Quote Originally Posted by meowza
Quote Originally Posted by DaxxKahn
There was a time I thought this would be a good bout but....that was then and this was now...IMO Floyd has improved while Ricky has gone down hill with his hit and hold
Yup!
About a year and a half ago, I would've given my left arm to see this fight.
Now, I don't even see this one being close.
Ricky's fans are always quick to jump to his defense with,
"It's hard to look good against a guy like Urango! It's hard to look good against a guy like Collazo! It's hard to look good against awkward Maussa!"
And when Floyd goes out and looks good in his fights, all of a sudden he's fighting nobodies.
So basically, it's okay to look bad against good fighters, but it's not okay to look good against good fighters? Does not compute.
I like Ricky and I do respect him for what he does in the ring. He beat KT and I take nothing away from that. But when you read about him from his fans, you come to expect him to be this all-out bull who doesn't stop pressing his opponent.
He had one big win over KT, he ran over low level competition early in his career, and he grabs and holds his way to victory when he steps up. Is that accurate?
Where are his big explosive fights? I've seen about a dozen Ricky fights. Did I happen to coincidentally tune in to the 12 times he had an off night and all the other times I've missed him he's an intense bull?
Unfortunately I agree. Which is extremely disappointing because Hatton looked so damn good against Tszyu. Maybe he can have a revival against Castillo. Don't get me wrong, he looked damn good for 5 rounds. Never before had Hatton been in and out like he was in this fight. Typically the battle is just getting inside and maintaining control on the inside as was the case with Collazo. But he showed a whole nother dimension in the first 4 rounds. He was getting in and out landing combinations without being touched.

He looked to be reviving some talks for a Floyd fight but then he got hurt and started throwing one punch at a time. But I have a feeling he is going to look spectacular against Castillo. Let's say for arguments sake he looks exactly like he did against Tszyu. Here's then what I would think of the fight.

1. The fight has to be at 140. Floyd has said that he wants to dominate 3 weight divisions in 140, 147 and 154. He should make 140 fine and that's where the fight happens for Hatton to have a shot. Maybe even at a catch weight like 143 but 147 is straying to far for Hatton.

2. Hatton is as good at cutting off the ring as anybody in boxing is. If the two fought, no doubt would Hatton have plenty of opportunities to get Floyd on the ropes. And if he is active on the inside he can make then he could catch Floyd. Especially to the body. He's a fighter made for the inside. He throws very hooks, a lot of guys open up and fly their shoulder out when throwing the left hook leaving them open for the right hand. Hatton doesn't do that it's one of his biggest strengths and honestly, on the inside Hatton is hard to catch flush. When he's hit it's usually from the outside.

3. The problem is getting Floyd on the inside and keeping him there. Well, 1 way to do it is to work the body. Against Judah, Floyd gave up the body on the ropes. Judah didn't take it. Now no doubt he would change it up for Hatton but Hatton could still try. It's worth a shot. Maybe he could get lucky and Floyd crumbles under a sustained body attack. It requires a substantial amount of luck to beat Mayweather at this point, but if there is one thing we don't know about him it's how he reacts to a good body attack. Maybe he turns sluggish? Who knows but if anybody has the capability to find out it's Hatton in top form at 140 or Cotto.

Just a few thoughts. I really wish this fight happened somehow a year ago. Even though Hatton said he wanted 3 fights before facing Floyd, the Hatton that beat Tszyu would make for a hell of a fight imo. Busy fighter who cut off the ring beautifully and forced Tszyu to bang it out on the inside.

But I think Mayweather would win a rather unanimous decision. Hatton would have his moments though.