was over. Taylor looked awesome, and was awesome, but right up until he caught Taylor, I didn't see the KO coming. I had Taylor up on the scorecards at the time, so it made it even more dramatic. I was literally on the edge on my seat throughout.

Yeah it was one roller coaster of a fight thats for sure!
Pavlik may actually be in strong contention for Fighter of the year, beating both Miranda and Taylor by KO!

If Hatton KO's Mayweather though, it has to be Hatton. He's already the only man to KO Castillo.

[donnydarkoIRL]

Yeah thats a fact!
I'd be on cloud nine for a month if it happens!

[Pugilistic]

i can't wait for this fight.

hope hatton wins big

[yoitsdan]

For me Israel Vas vs. Rafa 2 gets FOTY...

See Hatton V Magee, Hatton V Tackie, Hatton V Philips.

Hadit been another poster i may have SC'd him already

I agree. In those fights he was tested in different ways and did change up his game to come out on top of those opponents... Lets face it, every fighter has their own strengths and their styles and you don't expect them to change styles that much during a fight... I think he's proved though that he can drop a certain tactic if he find's its not working in his favour in a particular fight.. If a tactic he is using (as straight forward as it may be)is allowing him to feel he's got the upper hand on an opponent, then he's going to stick with that.. So far his style has served him well...
Floyd will test him no doubt and he will have to adapt.. but he'll still be working within his style and working with his strengths.. If they aren't enough in the end, i'm not sure changing styles by a large amount during a fight with such a precision boxer as Floyd would serve him any better.

On ething i feel may aid his cause greatly is the right uppercut he employed in the Castillo and Urango fights to great success...His low left hook is of course his most famed punch but for me, the right uppercut was just as valuable

He has a terrific Patterson-esque leaping left hook too which he used to close the gap on Castillo and he also nearly ripped Carlos Maussa's head clean off with. His straight right to the body is wicked too, he stuck that shot into Tszyu many times.

[donnydarkoIRL]

He seems to be concentrating a lot on wide hooks, from what ive seen of his bag work, This may be a good idea against an opponent who moves along the ropes a lot as it will allow Ricky to controlhis movement (the downside being he's open to THAT straight right counter.)

Defensively Ricky seems to have abandoned ducking and weaving in favour of utilising his arms. This may be helpful and certainly it will aid him when moving forward seeking to pin floyd to the ropes

Ricky's power may well win him this fight.

[Dizaster]

I mean, a punch could come from no where like the castillo one and it may be the only punch Floyd doesn't see during that fight but if it connects as well as castillo's then who knows... Watching Floyd drop to his knees in pain/shock and Hatton bouncing up on to the ropes throwing his hands in the air,,, the english crowd going freaking insannnne.... Ahhh the anticipation.. Only a few weeks to go now!

[ICB]

Either way what CANNOT be argued is that if Hatton beats Mayweather, he beat the best Mayweather there has ever been, and vice versa. That's just 1 of the reasons that this is such a great fight. Add into the mix the UK v USA element, Boxer v Slugger, personality clash, ring champs, MGM Grand, demand for tickets, 24/7 etc. It has great fight written all over, it's going to be exciting to see if Mayweather can keep Hatton off, if Hatton can land to the body, if his face holds up, did Mayweather train right or was there too much on his plate? So many questions that will ALL be answered come Dec 8th!

IMO, the best Floyd was 2003-2005 at his more natural weights of 135/140. Unfortunately, he was fighting lower-tier opposition during that time.

Mayweather will win handily, and NO EXCUSES. But the best FMJ is past.

Secondly, this key element in this fight is not "can Mayweather keep Hatton off him?". The key element in this fight is "can Hatton display world-class boxing skills"?

If Hatton can do what Cotto did, he has a very good chance to win. If Hatton can't box with Floyd, he gets embarrassed.

I disagree how is Mayweather past it ?? he made Oscar De La Hoya only landed 21 percent of his punches plus that was at a weight he had never fought at before and as for what Cotto done you honestly think that Hatton will be backing away from Mayweather and countering Mayweather ?? if you do then you are seriously mistaken because if Hatton trys to box with Mayweather he will get a beating pure and simple Hatton isn't stupid he knows he can't outbox Mayweather.

Hatton should swarm Mayweather and use all different angles on inside like he can do Hatton is very good at seeing openings on inside and has punishing body shots plus amazing stamina.

Mayweather should fight a similar gameplan to what he did in 2nd Castillo fight and thats keep the fight in middle of the ring and when Hatton gets him near the ropes he needs to circle Hatton straight away and get the fight back in the middle of the ring Mayweather will need to use his jab aswell sometimes if you have lazy jab you can duck under it and counter with good shot to the ribs but Mayweather never has a lazy jab so it will be very hard for Hatton to counter.

Another thing is that Mayweather has excellent timing so he will be able to time Hatton coming in and counter Hatton with sharp crisp counters.

But like i said earlier Hatton has good angles on the inside and it doesn't matter where he plants his feet he can still land punches at any angle Hatton is also good at getting his whole body into the shot Hatton is a very ferocious man on the inside so Mayweather will not be able to stay on the ropes as much like he did vs Chavez or Castillo in the 1st fight i also would like to see more headmovement from Hatton aswell because against Collazo he had no headmovement and he was a sitting duck.

I think this will be more exciting than people think because Mayweather does his best work when someone is constantly pressuring him and Hatton will keep coming all night long so i expect a good action packed fight

[Mar]

This will either be a great fight or an impressive but boring one sided clinic, i'm not sure which. Either way the winner will be the same.

[donnydarkoIRL]

The best Mayweather is past Ice. Sure he's still miles away from the competition, but as i posted in another thread, he's beginning (like Bernard hopkins) to rely on his guile and expierience rather than his physical ability.
However i do feel this is a factor which has arisen from Floyd's numerous jump in weight, at lower weights, up until lightweight he was incredibly slick and lithe, since moving up toward light welter his body is more mechanical, practised in it's movements.

However this offers little to offer the Hatton fan hope, it merely indicates that Floyd is now drawing on his wealth of expierience from fights and training now in order to win fights.

[ICB]

The best Mayweather is past Ice. Sure he's still miles away from the competition, but as i posted in another thread, he's beginning (like Bernard hopkins) to rely on his guile and expierience rather than his physical ability.
However i do feel this is a factor which has arisen from Floyd's numerous jump in weight, at lower weights, up until lightweight he was incredibly slick and lithe, since moving up toward light welter his body is more mechanical, practised in it's movements.

However this offers little to offer the Hatton fan hope, it merely indicates that Floyd is now drawing on his wealth of expierience from fights and training now in order to win fights.

Its nothing like Bernard Hopkins Mayweather is nowhere near past it if he can outbox Oscar De Le Hoya at a weightclass he has never fought at before and make him only landed 21 percent of his punches he certainly isn't past it yes i know he was better at Superfeatherweight i have watched most of Mayweather's fights and i see him stop guys with 1 shot and he had incredible upper bodymovement and plus he was incredibly slick at that weight but just because he was more effective at Superfeatherweight doesn't mean he is past it he can still beat anyone in his weight range plus he has matured as a fighter.

I would say Hatton has looked more past it in recent fights minus the Castillo fight but that only went 4 rounds

[donnydarkoIRL]

Again Ice i find myself surprised that you are an amaateur boxer yet you answer like this. When you move continuously and stay out of range it is easy not to get hit, and it is no great achievement to stay out of range or move just out of range as an opponent attacks.
You speak as if staying out of trouble alone is enough to warrant the merit of being called a great fighter. Let me pose this question to you Ice, when De la Hoya got close and Mayweather used his shoulder roll defence was it as effective as it had been earlier in his career?

I don't think it was, in fact the reason DLH scored so little was largely as a result of Floyd's superior movement.
I never claimed Floyd was pst it, i incinuated that he is not what he once was, perhaps he went through a stale patch as many great fighters do, perhaps he is feeling the effects of the muscle on his body or perhaps age is beginning to crinkle his physical abilities, i'm not sure, but Floyd is not what he was earlier.

[ICB]

Again Ice i find myself surprised that you are an amaateur boxer yet you answer like this. When you move continuously and stay out of range it is easy not to get hit, and it is no great achievement to stay out of range or move just out of range as an opponent attacks.
You speak as if staying out of trouble alone is enough to warrant the merit of being called a great fighter. Let me pose this question to you Ice, when De la Hoya got close and Mayweather used his shoulder roll defence was it as effective as it had been earlier in his career?

I don't think it was, in fact the reason DLH scored so little was largely as a result of Floyd's superior movement.
I never claimed Floyd was pst it, i incinuated that he is not what he once was, perhaps he went through a stale patch as many great fighters do, perhaps he is feeling the effects of the muscle on his body or perhaps age is beginning to crinkle his physical abilities, i'm not sure, but Floyd is not what he was earlier.

Why are you surprised ?? and you say Mayweather was out of range but infact Oscar De La Hoya got close to Mayweather many times and got him on the ropes plenty of times and yes his shoulder roll defense still worked like a treat because all of Oscar De La Hoya's flurries missed due to Mayweather's shoulder roll defense Oscar would throw about 6 or 8 punches and he would only landed 1 and sometimes 0 Oscar De La Hoya threw alot more punches than Mayweather and he only landed 21 percent that in itself is an amazing achievement making a great boxer like Oscar De La Hoya miss as many times as Mayweather did.

Like i said Hatton has looked more past it than Mayweather.