Where was Hatton's Jab?

[Jabba The Nut]

When he fought Thaxton and got cut, Hatton produced a wonderfull display of boxing.

Why doesn't he use that style more, instead of this horrible mauling, wading and NO JAB style of fighting???????

[lirva33]

When he fought Thaxton and got cut, Hatton produced a wonderfull display of boxing.

Why doesn't he use that style more, instead of this horrible mauling, wading and NO JAB style of fighting???????

Because he is one dimensional and he was OUT in the 12th round.

[Max Molyneux]

When he fought Thaxton and got cut, Hatton produced a wonderfull display of boxing.

Why doesn't he use that style more, instead of this horrible mauling, wading and NO JAB style of fighting???????

I agree, people are saying Hatton has underated skills yet where are they?

No wonder he says he ain't going to last long, it's that reckless unessecary brawling that could seriously injure him when he doesn't need it.

[Jabba The Nut]

I thought the same for years now, every fight is becoming more ugly. Ploughing in to opponents with his head down, holding, mauling, it's just not good to watch.

Doe's any of his team not think the same? Do they not watch the fight afterwards and think "Damn that's ugly, where the hell was his jab"????

[lvlarc]

Maybe he knew the fans loved Gatti for that style, so he'd try and adapt to it himself.

Though I'm sure Billy will be focusing on that part of his offence for next time round.

[shoutout]

When he fought Thaxton and got cut, Hatton produced a wonderfull display of boxing.

Why doesn't he use that style more, instead of this horrible mauling, wading and NO JAB style of fighting???????

I agree, people are saying Hatton has underated skills yet where are they?

No wonder he says he ain't going to last long, it's that reckless unessecary brawling that could seriously injure him when he doesn't need it.

the one thing ricky seriously lacks is the adaptability to change his game plan in mid-fight & that's why he will never reach the level of a delahoya or PBF...

[Shirow]

When he fought Thaxton and got cut, Hatton produced a wonderfull display of boxing.

Why doesn't he use that style more, instead of this horrible mauling, wading and NO JAB style of fighting???????

I agree, people are saying Hatton has underated skills yet where are they?

No wonder he says he ain't going to last long, it's that reckless unessecary brawling that could seriously injure him when he doesn't need it.

the one thing ricky seriously lacks is the adaptability to change his game plan in mid-fight & that's why he will never reach the level of a delahoya or PBF...

Well he did it in the Magee fight and he outboxed Tackie (not hard maybe but he was boxing not brawling).
He's used the same crude brawling tactics that worked against Kostya now in 2 consecutive fights where they just weren't suitable. Can he even do any different now?

[Max Molyneux]

When he fought Thaxton and got cut, Hatton produced a wonderfull display of boxing.

Why doesn't he use that style more, instead of this horrible mauling, wading and NO JAB style of fighting???????

I agree, people are saying Hatton has underated skills yet where are they?

No wonder he says he ain't going to last long, it's that reckless unessecary brawling that could seriously injure him when he doesn't need it.

the one thing ricky seriously lacks is the adaptability to change his game plan in mid-fight & that's why he will never reach the level of a delahoya or PBF...

Since when does he want to reach that level?

His style when he uses his skill can trouble Floyd still and it's not like FLoyd has proven himself fully at Lightwelter and Welter yet anyway either.

PLus he's not that strong to keep Hatton back. Callazo was struggling to keep him back so it shows how strong Hatton is.

That style though is only suited to Tszyu at the moment. Worked with Maussa too but he didn't need it then.

[josh fg]

does anyone think he would do well to be with a trainer who told him what to do more, I noticed his lack of jab it mite have been because he was against a taller opponent but at times it was just silly they would break and he would walk back into the guys chest and start hooking (often taking a right or two on the way in)

[jamesmcdonnell]

I agree, people are saying Hatton has underated skills yet where are they?

No wonder he says he ain't going to last long, it's that reckless unessecary brawling that could seriously injure him when he doesn't need it.

the one thing ricky seriously lacks is the adaptability to change his game plan in mid-fight & that's why he will never reach the level of a delahoya or PBF...

Since when does he want to reach that level?

His style when he uses his skill can trouble Floyd still and it's not like FLoyd has proven himself fully at Lightwelter and Welter yet anyway either.

PLus he's not that strong to keep Hatton back. Callazo was struggling to keep him back so it shows how strong Hatton is.

That style though is only suited to Tszyu at the moment. Worked with Maussa too but he didn't need it then.

Mayweather may not be a big strong welterweight, but he's a deadly accurate puncher. Hatton has a good chin, but utilising that style, he'd be taking 4 shots for every one landed, and would need to absorb a lot of punishment before wearing Mayweather down.

I can easily see him getting stopped against Mayweather, good as his chin is, walking into Mayweather's slashing fists isn't a good idea.

[Max Molyneux]

Mayweather doesn't hit as hard as Callazo and neither are punchers.

I would like to see Mayweather's chin tested as well as he seems to fold and cover when hit a little.

If Hatton's pushing him back like that though then Floyd won't have his full distance to be that accurate.

[josh fg]

How tall is Mayweather?

The two things which caused Hatton the most problems seemed to be not strength but hight and the fact his opponent was a south paw. His jab was non exsistant, proberbly because he decided he should fight on the inside with a taller man, and he didn't do enough to stop the right hooks as he came in (south paw punch).

[Max Molyneux]

How tall is Mayweather?

The two things which caused Hatton the most problems seemed to be not strength but hight and the fact his opponent was a south paw. His jab was non exsistant, proberbly because he decided he should fight on the inside with a taller man, and he didn't do enough to stop the right hooks as he came in (south paw punch).

FLoyd is 5ft 8.

Height isn't the problem though, Maussa was 5ft 11 and he hit the floor.

[josh fg]

Seemed more reach to be honnest, also Maussa was less skilled than Clotzo (pluse the southpaw issue)

[Max Molyneux]

Ican;t believe ESB did a poll saying who would win in Hatton - Tszyurematch and more voted Tszyu because of this fight!

Aussies their were blaming it being in Manchester too.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Genius! Exactly what Hatton needed to do, stand and jab against a bigger, rangy southpaw. Seriously, if he'd have stepped in with a jab he'd have been countered daft. Against a big, rangy southpaw you just have to get into them and stick there, throwing a jab in this situation would mean stepping back a little. Suicidal. For all the messiness and the madness Ricky fought the right type of fight. Get close and keep close, if he'd have jabbed more then every round would have been like the 12th and the result far different.

Before getting too pessimistic bear in mind that few guys are bigger at the weight than Collazo, Margarito is and look what happened when he left WW! Ricky took on a big guy, Floyd has taken on Mitchell and Zab who are not too tall in comparison and Zab gave Floyd some tough early rounds and floored him IMO.

Hatton could have used the jab as he was closing, the short up jab to keep Collazo off balance, that's something I've seen him do effectively before. His footwork doesn't look as good as it used to be to me, he doesn't seem to find the angles to keep opponents off balance any more, or perhaps that's more because the standard of fighters he is up against now won't let him smother them and work the angles.

One thing is for sure, winding up big hooks and coming forward face first isn't the best tactic for fighting any kind of fighter with good pedigree.

Hatton needs to find some finesse to add to the strength, aggression and pace.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Well, we could argue over the technical aspects, and in truth, it's not my forte, and if you lace em up, you are going to have a more intimate knowledge than I am.

I'm thinking of a prime Tyson for example, often in with bigger and slicker fighters, (did he fight any Southpaws, cannot think of any), he used to have a fantastic short jab

My problem was with what Ricky did on the inside. Too much grappling, and as Collazo said, not enough combinations. Hatton does need to work from the body up to the head better, he doesn't mix his work up very well. I don't know whether maybe it's too late to get Hatton to do so, he's been training the same way a long time, is it too late to add these wrinkles to his game, or is Hatton just throwing too much effort and not enough guile into his game.

The fight could easily have gone the other way, and I hope this is an instructive fight for Hatton and he changes his direction slightly. I don't think a rematch with Collazo is a good move, but it would probably do good business as the fight seemed to excite the crowd.

My mate was complaining that the fight wasn't shown in any bars in NY? Anyone know why that would be?

[Arsenal]

Terence what do you find difficult when you fight an orthadox fighter? Straight rights, left hooks? I used to hate fighting southpaws because they always seemed to be technically good boxers.

[johnswan1]

Terence what do you find difficult when you fight an orthadox fighter? Straight rights, left hooks? I used to hate fighting southpaws because they always seemed to be technically good boxers.

Wouldn't it be easier for a southpaw to fight an orthadox fighter considering that's what they're used to? I don't fight but would assume a southpaw finds it as difficult as an orthodox fighter does to fight another southpaw.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Well, we could argue over the technical aspects, and in truth, it's not my forte, and if you lace em up, you are going to have a more intimate knowledge than I am.

I'm thinking of a prime Tyson for example, often in with bigger and slicker fighters, (did he fight any Southpaws, cannot think of any), he used to have a fantastic short jab

My problem was with what Ricky did on the inside. Too much grappling, and as Collazo said, not enough combinations. Hatton does need to work from the body up to the head better, he doesn't mix his work up very well. I don't know whether maybe it's too late to get Hatton to do so, he's been training the same way a long time, is it too late to add these wrinkles to his game, or is Hatton just throwing too much effort and not enough guile into his game.

The fight could easily have gone the other way, and I hope this is an instructive fight for Hatton and he changes his direction slightly. I don't think a rematch with Collazo is a good move, but it would probably do good business as the fight seemed to excite the crowd.

My mate was complaining that the fight wasn't shown in any bars in NY? Anyone know why that would be?

Fair enough James, with jabs it can be funny, some fighters have lovely jabs but use them wrong. With Ricky I think the natural bend in his elbow is not helpful, much like Joe Frazier.

You are right about Tyson though and I don't know if you recall that old video "Tyson's Greatest Hits" but there is good footage of his jabbing technique there, I've got a copy somewhere.

Tyson jabbed pretty good early on but I noticed he'd dip, roll then step back up with the jab and often this would get it through. It worked best versus Briggs but Briggs had a flicking jab. Remember he'd spread his arms, lean and flick it out with no shoulder in it? Tyson out-jabbed him by going for the chest with his jab and getting the chin. On the other hand when a guy used his jab well Tyson was left high and dry.

I agree with you, there was too little body bashing and Collazo looked weak there occasionally. Ricky was going to get hit, after a while that was a given so why not anticipate those shots coming in and go for the body? Then as you say he could throw under and up combo's to more effect. In terms of style, size and ability Collazo was a nightmare, complete nightmare. If he gets Gatti next then that will be less so, even Floyd will be less strong and maybe not quite as inherently awkward. I think if Floyd suffered with Zab he would also do so with Collazo.

A good point not brought up yet as far as I can see is that if Ricky can take the shots he took in the 12th neither marquee fighter, Floyd or Gatti, will KO him at the weight.

floyd will land more combinations though, and that as we know can lead to a KO, Ali wasn't regarded as a big puncher, but he knocked a lot of people out. Similarly, Floyd has about a 66% KO ration. Floyd reminds me of Leonard, never looked much of a puncher, but through his career has made mincemeat of people who were considered punchers.

I think the difficulty for Hatton would be the number of shots he took to land his own. Floyd hit hard enough to turn Zab negative and discourage him from trying to force the fight any more after his initial success, and Zab is a pretty big hitter.

Stylistically Floyd is different to Collazo, but tricky for other reasons. He can absorb and block a fearsome combination, set himself and rattle off 5 deadly accurate shots in the blink of an eye before darting out of range again.

You mean Biggs don't you? Tyson never fought Briggs...

[Autobarn]

makes me wonder, if collazo was a couple of inches smaller and a natural light welter, would hatton have had so many problems? obviously he would have found him hard to hit, and he would have been open to the right hook. but whe the fight started ricky seemed to have good instincts and a good judgement of distance. in the first 3 rds he was actually timing his shots well and found a good rhythm - he seemed ready to overwhelm Collazo, who didn't look comfortable. but when Collazo showed he could hang tough and hit back, it all went pear shaped for hatton. if Collazo didn't hit as hard, and wasn't as sturdy, would hatton have won more clearly?

[silkov]

But Collazo isnt a heavy puncher... which is probably the biggist worry to come from the other night!...

[Jabba The Nut]

Thanks for the sensible replies guys,

Lots to think about, I have always considered the jab the most important punch of all, I used to go rounds and rounds working on my jab, snapping, power shots and just flicking it out as a distraction.

Even though Collazo was taller than Hatton, I still think a jab would have been effective, even if Hatton didn't connect, it would have given Collazo something to think about, provide an opening and a good opportunity to launch the straight right!

Regards