Ricky Hatton has irritated me as of late...

[Gandalf]

Im nervous about this fight. Paulie does seem really up for it. Malignaggi is talking up a fight and there's Ricky talking about wanting to be friends afterwards.

Hatton looked good for half against Collazo and then faded. The same happened against Urango. He got Castillo out early so we dont know if he was ready for 12 hard rounds. And then Mayweather stopped Hatton and Hatton was really no longer a threat after 5 rounds anyway. And then we have Lazcano getting to Ricky twice. That was supposed to be a gimme after the Mayweather knock out.

There are big question marks surrounding Ricky Hatton. Has he still got it in him?? Paulie is definitely going to make Hatton fight, so he really needs to be in tip top condition.

I actually think Hatton boxed superbly for the first 6 rounds against Urango. Thats the kind of thing he needs to do for 12 rounds here. Use his footwork to dart in and out of range and utilise that jab a lot more. I can see this fight being a boxing contest for the opening rounds, if its working Hatton can try and maintain it, if he needs to rough Paulie then he can revert to that. But the key is having the lungs to fight 12 hard rounds and we havent seen that since Kostya way back when.

Stamina and output is what I will be hoping for. If Hatton is able to show us that then I think he can pull through.

Malignaggi has a difficult style though.

I think Rick will have the stamina because he has to train like a b*****d to make light welter, he needs to be all over PM like a rash, and punching too..not posing ... its the other things that worry me ie Mayweather training him, and about a month ago he didnt even know if Kerry Kays would be working with him anymore .. whats that all about in the build up to a world title fight ?

A lot of variables in this one. I like to think the camp has gone well and Ricky has decided to use his boxing skills more. And the fact that Ricky is aware of the critisism and is trying to make the changes is a positive sign too. A bit of head movement and more of a jab can only be a positive thing. Ricky has a lot of strengths but his weaknesses have needed some work. Hopefully, we get a more balanced Hatton.

[bambamdaddio]

Im nervous about this fight. Paulie does seem really up for it. Malignaggi is talking up a fight and there's Ricky talking about wanting to be friends afterwards.

Hatton looked good for half against Collazo and then faded. The same happened against Urango. He got Castillo out early so we dont know if he was ready for 12 hard rounds. And then Mayweather stopped Hatton and Hatton was really no longer a threat after 5 rounds anyway. And then we have Lazcano getting to Ricky twice. That was supposed to be a gimme after the Mayweather knock out.

There are big question marks surrounding Ricky Hatton. Has he still got it in him?? Paulie is definitely going to make Hatton fight, so he really needs to be in tip top condition.

I actually think Hatton boxed superbly for the first 6 rounds against Urango. Thats the kind of thing he needs to do for 12 rounds here. Use his footwork to dart in and out of range and utilise that jab a lot more. I can see this fight being a boxing contest for the opening rounds, if its working Hatton can try and maintain it, if he needs to rough Paulie then he can revert to that. But the key is having the lungs to fight 12 hard rounds and we havent seen that since Kostya way back when.

Stamina and output is what I will be hoping for. If Hatton is able to show us that then I think he can pull through.

Malignaggi has a difficult style though.

I think Rick will have the stamina because he has to train like a b*****d to make light welter, he needs to be all over PM like a rash, and punching too..not posing ... its the other things that worry me ie Mayweather training him, and about a month ago he didnt even know if Kerry Kays would be working with him anymore .. whats that all about in the build up to a world title fight ?

A lot of variables in this one. I like to think the camp has gone well and Ricky has decided to use his boxing skills more. And the fact that Ricky is aware of the critisism and is trying to make the changes is a positive sign too. A bit of head movement and more of a jab can only be a positive thing. Ricky has a lot of strengths but his weaknesses have needed some work. Hopefully, we get a more balanced Hatton.

You make great points Miles and I hope ya right too ... but then I think that at this stage of his career he may be better served working with all he is good at as opposed to an over haul, if thats what he has had, because if the going gets tough his instinct will be to return to type ...

Having said that tho some fine tuning certainly wouldnt go a miss, because Ricks boxing behind the jab is brilliant when he gets it working for him ... his skills as a boxer are very under rated as he has become known for his high energy hooking style..