Quote Originally Posted by Dark Lord Al View Post
I am very interested in your opinions on Ricky Hatton , i know people like VD really dont rate Hatton which is fine , i just wanna know everyones reasons for and againest.

1.Hatton has great stamina.
2. Hatton has pretty good punch power , especially to the body.
3. He has pretty good boxing skills.
4. Is a good pressure fighter.
5. Good strength at 140 lbs.

So from all these ingredients i can only come to the conclusion that since stepping up in class , he has grabbed and held more because maybe his chin is not his strongest part of his makeup.
Im not saying he has a glass jaw , im just saying pressure fighters like Chavez etc. if being outboxed a bit tended to really up the prssure and take a few to land a few.
Is Ricky scared of being cut or his chin failing him ?
He really looked brilliant at a slightly lower level , when he bullied and pushed his oponants back.
So come on guys and girls tell me your feelings on this.
1. I like Hatton, he's hard not to like.
2. Hatton is in shape come fight nite.
3. Good Power
4. Good Hand speed
5. Very good heart.

Boxing skills...well. He telegraphs some of his punches and doesn't move his head enough. His footwork is lacking some and he gives his opponent angles to hit him. He'll come in with his hands too low from time time. Overall decent skills, but not technically elite boxing skills.

This doesn't mean he isn't an elite fighter though. His toughness and physical tools make up for his technical deficiencies and make him an elite fighter IMO.

I do wish people would stop saying Hatton is a different fighter at 147 than at 140. He's probably nearly exactly the same fighter. Probably trains the same and comes into fight night within 1 or 2 lbs at either weight only he probably isn't as weight drained at the higher weight. The only difference is his opponent. Its the Same Ricky Hatton, just a bigger opponent. Hatton is a bigger 140 lber, but a smaller 147 lber. He can't bully the bigger men like he can smaller fighter's.

Hatton still has some good years left. If he stays at 140 he has some good potential opponents. I hope he rips Malignaggi's head off. I think several of the guys at 135 who might come to 140 will have a hard time dealing with Ricky's strength and bullying. I also think he'll beat Pacman if he comes all the way up to 140, I mean Pac started at 106 as a pro and spent most of his career at 126, 140 is a stretch for Manny. What would you think if Ricky talked about moving up to fight Kelly Pavlik at 160? That's essentially what Pacman would be doing coming up to 140. I think Torres could give him some trouble.

We will see Hatton-Floyd II. Floyd will KO him again, but that doesn't matter. This fight will be the biggest money fight out there in 2009 and both of these guys would be crazy to turn down that type of payday. Boxers never turn down $20M dollar paydays ever, its as simple as that. After that fight the next biggest one out there would be for the winner to fight Cotto. So I believe we'll see Floyd-Hatton II and then Floyd-Cotto in 2009.

From a boxing Purest's standpoint this fight doesn't make sense. Floyd outclassed Hatton by a country mile and the second fight would be Floyd toying with Hatton. But, the business men don't pay attention to what the purest's think.

God forbid Hatton somehow faces Cotto in the future. You might need a spatula to extricate Ricky from the canvas if he ever fights Cotto.