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

[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

[smashcrusher]

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

Typical Hatton fanatic crap.

[killersheep]

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

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

[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!

How would fighting Sharmba Mitchell be worse?

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.

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.................

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

[BoomBoom]

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

[p4pking]

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!

How would fighting Sharmba Mitchell be worse?

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.

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.................

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

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.

[ross]

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.

Not all of those were direct rematches though

[ross]

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

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

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.

[ross]

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!

How would fighting Sharmba Mitchell be worse?

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.

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.................

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

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.

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

[The Whirlwind]

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

Har har Good call and a cool click for you sir. 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 ) 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.

[El Gamo]

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.

[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.

[7777]

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.

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

[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.

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

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.

[squealpiggy]

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.