Prompted by a thread on the current scene pondering a potential Hatton-Urango fight. There's perhaps worse than Urango -perhaps - but imagine if this were to go ahead. Assuming Hatton wins, he finds himself at the end of '06 in exactly the same position as he did at the end of '05, but with little of meaning having happened.
Wondering (and I really don't want to start a slanging match here) whether, if Witter-Corely goes ahead, that a possible fight between Hatton and the winner of this could go ahead? Any closer than nil possibility?
Otherwise, I'm not sure what he does. For whatever reason, PBF, Hatton and Cotto - ie. the good fights - seem intent on not happening. Anything other than a fight against those two, you'd think Hatton would need a belt to liven up the selling value of his next fight.
There's also been no talk of fighting Baldomir. It's all "the fight with Gatti won't happen now he lost to Baldomir." Well call me crazy, but why not fight Baldomir? Fight him, beat him, you're unified champion at welterweight.
I basically don't know what to make of it all. How much are outside promotional forces or other boxers blocking Hatton's progress, how much is a possible lack of desire on the part of himself bloacking progress, how much is the move for easy money fights over hard money fights bloacking things?
Where is Hatton going next? (casefile 6,439)
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jomothepure
- Heavyweight
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- Joined: 24 Oct 2004, 08:43
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TerribleTerry
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 5272
- Joined: 29 Aug 2003, 12:30
Billy Graham has been forth right in his belief that HAtton should be at 10st. I think he is right aswell - those extra 7lbs make a big diff to a pressure fighter of Hatton's size.
Baldomir has proved he is the real deal at 10st 7 - beating Judah and Gatti back to back isnt going to make him appealling to the Hattons - he is too dangerous.
I think they should be getting abck to 10st and looking at Castillo, Corrales, Juan Diaz, Witter/Corley and the like.
Baldomir has proved he is the real deal at 10st 7 - beating Judah and Gatti back to back isnt going to make him appealling to the Hattons - he is too dangerous.
I think they should be getting abck to 10st and looking at Castillo, Corrales, Juan Diaz, Witter/Corley and the like.
I agree TerribleTerry.
They must get Cotto at 140, and get him now.
I am a fan of Hatton, and I think he is generally underated..... However, I just don't see him beating any of the 147 champions cause he cannot utlise his strength (which is his strength). These guys are boiling to make the weight where as Hatton boils down to make 140.
There are two big money 147lbs fights that I can see Ricky winning, and these would be as big as any unification.... thats Mosley and Gatti. Margarito and Baldomir will be too strong, Mayweather too slick. Mosley might be too strong, but he might also struggle with the weight and he is in definate decline.
Unless he can get those two in the ring, he should stick at 140 and weight for the lightweights to arrive. It won't do his legacy much good, but it will make him some mega bucks. The Light Welter devision is lacking depth at the moment, but pretty soon we will have the likes of Corrales, Freitas, Lazcano, Castillo, and maybe the likes of the two Diaz's and Morales.
They must get Cotto at 140, and get him now.
I am a fan of Hatton, and I think he is generally underated..... However, I just don't see him beating any of the 147 champions cause he cannot utlise his strength (which is his strength). These guys are boiling to make the weight where as Hatton boils down to make 140.
There are two big money 147lbs fights that I can see Ricky winning, and these would be as big as any unification.... thats Mosley and Gatti. Margarito and Baldomir will be too strong, Mayweather too slick. Mosley might be too strong, but he might also struggle with the weight and he is in definate decline.
Unless he can get those two in the ring, he should stick at 140 and weight for the lightweights to arrive. It won't do his legacy much good, but it will make him some mega bucks. The Light Welter devision is lacking depth at the moment, but pretty soon we will have the likes of Corrales, Freitas, Lazcano, Castillo, and maybe the likes of the two Diaz's and Morales.
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Max Molyneux
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7084
- Joined: 16 Aug 2004, 16:53
RICKY HATTON makes the first defence of his hard-won WBA welterweight title against...mandatory challenger Oktay Urkal.
It's a marking-time fight for Hatton, chasing bigger fights in the States but accommodating Urkal because the German, backed by the powerful Wilfried Sauerland, stepped aside to allow Hatton his shot at WBA champion Luis Collazo in Boston in May, which the Hitman took narrowly but unanimously on the cards.
Hatton will be disappointed at the thought of fighting a European in the States (we all are), but his WBA belt gives him clout in red-hot welterweight division and the stocky Manchester man relinquished his WBA and IBF light-welterweight belts because all the 'names': Floyd Mayweather Jnr, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Antonio Margarito, Carlos Baldomir...are up there.
It also helps that 36-year-old Urkal looks past his best. The challenger's last fight in Hannover a month ago saw him booed out of the ring following an eight-round decision over Ukrainian switch-hitter Andrei Rimer on the Nikolai Valuev-Owen Beck undercard. Ricky is overdue a quick, spectacular win and will have observed Rimer, who went in with a record of 2-4-1, ploughing into the Berliner (as Hatton undoubtedly will) and making him look ragged, although there was no doubt Urkal had done enough.
But one struggle doesn't end a career. Urkal holds two wins over the only man to floor Hatton, Belfast's Eamonn Magee, and gave a peak Kostya Tszyu a bruising 12-rounder in the States in June 2001, four years before Hatton outlasted the Russian in Manchester. He's not much of a puncher (only 11 stoppages) but "Cassius" moves well, is quick on the counter and has a reputation as a cutting puncher. He's not averse to a scrap.
Above all, he can make you look bad and that's the real worry for Team Hatton, given Ricky didn't look great against the slippery, much bigger-looking Collazo in the first of his three-fight deal with HBO, in his first fight at welterweight, winning on desire and workrate than any real skill.
Thirty years ago, a British fighter moving up and winning a world title in America would have shook us all up. But times have changed. Hatton was the 'house' fighter in Boston, the attraction; New Yorker Collazo, the champion, barely got a mention in contrast in the build up, almost as if his demise was a sure thing. But he climbed off the floor in the opening seconds to give Hatton the toughest fight of his career to date - and nearly dropped him back in the last. "I did notice a difference," said a banged-up Hatton afterwards, of the new weight. "His punches were knocking me from side to side..."
Thankfully, Urkal is a small welterweight - like Hatton, a blown up light-welter.
The challenger goes back a long way. Born in Berlin of Turkish parents, he was an outstanding 90's amateur who licked the likes of Magee, Leonard Dorin, Thomas Damgaard and David Diaz, and made it all the way to the Olympic light-welterweight final in 1996 (outscored by Cuban bogeyman Hector Vinent). He proved it was no fluke in the pro ranks, romping through his early fights and at 24-0 capturing the vacant European light-welterweight title (made vacant by Damgaard) with a unanimous 12-round decision over Mikhail Krivolapov in Berlin in 2000. It says a lot for Hatton's sterile early career that, two years later, Krivolapov was seen as his first big test when they met in Manchester. Hatton wore down the Russian and stopped him in nine.
Urkal made two defences of his coveted title, before making his way to Connecticut for that world title challenge to the great Tszyu. He gave it a great go: moving and countering in the early danger rounds and, despite suffering a broken jaw in the ninth, getting stuck in down the stretch and finishing much the better of the two. You could say Urkal harried the punch-picking Tszyu much the way Hatton later did. Only Urkal lost. All three judges went for heavier-handed Tszyu (narrowly).
Urkal bounced back with four defence of his European title, including a repeat points win over Magee in a cracking 12-rounder in Germany in 2003 (Magee was cut early but took the fight to the skilful champion in a rare show of sustained aggression), to secure another world title chance - this time on home turf against Guyana's WBA champion "Vicious" Vivian Harris in Berlin in 2004. He shrugged off an early knockdown and a broken nose to make it another close, competitive challenge but again fell short. Harris took the majority verdict.
A rematch was inevitable, but not before Harris had rejected a bigger $750,000 offer to fight Hatton in Manchester, and the champion returned to Berlin to wear down a weight-weakened Urkal in 11. (Harris subsequently lost his title Puerto Rico's Carlos Maussa in seven shocking rounds in Atlantic City; Hatton then flattened Maussa.)
The loser moved up to welterweight and thanks to his connections secured an immediate shot at the European welterweight title held by useful Frenchman Frederic Klose, and gatecrashed the rankings with a unanimous but hard-earned decision. He's won two more fights since: a close, unanimous decision in defence of his title against Russia's Maxim Nesterenko and that struggle with Rimer.
But their respective performances against Tszyu, and Urkal's two losses to Harris - later to bomb against Maussa - give the champion the obvious edge on paper. Hatton will also be better adjusted to the weight, after that daunting baptism against the better-than-expected Collazo (though trainer Billy Graham wants Hatton back at 10st). Urkal in contrast wasn't much of a strongman at light-welter and has struggled to hold off opponents at the higher weight. Hatton, of course, is one of the most relentless fighters in the world.
Ring magazine Fighter of the Year last year (the first British fighter to receive the award), the Hitman has a core of steel that belies a cuddly exterior outside the ring. He hails from the same Hattersley Estate made infamous by the child murders committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in the 60's and began his working life as a carpet-fitter. It was boxing or bust for Ricky, and the same hunger drives him forward today after 41 fights (all wins, 30 by stoppage). He walked into the feared Tszyu and outwilled him for the IBF light-welterweight title in June last year, shrugged off bad cuts to nail Maussa in nine rounds for the WBA light-welterweight title in a unification clash a few months later in Sheffield, and soaked up the best shots of southpaw Collazo to edge him out for the WBA title a weight up.
Right at his peak at 27, all-out Ricky says he only has a few wars left in him and wants an American legacy. "I have a great record in Britain and with my style I think I could have the same success in the US," said Hatton."I already achieved my dream by fighting at Madison Square Garden in my second pro fight. Madison Square Garden stands alone as far as boxing venues are concerned and I dream about going back there. I've also boxed in Atlantic City. I went to Detroit. I would like to go to Las Vegas, where all of the top shows and fighters are. It would be a dream come true."
There's a starry-eyed feel about Hatton's US adventure. He outpointed Brooklyn's Robert Alvarez in Madison Square Garden in a four-rounder in 1997, flattened North Carolina's Kevin Carter in one round a year later in Atlantic City, survived a terrible cut over the left eye to finish off Costa Rica's Gilbert Quiros with a body assault in two brutal rounds in Detroit in 2000 and took a lot of shots off Collazo at the legendary Boston Garden last time out. One wonders when the adventure, the wars, the blowing up in weight between fights, catches up with him.
The cuts.
After several fights without much damage, the champion has begun busting up again around the eyes in his last two. It helps having arguably the world's best cutsman in his corner in London's own Mick Williamson but it's likely the fast, sharp-punching Urkal will mark up Hatton at some point. "Doesn't bother me at all," said Ricky of the thought. "It won't stop me winning." He was cut within 15 seconds of a fight for the vacant British light-welterweight title against Jon Thaxton in October 2000 at Wembley - but thumped out a clear decision.
"If I cut in the future, so be it," shrugged Hatton.
After winning the British title, Ricky captured the vacant WBU light-welterweight title with a four-round knockout of Canada's lanky Tony Pep in March 2001 - a title he defended 15 times - before proving his right in major world class with that gruelling victory over the faniced Tszyu last June. He now wants superfight in the States. Urkal stands in his way. It's hard to see the faded German holding him off. Hatton tears into him repeatedly and grinds out a middle-round stoppage.
It's a marking-time fight for Hatton, chasing bigger fights in the States but accommodating Urkal because the German, backed by the powerful Wilfried Sauerland, stepped aside to allow Hatton his shot at WBA champion Luis Collazo in Boston in May, which the Hitman took narrowly but unanimously on the cards.
Hatton will be disappointed at the thought of fighting a European in the States (we all are), but his WBA belt gives him clout in red-hot welterweight division and the stocky Manchester man relinquished his WBA and IBF light-welterweight belts because all the 'names': Floyd Mayweather Jnr, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Antonio Margarito, Carlos Baldomir...are up there.
It also helps that 36-year-old Urkal looks past his best. The challenger's last fight in Hannover a month ago saw him booed out of the ring following an eight-round decision over Ukrainian switch-hitter Andrei Rimer on the Nikolai Valuev-Owen Beck undercard. Ricky is overdue a quick, spectacular win and will have observed Rimer, who went in with a record of 2-4-1, ploughing into the Berliner (as Hatton undoubtedly will) and making him look ragged, although there was no doubt Urkal had done enough.
But one struggle doesn't end a career. Urkal holds two wins over the only man to floor Hatton, Belfast's Eamonn Magee, and gave a peak Kostya Tszyu a bruising 12-rounder in the States in June 2001, four years before Hatton outlasted the Russian in Manchester. He's not much of a puncher (only 11 stoppages) but "Cassius" moves well, is quick on the counter and has a reputation as a cutting puncher. He's not averse to a scrap.
Above all, he can make you look bad and that's the real worry for Team Hatton, given Ricky didn't look great against the slippery, much bigger-looking Collazo in the first of his three-fight deal with HBO, in his first fight at welterweight, winning on desire and workrate than any real skill.
Thirty years ago, a British fighter moving up and winning a world title in America would have shook us all up. But times have changed. Hatton was the 'house' fighter in Boston, the attraction; New Yorker Collazo, the champion, barely got a mention in contrast in the build up, almost as if his demise was a sure thing. But he climbed off the floor in the opening seconds to give Hatton the toughest fight of his career to date - and nearly dropped him back in the last. "I did notice a difference," said a banged-up Hatton afterwards, of the new weight. "His punches were knocking me from side to side..."
Thankfully, Urkal is a small welterweight - like Hatton, a blown up light-welter.
The challenger goes back a long way. Born in Berlin of Turkish parents, he was an outstanding 90's amateur who licked the likes of Magee, Leonard Dorin, Thomas Damgaard and David Diaz, and made it all the way to the Olympic light-welterweight final in 1996 (outscored by Cuban bogeyman Hector Vinent). He proved it was no fluke in the pro ranks, romping through his early fights and at 24-0 capturing the vacant European light-welterweight title (made vacant by Damgaard) with a unanimous 12-round decision over Mikhail Krivolapov in Berlin in 2000. It says a lot for Hatton's sterile early career that, two years later, Krivolapov was seen as his first big test when they met in Manchester. Hatton wore down the Russian and stopped him in nine.
Urkal made two defences of his coveted title, before making his way to Connecticut for that world title challenge to the great Tszyu. He gave it a great go: moving and countering in the early danger rounds and, despite suffering a broken jaw in the ninth, getting stuck in down the stretch and finishing much the better of the two. You could say Urkal harried the punch-picking Tszyu much the way Hatton later did. Only Urkal lost. All three judges went for heavier-handed Tszyu (narrowly).
Urkal bounced back with four defence of his European title, including a repeat points win over Magee in a cracking 12-rounder in Germany in 2003 (Magee was cut early but took the fight to the skilful champion in a rare show of sustained aggression), to secure another world title chance - this time on home turf against Guyana's WBA champion "Vicious" Vivian Harris in Berlin in 2004. He shrugged off an early knockdown and a broken nose to make it another close, competitive challenge but again fell short. Harris took the majority verdict.
A rematch was inevitable, but not before Harris had rejected a bigger $750,000 offer to fight Hatton in Manchester, and the champion returned to Berlin to wear down a weight-weakened Urkal in 11. (Harris subsequently lost his title Puerto Rico's Carlos Maussa in seven shocking rounds in Atlantic City; Hatton then flattened Maussa.)
The loser moved up to welterweight and thanks to his connections secured an immediate shot at the European welterweight title held by useful Frenchman Frederic Klose, and gatecrashed the rankings with a unanimous but hard-earned decision. He's won two more fights since: a close, unanimous decision in defence of his title against Russia's Maxim Nesterenko and that struggle with Rimer.
But their respective performances against Tszyu, and Urkal's two losses to Harris - later to bomb against Maussa - give the champion the obvious edge on paper. Hatton will also be better adjusted to the weight, after that daunting baptism against the better-than-expected Collazo (though trainer Billy Graham wants Hatton back at 10st). Urkal in contrast wasn't much of a strongman at light-welter and has struggled to hold off opponents at the higher weight. Hatton, of course, is one of the most relentless fighters in the world.
Ring magazine Fighter of the Year last year (the first British fighter to receive the award), the Hitman has a core of steel that belies a cuddly exterior outside the ring. He hails from the same Hattersley Estate made infamous by the child murders committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in the 60's and began his working life as a carpet-fitter. It was boxing or bust for Ricky, and the same hunger drives him forward today after 41 fights (all wins, 30 by stoppage). He walked into the feared Tszyu and outwilled him for the IBF light-welterweight title in June last year, shrugged off bad cuts to nail Maussa in nine rounds for the WBA light-welterweight title in a unification clash a few months later in Sheffield, and soaked up the best shots of southpaw Collazo to edge him out for the WBA title a weight up.
Right at his peak at 27, all-out Ricky says he only has a few wars left in him and wants an American legacy. "I have a great record in Britain and with my style I think I could have the same success in the US," said Hatton."I already achieved my dream by fighting at Madison Square Garden in my second pro fight. Madison Square Garden stands alone as far as boxing venues are concerned and I dream about going back there. I've also boxed in Atlantic City. I went to Detroit. I would like to go to Las Vegas, where all of the top shows and fighters are. It would be a dream come true."
There's a starry-eyed feel about Hatton's US adventure. He outpointed Brooklyn's Robert Alvarez in Madison Square Garden in a four-rounder in 1997, flattened North Carolina's Kevin Carter in one round a year later in Atlantic City, survived a terrible cut over the left eye to finish off Costa Rica's Gilbert Quiros with a body assault in two brutal rounds in Detroit in 2000 and took a lot of shots off Collazo at the legendary Boston Garden last time out. One wonders when the adventure, the wars, the blowing up in weight between fights, catches up with him.
The cuts.
After several fights without much damage, the champion has begun busting up again around the eyes in his last two. It helps having arguably the world's best cutsman in his corner in London's own Mick Williamson but it's likely the fast, sharp-punching Urkal will mark up Hatton at some point. "Doesn't bother me at all," said Ricky of the thought. "It won't stop me winning." He was cut within 15 seconds of a fight for the vacant British light-welterweight title against Jon Thaxton in October 2000 at Wembley - but thumped out a clear decision.
"If I cut in the future, so be it," shrugged Hatton.
After winning the British title, Ricky captured the vacant WBU light-welterweight title with a four-round knockout of Canada's lanky Tony Pep in March 2001 - a title he defended 15 times - before proving his right in major world class with that gruelling victory over the faniced Tszyu last June. He now wants superfight in the States. Urkal stands in his way. It's hard to see the faded German holding him off. Hatton tears into him repeatedly and grinds out a middle-round stoppage.
Last edited by bennie on 29 Jul 2006, 11:15, edited 1 time in total.
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Max Molyneux
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7084
- Joined: 16 Aug 2004, 16:53
Absolutely.stujones wrote:I agree TerribleTerry.
They must get Cotto at 140, and get him now.
I am a fan of Hatton, and I think he is generally underated..... However, I just don't see him beating any of the 147 champions cause he cannot utlise his strength (which is his strength). These guys are boiling to make the weight where as Hatton boils down to make 140.
There are two big money 147lbs fights that I can see Ricky winning, and these would be as big as any unification.... thats Mosley and Gatti. Margarito and Baldomir will be too strong, Mayweather too slick. Mosley might be too strong, but he might also struggle with the weight and he is in definate decline.
Unless he can get those two in the ring, he should stick at 140 and weight for the lightweights to arrive. It won't do his legacy much good, but it will make him some mega bucks. The Light Welter devision is lacking depth at the moment, but pretty soon we will have the likes of Corrales, Freitas, Lazcano, Castillo, and maybe the likes of the two Diaz's and Morales.
Hatton is a 140 lber. Its as simple as that. If anything, fight Cotto at a catchweight of 142 or something for Hatton's WBA strap. Otherwise, just stay at 140 and clean house. That's how you build legacies. Ricky can do it.
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WayoftheCass
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 719
- Joined: 09 Oct 2005, 02:22
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Rocky Balboa
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 1851
- Joined: 24 Jan 2004, 16:38
Hatton-Cotto will not happen @ 10st, no way! Cotto is not stupid, he knows Hatton is a solid fighter, and that he'll have a better chance of defeating Hatton @ 147lbs, rather than 140lbs.
Anyway, I thought Cotto's next fight was at 147lbs? Baldomir is a dangerous fight for Ricky, and for that matter, anyone in the Welterweight division. Baldomir seems to be so strong, and has a solid chin.
Anyway, I thought Cotto's next fight was at 147lbs? Baldomir is a dangerous fight for Ricky, and for that matter, anyone in the Welterweight division. Baldomir seems to be so strong, and has a solid chin.
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jamesmcdonnell
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 45231
- Joined: 12 Nov 2003, 06:11
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fried bread
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 162
- Joined: 19 Jun 2006, 04:04
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Max Molyneux
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7084
- Joined: 16 Aug 2004, 16:53
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jamesmcdonnell
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 45231
- Joined: 12 Nov 2003, 06:11
That is a very bad fight for Hatton, he couldn't handle Collazo, let alone a guy boiling down from Light Middleweight. Might be a cracking fight to watch, but Hatton would take some licks for sure, Collazo wasn't considered a puncher, and he was knocking Hatton around like a bowling pin, and Ouma is a naturally bigger man.fried bread wrote:how about hatton-ouma? i hear ouma's moving down to welterweight. that'd be a good fight; both are super fit