Will Hatton ever fight like he did against Tzsyu again?

boxbet · Post by **boxbet** » 27 Jan 2007, 16:11

Just watch some clips of him on Hitman's website. Will he ever have that fire in his belly again? Determination to go all out and win no matter whats in front of you. Will he ever fight like that again?? I hope he does and He will need to against Castillo / and my dream fight Cotto.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 27 Jan 2007, 16:18

I doubt that he will, once a fighter like Hatton loses that sharpness they seldom get it back... the inactivity, weight making and success itself are all catching up with him and the Tszyu fight itself while a good performance was against a 35 yearold who was past his best and so made Hatton look really better than he ultimately was...

Achybreaky · Post by **Achybreaky** » 27 Jan 2007, 16:39

silkov wrote:I doubt that he will, once a fighter like Hatton loses that sharpness they seldom get it back... the inactivity, weight making and success itself are all catching up with him and the Tszyu fight itself while a good performance was against a 35 yearold who was past his best and so made Hatton look really better than he ultimately was...

Past his best 'after' the event as the general concensus said he was to knock hatton out before the fight.

Autobarn · Post by **Autobarn** » 27 Jan 2007, 17:28

Hatton was sharp vs the tall, awkward Maussa as well when he got his range. Right now, he needs to replicate the CONDITIONING of both those fights, that and Tszyu.

But of course it's going to be different. It's not like he's ripping the belt away from a great fighter, on a hyper charged emotional night. Other people are gunning for him and they all have different styles.

states · Post by **states** » 27 Jan 2007, 18:21

In fairness, Hatton wasn't that great technically against Tszyu. What was great was his determination and desire. I get the feeling that, as a career 140lb'er, he'd seen Tszyu as the pinnacle for a good few years before he fought him. Can he ever regain the same desire now that he's scaled the mountain, as it were? Hopefully he can, should the unlikely ever happen and he gets a fight over in the states against Cotto or Mayweather.

His recent performances have not been great. I don't think they've been quite as bad as some make out, but they certainly haven't been good enough to justify a top ten p4p placing (although I personally don't do p4p lists). Hatton has slipped, I wouldn't argue with that. The million dollar question is has he slipped because of a lack of motivation/too much time out between fights/awkward and/or strong opponents, or any combination of the above? If that's the case, they're temporary problems that he can come back from.

My worry is that the problems run deeper, as many have said, and that Hatton's lifestyle has finally caught up with him.

Without making excuse for Ricky's performances of late, I'm holding judgment until the Castillo fight. It is, in Hatton's own words, a 'superfight' (although the shine came off it last weekend), so motivation cannot possibly be blamed, and it's soon enough that inactivity can't be blamed either. If Hatton looks shite and spends the whole night clinching in June then yes, I agree that he is past his best.

Sweet P · Post by **Sweet P** » 27 Jan 2007, 21:36

What skills did he have against Tszyu, punch then grab punch then grab punch then grab times that by 12 rounds and you get the picture

states · Post by **states** » 27 Jan 2007, 21:41

Ben Keilty wrote:What skills did he have against Tszyu, punch then grab punch then grab punch then grab times that by 12 rounds and you get the picture

Be fair. It was only 11 rounds.

(I had to get that in before someone else did

)

SticknMove · Post by **SticknMove** » 28 Jan 2007, 20:10

In the Zoo fight, and since, Hatton did what was effective enough to get the job done. P4P claims are made elsewhere, rightly or wrongly, and I doubt that Hatton could give a toss about the pontificating one way or another. The guy is not a career athlete, but he has an obvious talent for the sport that got him to a shot at Zoo which he won. Having been a participant in the sport from an early age and seen British world champions from Stracey, Conteh, Hope, Watt through McGuigan, Bruno to Benn, Eubank and then Hamed and Calzaghe you see the course of how the sport has unfolded. For me, it is nice to see a guy, in the current showbizzy climate, operating at the level he is whilst being acessible, grounded and earning fantastic money and (hopefully) still walking away with his marbles in tact.