Hobson and Hattons want no part of Witter

[Autobarn]

Light Welterweight is Britains strongest division and we can't even say who's the best in the land. Its unbelievable

I was at the Tszyu fight and Ricky came on the mike at the end of the fight and said how he couldn't have done it without the fans and thanked everyone. Well how about giving the fans what they want and fight Junior Witter in the BIGGEST all-British fight ever!!!

Due to the switch to sky and Witter's fighting style it will never be the biggest domestic fight ever. Nothing I fear will touch Eubank vs Benn 2 or even Lewis vs Bruno.

It is nice to see a reasoned post regarding Hatton Witter instead of senseless ranting. Even if the fight can be made it wont be until late next year, and that is assuming Hatton wins against Urango plus whoever his 3rd contracted opponent may be. IMO Witter will not impress HBO enough for him to be included in the 3. If Hatton does impress in the next 2 fights for HBO, he has an option to fight a mega fight on a PPV card. It would seem realistic to assume all things being equal that fight would be versus Mayweather or Cotto. That leaves Junior Witter well into 2008. To expect Hatton to renage on his contract, or throw away the chance of a mega fight, is not only unrealistic, frankly its stupid.

he's got 2 fights with HBO left, Urango & if successful, Castillo. Then he will probably hope to renew for another 3 fights

if the Castillo fight is exciting, there will probably be a rematch

[yiddo14]

I personally could not give a flying toss about all the Hatton haters or their opinions on here. I have been asked in relation to Castillo, whether or not i can read. YES its very EASY if you look at the last 10 of Castillo's fights from Mayweather to Rolando Reyes you will see IN THE COLUMN ON THE LEFT his weight at the WEIGH IN in 5 of them he weighed 135 or less, in the other 5 HE WEIGHED MORE than 135. Hatton haters are mouthing off on here saying he would rather fight BLOWN UP Lightweights as opposed to Witter. As Castillo's name is being put forward as a future opponent i would say that is bullshit criticism.
Now lets address another inconvenient fact. Hatton has signed a 3 fight deal with the AMERICAN TV company HBO, with a possible one off PPV event to follow. So he has been reasonably criticised for his first one against Collazo, people are probably justified in saying his next attempt is not much better in Urango. So I know lets approach the Execs at HBO and say " Tell you what gov we got the answer. We'll fight the world renowned superstar Junior Witter for our 3rd fight in the US and no one will bother watching it." Very clever

Castillo would still be BIG size wise at 140, the point is he is UNPROVEN AT 140!!! Hes only proven on beating up on smaller competition and when he has stepped up has been schooled by PBF/Cassamaya (cass robbed) and Ko'd by Corrales.

It would be a good fight, but Hattons cherry picking opponents.

And can we get over the fact he'll never fight Floyd Mayweather, hes been offered it 4+ times already and turned it down pre-negotiations. Hes not going to fight him now hes slowing down (and he is)

Come on,your being a bit harsh on Castillo there mate!!!
The first fight with PBF was hardly a schooling! Some say(not me by the way!)Castillo deserved the decision.
It's also true that he got stopped by Corrales,but in the rematch he nearly took his head off when he destroyed Diego with that shot in the 4th round.

[Andy Mac]

I personally could not give a flying toss about all the Hatton haters or their opinions on here. I have been asked in relation to Castillo, whether or not i can read. YES its very EASY if you look at the last 10 of Castillo's fights from Mayweather to Rolando Reyes you will see IN THE COLUMN ON THE LEFT his weight at the WEIGH IN in 5 of them he weighed 135 or less, in the other 5 HE WEIGHED MORE than 135. Hatton haters are mouthing off on here saying he would rather fight BLOWN UP Lightweights as opposed to Witter. As Castillo's name is being put forward as a future opponent i would say that is bullshit criticism.
Now lets address another inconvenient fact. Hatton has signed a 3 fight deal with the AMERICAN TV company HBO, with a possible one off PPV event to follow. So he has been reasonably criticised for his first one against Collazo, people are probably justified in saying his next attempt is not much better in Urango. So I know lets approach the Execs at HBO and say " Tell you what gov we got the answer. We'll fight the world renowned superstar Junior Witter for our 3rd fight in the US and no one will bother watching it." Very clever

Castillo would still be BIG size wise at 140, the point is he is UNPROVEN AT 140!!! Hes only proven on beating up on smaller competition and when he has stepped up has been schooled by PBF/Cassamaya (cass robbed) and Ko'd by Corrales.

It would be a good fight, but Hattons cherry picking opponents.

And can we get over the fact he'll never fight Floyd Mayweather, hes been offered it 4+ times already and turned it down pre-negotiations. Hes not going to fight him now hes slowing down (and he is)

Come on,your being a bit harsh on Castillo there mate!!!
The first fight with PBF was hardly a schooling! Some say(not me by the way!)Castillo deserved the decision.
It's also true that he got stopped by Corrales,but in the rematch he nearly took his head off when he destroyed Diego with that shot in the 4th round.

Yiddo the first rule of forum debate is Never let the facts get in the way of mere opinion!! The fact that Corrales CHEATED in the first fight by deliberately spitting out the gumshield to buy time is considered good tactics. The fact that Castillo CHEATED by coming in over weight, and hit Corrales so fvckin hard you could have counted a million and he wouldn't have gotten up, is a hangable offence.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

Castillo would still be BIG size wise at 140, the point is he is UNPROVEN AT 140!!! Hes only proven on beating up on smaller competition and when he has stepped up has been schooled by PBF/Cassamaya (cass robbed) and Ko'd by Corrales.

It would be a good fight, but Hattons cherry picking opponents.

And can we get over the fact he'll never fight Floyd Mayweather, hes been offered it 4+ times already and turned it down pre-negotiations. Hes not going to fight him now hes slowing down (and he is)

Come on,your being a bit harsh on Castillo there mate!!!
The first fight with PBF was hardly a schooling! Some say(not me by the way!)Castillo deserved the decision.
It's also true that he got stopped by Corrales,but in the rematch he nearly took his head off when he destroyed Diego with that shot in the 4th round.

Yiddo the first rule of forum debate is Never let the facts get in the way of mere opinion!! The fact that Corrales CHEATED in the first fight by deliberately spitting out the gumshield to buy time is considered good tactics. The fact that Castillo CHEATED by coming in over weight, and hit Corrales so fvckin hard you could have counted a million and he wouldn't have gotten up, is a hangable offence.

What has 'cheating' goto do with anything? The point is Castillo isn't the super fight you make it out to be.

Anyway on that topic all fighters cheat when hurt (although that didnt cause Castillo to get knocked senseless), having your team lift the scales so you can cheat by not weakening yourself for the weight is plain cowardly.

[Max Molyneux]

Was in a WHSmith earlier and Hatton already has a book out!

Bit too early since he hasn't finished his career yet and that it only doesn't go past the Maussa fight.

Browsed through it and it's not worth the buy for 18 quid so put it back on the self.

[Andy Mac]

Come on,your being a bit harsh on Castillo there mate!!!
The first fight with PBF was hardly a schooling! Some say(not me by the way!)Castillo deserved the decision.
It's also true that he got stopped by Corrales,but in the rematch he nearly took his head off when he destroyed Diego with that shot in the 4th round.

Yiddo the first rule of forum debate is Never let the facts get in the way of mere opinion!! The fact that Corrales CHEATED in the first fight by deliberately spitting out the gumshield to buy time is considered good tactics. The fact that Castillo CHEATED by coming in over weight, and hit Corrales so fvckin hard you could have counted a million and he wouldn't have gotten up, is a hangable offence.

What has 'cheating' goto do with anything? The point is Castillo isn't the super fight you make it out to be.

Anyway on that topic all fighters cheat when hurt (although that didnt cause Castillo to get knocked senseless), having your team lift the scales so you can cheat by not weakening yourself for the weight is plain cowardly.

Castillo was on his FEET Corrales was FVCKIN comatose. What do you wanna say next? Your dad is bigger than my dad? Castillo is a ONE THOUSAND times bigger fight than Junior FU,,CKIN Witter.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

[
Castillo was on his FEET Corrales was FVCKIN comatose. What do you wanna say next? Your dad is bigger than my dad? Castillo is a ONE THOUSAND times bigger fight than Junior FU,,CKIN Witter.

First off the only reason you don't want this fight to happen is you know Witter would give Hatton nightmares. And before you deny it, theHattons agree with me, thats why they've never wanted it. And I'm not saying Ricky couldn't win, just Witters a bad style for him.

Corrales was commatosed yet up by about the count of 12 if I remember correcly, your sounding stupider by the post. Castillo was ko'd on the ropes, if the ropes weren't there he wouldn't be getting up, its much of a muchness.

Castillo isn't as big a fight as Witter at all, Hatton-Witter would sell out 60,000 at the City stadium, sell good PPV numbers here and sell well enough in the US. Will Castillo do that well? Doubtfully

Castillo-Hatton isn't particularly meaningfull. Castillo hasn't done anything at 140, lost his biggest fights at 135, isn't P4P, lost his last lightweight contest and cheated. I think it would be a good fight but lets pretend its a legacy fight because its not. The only reason

And why are you up at 1:14 posting about this anyway

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

Was in a WHSmith earlier and Hatton already has a book out!

Bit too early since he hasn't finished his career yet and that it only doesn't go past the Maussa fight.

Browsed through it and it's not worth the buy for 18 quid so put it back on the self.

put it back on the self - is that a scouser term for shop lifting

[Max Molyneux]

It's Scouse for a Mancs book shouldn't be out until he's retired.

[Max Molyneux]

It had a Calzaghe picture in it and still couldn't be arsed with it.

We only steal whats good.

Whats shit is stolen for toilet paper.

[Andy Mac]

[
Castillo was on his FEET Corrales was FVCKIN comatose. What do you wanna say next? Your dad is bigger than my dad? Castillo is a ONE THOUSAND times bigger fight than Junior FU,,CKIN Witter.

First off the only reason you don't want this fight to happen is you know Witter would give Hatton nightmares. And before you deny it, theHattons agree with me, thats why they've never wanted it. And I'm not saying Ricky couldn't win, just Witters a bad style for him.

Corrales was commatosed yet up by about the count of 12 if I remember correcly, your sounding stupider by the post. Castillo was ko'd on the ropes, if the ropes weren't there he wouldn't be getting up, its much of a muchness.

Castillo isn't as big a fight as Witter at all, Hatton-Witter would sell out 60,000 at the City stadium, sell good PPV numbers here and sell well enough in the US. Will Castillo do that well? Doubtfully

Castillo-Hatton isn't particularly meaningfull. Castillo hasn't done anything at 140, lost his biggest fights at 135, isn't P4P, lost his last lightweight contest and cheated. I think it would be a good fight but lets pretend its a legacy fight because its not. The only reason

And why are you up at 1:14 posting about this anyway

Of course Witter is a dangerous fight for Hatton. I dont believe i have ever said otherwise. The point is you and others are asking the ticket seller to put it all on the line. Witter can only gain even if he loses. He will never earn anything like the amount he could get from a Hatton fight. This is due to his non entertaining style. And you are calling me stupid? Let Witter hire the biggest venue in Bradford or Sheffield and fight anyone except Hatton and see how he gets on. Let his promoter put his name up to HBO as a Hatton opponent and see the reaction.
Maybe you should ask yourself Why, if Witter is so good he hasn't got a hardcore fanbase of 18 -20,000? When you get that answer you may realize why Hatton doesn't need to fight him.

[jamesmcdonnell]

[
Castillo was on his FEET Corrales was FVCKIN comatose. What do you wanna say next? Your dad is bigger than my dad? Castillo is a ONE THOUSAND times bigger fight than Junior FU,,CKIN Witter.

First off the only reason you don't want this fight to happen is you know Witter would give Hatton nightmares. And before you deny it, theHattons agree with me, thats why they've never wanted it. And I'm not saying Ricky couldn't win, just Witters a bad style for him.

Corrales was commatosed yet up by about the count of 12 if I remember correcly, your sounding stupider by the post. Castillo was ko'd on the ropes, if the ropes weren't there he wouldn't be getting up, its much of a muchness.

Castillo isn't as big a fight as Witter at all, Hatton-Witter would sell out 60,000 at the City stadium, sell good PPV numbers here and sell well enough in the US. Will Castillo do that well? Doubtfully

Castillo-Hatton isn't particularly meaningfull. Castillo hasn't done anything at 140, lost his biggest fights at 135, isn't P4P, lost his last lightweight contest and cheated. I think it would be a good fight but lets pretend its a legacy fight because its not. The only reason

And why are you up at 1:14 posting about this anyway

PN, if you seriously think Hatton v Witter is a bigger fight than Hatton v Castillo, then you really don't know jack. How many PPV buys would Hatton v Witter sell in comparison to Hatton v

I don't think that Hatton v Witter would sell out a 60,000 seater stadium. I doubt that Hatton v Mayweather would either. I cannot think of the last fight that got 60,000 in this country. I think Benn v Eubank II was 40,000.

Hatton v Castillo would sell shed loads more PPV in America and here, and that my friend is where the money is. It's hard to get massive crowds for fights these days, even Hatton won't draw 60,000, and how many is Witter going to draw?

[leforge]

Hatton v Witter at city of Manchester stadium sensibly priced could get about 30,000 if good undercard as well.

[Andy Mac]

Wouldn't it be fair to say that the reason Witter is so dangerous for Hatton is that it means nothing beyond these shores? We can talk about how much everyone wants the WBC title yet not many are begging for Hatton-Witter. Both fights are dangerous but Castillo is dangerous and the victory wil mean something worldwide.

It is delusional to think otherwise.

Castillo is a cheat though.

I totally agree with the post of course a Castillo fight is more meaningful. Without looking to get into a debate with a studying / qualified philosopher, shouldn't cheating be seen in the same way as,,,,theft is theft is theft? In other words Castillo is no better or worse a cheat than any other.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

[
Castillo was on his FEET Corrales was FVCKIN comatose. What do you wanna say next? Your dad is bigger than my dad? Castillo is a ONE THOUSAND times bigger fight than Junior FU,,CKIN Witter.

First off the only reason you don't want this fight to happen is you know Witter would give Hatton nightmares. And before you deny it, theHattons agree with me, thats why they've never wanted it. And I'm not saying Ricky couldn't win, just Witters a bad style for him.

Corrales was commatosed yet up by about the count of 12 if I remember correcly, your sounding stupider by the post. Castillo was ko'd on the ropes, if the ropes weren't there he wouldn't be getting up, its much of a muchness.

Castillo isn't as big a fight as Witter at all, Hatton-Witter would sell out 60,000 at the City stadium, sell good PPV numbers here and sell well enough in the US. Will Castillo do that well? Doubtfully

Castillo-Hatton isn't particularly meaningfull. Castillo hasn't done anything at 140, lost his biggest fights at 135, isn't P4P, lost his last lightweight contest and cheated. I think it would be a good fight but lets pretend its a legacy fight because its not. The only reason

And why are you up at 1:14 posting about this anyway

Of course Witter is a dangerous fight for Hatton. I dont believe i have ever said otherwise. The point is you and others are asking the ticket seller to put it all on the line. Witter can only gain even if he loses. He will never earn anything like the amount he could get from a Hatton fight. This is due to his non entertaining style. And you are calling me stupid? Let Witter hire the biggest venue in Bradford or Sheffield and fight anyone except Hatton and see how he gets on. Let his promoter put his name up to HBO as a Hatton opponent and see the reaction.
Maybe you should ask yourself Why, if Witter is so good he hasn't got a hardcore fanbase of 18 -20,000? When you get that answer you may realize why Hatton doesn't need to fight him.

Fair enough, been a good fighter doesn't make you a ticket seller - look at Winky Wright. But even boring Winky gets $3-4m for big fights now. And Witter can build himself to be a draw with his title and with the right fights

I think Witter could start to get fans in Bradford/Leeds/Sheffield/London. I actually think he should go for Bami next - a fight he should look good in that will get domestic fans on each side coming together.

How many tickets did Witter sell in London? Does anyoen know, because it didnt have much of an undercard and it looked full - so there you go Witter+WBC does sell tickets. If an opponent like Corrales/Cotto came over to fight Witter - or it happened in the states it would be big money.

Plus no one in Bradford knew who Witter was pre-Corley, now even a bird I went out of knew who he was because he won a world title. Do they know him throughout the country? Maybe not but a world champion makes waves.

Anyway putting yourself on the line against your top challenger - isn't that what a champions supposed to do? Are you also happy Bowe-Lennox never happened? And are you happy Ray Leonard - Pryor never happened? If it wasn't for Tyszu putting it on the line against Hatton he wouldn't be where he is today.

And when alls said and done what is Ricky in business for? Easy title defenses against overmatched opponents or to take on real challenges and build some form of legacy.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

[
Castillo was on his FEET Corrales was FVCKIN comatose. What do you wanna say next? Your dad is bigger than my dad? Castillo is a ONE THOUSAND times bigger fight than Junior FU,,CKIN Witter.

First off the only reason you don't want this fight to happen is you know Witter would give Hatton nightmares. And before you deny it, theHattons agree with me, thats why they've never wanted it. And I'm not saying Ricky couldn't win, just Witters a bad style for him.

Corrales was commatosed yet up by about the count of 12 if I remember correcly, your sounding stupider by the post. Castillo was ko'd on the ropes, if the ropes weren't there he wouldn't be getting up, its much of a muchness.

Castillo isn't as big a fight as Witter at all, Hatton-Witter would sell out 60,000 at the City stadium, sell good PPV numbers here and sell well enough in the US. Will Castillo do that well? Doubtfully

Castillo-Hatton isn't particularly meaningfull. Castillo hasn't done anything at 140, lost his biggest fights at 135, isn't P4P, lost his last lightweight contest and cheated. I think it would be a good fight but lets pretend its a legacy fight because its not. The only reason

And why are you up at 1:14 posting about this anyway

PN, if you seriously think Hatton v Witter is a bigger fight than Hatton v Castillo, then you really don't know jack. How many PPV buys would Hatton v Witter sell in comparison to Hatton v

I don't think that Hatton v Witter would sell out a 60,000 seater stadium. I doubt that Hatton v Mayweather would either. I cannot think of the last fight that got 60,000 in this country. I think Benn v Eubank II was 40,000.

Hatton v Castillo would sell shed loads more PPV in America and here, and that my friend is where the money is. It's hard to get massive crowds for fights these days, even Hatton won't draw 60,000, and how many is Witter going to draw?

Hatton-Witter would sell more seats, Hatton-Witter would do more PPVs here than Castillo, in the US PPVs Hatton-Castillo would do allot better yes, but how big a draw is Castillo and Hatton stateside? They are draws but not HUGE draws, plus both names have gone down in fans estimations recently, I doubt it would outsell

Its not a matter of how many Witter will draw its a matter of all Hattons fan know Hatton-Witter is massive - so more Hatton fansthan normal would go. Its also a fact of a WBA-IBF unifaction fight. The publicity and trash talk would be massive. The fights just a great recipe. Maybe it won't draw 60k, I think it'll be a huge draw, its hard to put a finger on what the sales would be.

Again does anyone know what Witter sold against Corley?

Also remember Castillo will demand a bigger piece of the pie than Witter. Hattons used to paying Maussa and Collazo peanuts - against Castillo he wont earn morethan other fights because he'll have to pay real money.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Hatton v Witter at city of Manchester stadium sensibly priced could get about 30,000 if good undercard as well.

and Hatton can sell 25,000 in the same venue to wrestle with a deck chair, so another 5000 isn't going to really make much case for a fight which American TV might not even want to showcase.

Whether or not we think it would make for a good fight or not is not the point, it's what HBO think that counts.

I think Castillo is every bit as dangerous an opponent for Hatton if not more so.

[jamesmcdonnell]

First off the only reason you don't want this fight to happen is you know Witter would give Hatton nightmares. And before you deny it, theHattons agree with me, thats why they've never wanted it. And I'm not saying Ricky couldn't win, just Witters a bad style for him.

Corrales was commatosed yet up by about the count of 12 if I remember correcly, your sounding stupider by the post. Castillo was ko'd on the ropes, if the ropes weren't there he wouldn't be getting up, its much of a muchness.

Castillo isn't as big a fight as Witter at all, Hatton-Witter would sell out 60,000 at the City stadium, sell good PPV numbers here and sell well enough in the US. Will Castillo do that well? Doubtfully

Castillo-Hatton isn't particularly meaningfull. Castillo hasn't done anything at 140, lost his biggest fights at 135, isn't P4P, lost his last lightweight contest and cheated. I think it would be a good fight but lets pretend its a legacy fight because its not. The only reason

And why are you up at 1:14 posting about this anyway

PN, if you seriously think Hatton v Witter is a bigger fight than Hatton v Castillo, then you really don't know jack. How many PPV buys would Hatton v Witter sell in comparison to Hatton v

I don't think that Hatton v Witter would sell out a 60,000 seater stadium. I doubt that Hatton v Mayweather would either. I cannot think of the last fight that got 60,000 in this country. I think Benn v Eubank II was 40,000.

Hatton v Castillo would sell shed loads more PPV in America and here, and that my friend is where the money is. It's hard to get massive crowds for fights these days, even Hatton won't draw 60,000, and how many is Witter going to draw?

Hatton-Witter would sell more seats, Hatton-Witter would do more PPVs here than Castillo, in the US PPVs Hatton-Castillo would do allot better yes, but how big a draw is Castillo and Hatton stateside? They are draws but not HUGE draws, plus both names have gone down in fans estimations recently, I doubt it would outsell

Its not a matter of how many Witter will draw its a matter of all Hattons fan know Hatton-Witter is massive - so more Hatton fansthan normal would go. Its also a fact of a WBA-IBF unifaction fight. The publicity and trash talk would be massive. The fights just a great recipe. Maybe it won't draw 60k, I think it'll be a huge draw, its hard to put a finger on what the sales would be.

Again does anyone know what Witter sold against Corley?

Also remember Castillo will demand a bigger piece of the pie than Witter. Hattons used to paying Maussa and Collazo peanuts - against Castillo he wont earn morethan other fights because he'll have to pay real money.

You have to factor in the cost of a venue too, I don't know what it is, but there must be a reason the football grounds are seldom if ever used these days. I don't think Hatton would get that many more for fighting Witter than he would fighting any decent opponent, I really don't. Bear in mind, where exactly is Hatton going to fight in Manchester, because that is where his real fanbase is, they are the only ones likely to turn up in droves.

If Hatton fought in London he'd be lucky to get 10,000, there aren't any fighters who draw massive crowds to a London fight these days and there aren't many venues either. Frank part owns the Excel still doesn't he? He's got the MEN tied up, where does that leave that has a big capacity and doesn't cost the earth?

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

Hatton v Witter at city of Manchester stadium sensibly priced could get about 30,000 if good undercard as well.

and Hatton can sell 25,000 in the same venue to wrestle with a deck chair, so another 5000 isn't going to really make much case for a fight which American TV might not even want to showcase.

Whether or not we think it would make for a good fight or not is not the point, it's what HBO think that counts.

I think Castillo is every bit as dangerous an opponent for Hatton if not more so.

He didnt sell 20k for Tyszu so your telling a few porkies, and of course every Hatton fan knows Witter and will come to see it. Plus its unifaction fight. More people would come t would get more publicity and more seats would be sold.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

PN, if you seriously think Hatton v Witter is a bigger fight than Hatton v Castillo, then you really don't know jack. How many PPV buys would Hatton v Witter sell in comparison to Hatton v

I don't think that Hatton v Witter would sell out a 60,000 seater stadium. I doubt that Hatton v Mayweather would either. I cannot think of the last fight that got 60,000 in this country. I think Benn v Eubank II was 40,000.

Hatton v Castillo would sell shed loads more PPV in America and here, and that my friend is where the money is. It's hard to get massive crowds for fights these days, even Hatton won't draw 60,000, and how many is Witter going to draw?

Hatton-Witter would sell more seats, Hatton-Witter would do more PPVs here than Castillo, in the US PPVs Hatton-Castillo would do allot better yes, but how big a draw is Castillo and Hatton stateside? They are draws but not HUGE draws, plus both names have gone down in fans estimations recently, I doubt it would outsell

Its not a matter of how many Witter will draw its a matter of all Hattons fan know Hatton-Witter is massive - so more Hatton fansthan normal would go. Its also a fact of a WBA-IBF unifaction fight. The publicity and trash talk would be massive. The fights just a great recipe. Maybe it won't draw 60k, I think it'll be a huge draw, its hard to put a finger on what the sales would be.

Again does anyone know what Witter sold against Corley?

Also remember Castillo will demand a bigger piece of the pie than Witter. Hattons used to paying Maussa and Collazo peanuts - against Castillo he wont earn morethan other fights because he'll have to pay real money.

You have to factor in the cost of a venue too, I don't know what it is, but there must be a reason the football grounds are seldom if ever used these days. I don't think Hatton would get that many more for fighting Witter than he would fighting any decent opponent, I really don't. Bear in mind, where exactly is Hatton going to fight in Manchester, because that is where his real fanbase is, they are the only ones likely to turn up in droves.

If Hatton fought in London he'd be lucky to get 10,000, there aren't any fighters who draw massive crowds to a London fight these days and there aren't many venues either. Frank part owns the Excel still doesn't he? He's got the MEN tied up, where does that leave that has a big capacity and doesn't cost the earth?

Your right it should be in Manchester, I have no idea what the City ground would cost, what about local rugby stadiums? What about dealing with FW to make the fight, I wouldnt be that suprised if Frank trys to get Witter back offering an Mbaiye unification. If Witter was WBC/WBA champ Hatton would get even more serious stick for not facing him.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Hatton v Witter at city of Manchester stadium sensibly priced could get about 30,000 if good undercard as well.

and Hatton can sell 25,000 in the same venue to wrestle with a deck chair, so another 5000 isn't going to really make much case for a fight which American TV might not even want to showcase.

Whether or not we think it would make for a good fight or not is not the point, it's what HBO think that counts.

I think Castillo is every bit as dangerous an opponent for Hatton if not more so.

He didnt sell 20k for Tyszu so your telling a few porkies, and of course every Hatton fan knows Witter and will come to see it. Plus its unifaction fight. More people would come t would get more publicity and more seats would be sold.

How many did he sell then? The MEN was full, it's capacity is I think 19,600, the only time it sold more than that, was when Tyson fought, and they allowed it to go over capacity to I think 21,000.

It's doubtful whether Hatton has much more than 20,000 or so fans who ARE PREPARED TO BUY A TICKET, GET OFF OF THEIR ARSES AND GO TO A LIVE BOXING MATCH.

Now there are plenty who will buy a PPV, but there aren't as many people attending shows as there were in the 1980's when you could fill loftus road when McGuigan fought. McGuigan was on wogan, parkinson, all the chat shows, you name it, he was a household name, there isn't a single UK based fighter who is a household name today, simple as.

That being the case, it is the fights which attract TV money, and more importantly American TV money that matter. The number of people with installed subscription TV userbase is so much higher in the US, plus they have 5 times our population.

I ask again, where would you stage this fight? Who would stage it? Given a choice between Castillo, where you can guarantee big interest in the USA and therefore big box office money, and further exposure to the US market, and making a fight with Witter, and maybe have HBO turn it down, which would you gun for?

I am asking you to think as a promoter has to think. By all accounts, according to various sources, including Hobson, they are not making a mint from Hatton's fights, so they desperately need US money on board, so it's perfectly understandable that the fight isn't made certainly at the moment.

If witter can get a good win over a high profile opponent, and blast them out of there in style, or even overcome them in a rough and tumble type fight, then it can happen. The style of his win over Corley however, is not going to cut the mustard for HBO, who probably still have tapes of his fight with Judah to remind them of why they will not showcase him. Impressive as Witter is in some senses, it doesn't make for spectacular box office as there are only a small subsection of modern boxing fans who appreciate his style of boxing.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

I ask again, where would you stage this fight? Who would stage it? Given a choice between Castillo, where you can guarantee big interest in the USA and therefore big box office money, and further exposure to the US market, and making a fight with Witter, and maybe have HBO turn it down, which would you gun for?
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Problem is Castillo isn't a huge draw. See the below article on the first 2 Castillo-Corrales contests:

The Oct. 8 bout was on pay-per-view, but did only 225,000 buys. Though arena ticket sales at the Thomas & Mack Center were excellent, the pay-per-view numbers were disappointing, so the rubber match will be on Showtime.

Arum, who said Showtime is paying a $3.2 million license fee for the fight, said there is a proliferation of pay-per-view shows around that time and that boxing fans deserve a big fight without having to pay extra for it.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

How many did he sell then? The MEN was full, it's capacity is I think 19,600, the only time it sold more than that, was when Tyson fought, and they allowed it to go over capacity to I think 21,000.

It's doubtful whether Hatton has much more than 20,000 or so fans who ARE PREPARED TO BUY A TICKET, GET OFF OF THEIR ARSES AND GO TO A LIVE BOXING MATCH.

Now there are plenty who will buy a PPV, but there aren't as many people attending shows as there were in the 1980's when you could fill loftus road when McGuigan fought. McGuigan was on wogan, parkinson, all the chat shows, you name it, he was a household name, there isn't a single UK based fighter who is a household name today, simple as.

That being the case, it is the fights which attract TV money, and more importantly American TV money that matter. The number of people with installed subscription TV userbase is so much higher in the US, plus they have 5 times our population.

I am asking you to think as a promoter has to think. By all accounts, according to various sources, including Hobson, they are not making a mint from Hatton's fights, so they desperately need US money on board, so it's perfectly understandable that the fight isn't made certainly at the moment.

If witter can get a good win over a high profile opponent, and blast them out of there in style, or even overcome them in a rough and tumble type fight, then it can happen. The style of his win over Corley however, is not going to cut the mustard for HBO, who probably still have tapes of his fight with Judah to remind them of why they will not showcase him. Impressive as Witter is in some senses, it doesn't make for spectacular box office as there are only a small subsection of modern boxing fans who appreciate his style of boxing.

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If HBO sanction piss poor fights like Urango, Maussa and Collazo they will certainly sanction a unification clash with Witter.

Again Hatton-Witter would sell more in the UK than any other fight. I'm not the promoters - they can work out where to stage the contest.

Hatton isn't even looking for big PPVs, hes looking for easy cherry picked contests suited to his style, if he wanted the biggest PPV he would have fought Mayweather. The fact he would never sign to fight Mayweather/Witter/Judah/Corley is no coincedence, they all give styles that would give Hatton problems.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Mayweather isn't interested in Hatton right now, he's busy with his own cherry picking. He is holding out for a bout with DLH.

I'm surprised the numbers werent that good for the Castillo fight, but he's still an established name nontheless.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

Mayweather isn't interested in Hatton right now, he's busy with his own cherry picking. He is holding out for a bout with DLH.

I'm surprised the numbers werent that good for the Castillo fight, but he's still an established name nontheless.

Hattons own father admitted they had been approached 3 times in 2005 and turned down the fight pre-negotiations. Mayweather again asked Hatton for a fight either after or before Judah (I forget which).

Castillos a name for boxing addicts like ourselves but he isn't a name most in the US will know - plus most Mexicans will prefer to buy the established stars like MAB/Morales/DLH. having said that 200k isn't that bad, but I cant see a Hatton-Castillo fight doing better tbh