If Hatton fought De La Hoya at 140lbs........

[ALI]

The general consensus appears to be that if Hatton fights De La Hoya he stands little chance of winning. But people are basing their opinions on the assumption that the fight is a given to take place at 147lbs, and rightly so. De La Hoya has been fighting at light middle for around 8 years now and it appears impossible that he could boil down to 140lbs and remain fit.......... but the man himself reckons he can. He said recently he feels he could get down to 140lbs no problem if he needed to. Maybe thats just promotional jargon, but still, I think Hatton would be a fool not to try and force the issue and get Oscar down at 140lbs........ at 147lbs i see it almost as a no contest, but at 140lbs the pendulum swings slightly back towards Hatton having a chance IMO!

Personally, i feel that De La Hoya is desperate for a mega showdown with Hatton, so much so that i think there is a real possibility Hattons camp could force their hand and get him to take it at 140lbs.

Play pretend for a minute and assume the sfights set to happen at 140lbs, forget about waiting to see how De La Hoya performs against Pac Man at 147lbs. He's set to fight Hatton at 140lbs........... just how much would this change your outlook on the fight?

[Spud]

ODH could make the weight okayish - myself and my lad had an interesting discussion with Robert Diaz who is the brother in law of Marco Antonio Barrera last week and in addition he does a lot of work for ODH at Golden Boy - Oscar was at something like 145lbs a week ago and thus I feel he could make the weight easily enough - we were shown a picture of Oscar immediately after a hard work out - I have to say he didn't look gaunt - in fact he looked bloody well.

So - taking that into consideration - do I think he could make 140lbs - absolutely - but I think he would diminish his strengths a tadge if he were to fight Hatton at that weight - we all know now Hatton is king at 140lbs - but there is such a fine line between success and failure and I feel the moment Hatton steps up in weight - his advantages diminish somewhat.

If Team Hatton manage to get the fight at 140lbs - then for me that is a massive plus and makes the fight a fantastically intriguing one to watch - every pound over that weight I sway a little more to Oscar.

[chesh]

If DLH really can make 140, it makes him seem even more of a bully fighting former light-flyweight Pac at 147. Talk about handicapping!

[Goz]

I thought Manny P was being well publicised as De La Hoya's last fight anyway?

[DG.]

DLH beats Hatton at 140 ( it won't be at 140lbs) o whatever weight you choose.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

Delahoya can't get down to 140 now, but if the Delahoya who faced Chavez faces Hatton he batters him round after round before a KO. What does Ricky do better? I can't think of anything

[jeej]

At 140, so long as Hatton could stay disciplined, I reckon he could take Oscar. But if he gets frustrated and sloppy, it would be a long night for Ricky.

At 147, I think Oscar would stop Ricky late or win UD.

[Carbo]

I don't want to sound like a slothful journalist, but styles make fights, and Oscar has proven time and time again that he loves fighters of Hatton's style. Oscar has problems with speedsters, not squat brawlers, which he easts up.

At 140 DLH may suffer from being old and shedding the weight, but I think he'd still knock Ricky out.

[Gray-Fox]

In Hatton's favour is his relentless pace against Oscar's age and lack of stamina in the late rounds.

However, Hatton gets caught too frequently and too easily against sharp counter punchers (which DLH is).

Thus, Hatton would be KOed or beat down with Oscar's left hook.

IF Hatton can go into rounds 9 onwards with a healthy points lead, then he stands a chance.

That is it really.