Hatton hype machine on the footfront again

[caster]

Just read that Billy Graham says Hatton will be Britians best ever fighter if he beats Castillo - what a load of garbage! Hatton has still a lot to prove for me to consider him as amongst the best Britian as ever produced.

[caster]

yeh, Lennox Lewis and quite a few others IMO.

[johnswan1]

I think Hatton is in a no win situation with Castillo. If he loses it'll be said that he couldn't even beat a blown up Lightweight and if he wins it'll be because Castillo was past it. I'm hoping to go to this though, have been wanting to go to Las Vegas for a fight for a long time and am favouring this one instead of DLH-Mayweather.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I think that Castillo is going to get done right over by Hatton, looking at pictures of Castillo, he really doesn't look very strong at the weight, and his last performance suggests he struggles against a big strong 140 lber. Hatton is nothing if not strong at the weight, just ask Tszyu, and provided Hatton has a good training camp I think he's going to wreck Castillo. I predict a stoppage inside of 9 rounds.

Hatton is way off the best ever, he's not had enough elite level opponents to qualify, the Tszyu win was very good, but it's not enough cobined with Castillo to take him even above Calzaghe in my book.

[nickd]

Hatton would be lucky to make a top 10 right now surely.

[dj moonmonkey]

I'm thinking of travelling to Vegas for this fight so I was wondering what the process is for buying tickets for fights over there? Any help/information would be greatly appreciated, but mostly I'm after this information...

Where to buy them from.
How hard will it be to get tickets for this due to demand?
When do they go on sale?

Thanks in advance!!

[JC]

I know people have to talk up their fighters but I do find this stuff pretty disrespectful to guys like Buchannon and Lewis who put Hatton's achievements in the shade. It was even worse when FW claimed Kahn would be the best British fighter ever.

[KOJOE90]

Just read that Billy Graham says Hatton will be Britians best ever fighter if he beats Castillo -

MMMMM lets see, I'm a Hatton fan but is he better than all of the following?

Jimmy Wilde.
Jim Driscoll.
Freddie Welsh.
Lennox Lewis.
Jack 'Kid' Berg.
Ted 'Kid' Lewis.
Nigel Benn.
Chris Eubank.
Dennis Andries.
Freddie Mills.
Jock McAvoy
Ken Buchanan.
Naseem Hamed.
Owen Moran.
Benny Lynch.
John Conteh.
Howard Winstone.
Barry Mcguigan.
Lloyd Honeyghan.


Some of them? maybe but all of them? NO! At least not yet, time will tell.

[Andy Mac]

Just read that Billy Graham says Hatton will be Britians best ever fighter if he beats Castillo -

MMMMM lets see, I'm a Hatton fan but is he better than all of the following?

Jimmy Wilde.
Jim Driscoll.
Freddie Welsh.
Lennox Lewis.
Jack 'Kid' Berg.
Ted 'Kid' Lewis.
Nigel Benn.
Chris Eubank.
Dennis Andries.
Freddie Mills.
Jock McAvoy
Ken Buchanan.
Naseem Hamed.
Owen Moran.
Benny Lynch.
John Conteh.
Howard Winstone.
Barry Mcguigan.
Lloyd Honeyghan.


Some of them? maybe but all of them? NO! At least not yet, time will tell.

I think we have to put these things in perspective Joe. Billy Graham can say what he likes. If and when Hatton himself says it ( like a certain prick from Grand Rapids, Michigan ) then we have the right to criticise him. For now let the disclaimers be aimed at Graham.

[SticknMove]

Just read that Billy Graham says Hatton will be Britians best ever fighter if he beats Castillo -

MMMMM lets see, I'm a Hatton fan but is he better than all of the following?

Jimmy Wilde.
Jim Driscoll.
Freddie Welsh.
Lennox Lewis.
Jack 'Kid' Berg.
Ted 'Kid' Lewis.
Nigel Benn.
Chris Eubank.
Dennis Andries.
Freddie Mills.
Jock McAvoy
Ken Buchanan.
Naseem Hamed.
Owen Moran.
Benny Lynch.
John Conteh.
Howard Winstone.
Barry Mcguigan.
Lloyd Honeyghan.


Some of them? maybe but all of them? NO! At least not yet, time will tell.

I think we have to put these things in perspective Joe. Billy Graham can say what he likes. If and when Hatton himself says it ( like a certain prick from Grand Rapids, Michigan ) then we have the right to criticise him. For now let the disclaimers be aimed at Graham.

Exactly.

As long the fighter doesn't say it. It makes all the difference. For me, even if a fighter had a legitimate claim to that hallowed status I would like to think that he would have enough respect for the history of the sport and, most of all, his antecedents and state that they fought in different times and at different weights etc.

[Autobarn]

Castillo knows how to fight. Hatton will be too fast for around 4 rounds, but Castillo's a smart fighter and he'll find his range & slowly chip away.

There isn't a single thing that JLC hasn't seen before, based on fights with Johnston (x2), Bazan, Mayweather (x2), Julio Diaz, Lazcano, Casamayor & Corrales (x2) - & he has at least 1 great effort left.

He always looked lacking in non title fights. Of course the weight struggles have taken an edge off him, but IMO he can cope.

Ngoudjo could take some hard punches, but Hatton now doesn't appear as sturdy (to the body, particularly) as the Ngoudjo that Castillo fought. Those body shots will slow Ricky down and Hatton's face could be a real mess by the end.

Once Hatton is hurt I predict that will be it. One way traffic. Castillo needs this fight more than Hatton does.

[rhino222]

I'm thinking of travelling to Vegas for this fight so I was wondering what the process is for buying tickets for fights over there? Any help/information would be greatly appreciated, but mostly I'm after this information...

Where to buy them from.
How hard will it be to get tickets for this due to demand?
When do they go on sale?

Thanks in advance!!

dead easy mate, and i speak from experience having booked it all seperate before for the williams klitschko trip.

book flight on line...either BMI or virgin to vegas direct (about 350 quid) return.

book hotel seperate and on line (after booking your flight dates !!) remember in the US you are paying per room and not per individual !!

and telephone the venue direct with credit card in hand to book your tickets and collect them from the box off ice when you get to vegas.

its dead easy mate.....good luck.

[Chesney_Chambers]

Ricky can't even be classed as being currently the best in Britain at the weight, never mind the best ever British fighter, he's had far too many soft touches IMO to be classed as the best.

Lennox fought and beat all the top men in the division other than Bowe, Ricky has fought a far from prime Kostya and Castillo and he won't fight his main British rival.

Billy needs to lay off the drugs

[boxingchat]

Ignore Billy Graham. He's obviously back on the substances again!

[Achybreaky]

Ricky can't even be classed as being currently the best in Britain at the weight, never mind the best ever British fighter, he's had far too many soft touches IMO to be classed as the best.

Lennox fought and beat all the top men in the division other than Bowe, Ricky has fought a far from prime Kostya and Castillo and he won't fight his main British rival.

Billy needs to lay off the drugs

I would for one like to know who is better in britain at 140 than hatton?
Please dont say witter...dont do it!!

[Autobarn]

Will we ever know?

Hatton as done very well, but it's going the way of Honeyghan and McGuigan rather than Lewis, it seems right now. I hope I'm wrong but I just think he's burning out (unless all this is exaggerated by the southpaws).

[states]

I wouldn't put too much stock in this. It is after all coming from the man who once described Hatton as 'Willie Pep with a punch'.

[yiddo14]

I'm thinking of travelling to Vegas for this fight so I was wondering what the process is for buying tickets for fights over there? Any help/information would be greatly appreciated, but mostly I'm after this information...

Where to buy them from.
How hard will it be to get tickets for this due to demand?
When do they go on sale?

Thanks in advance!!

I went to Vegas for a couple of weeks whilst the De La Hoya/Mosley remtach was taking place.
I did'nt bother with trying to buy tickets before I left,because I beleived them to be all sold out(which they were)
Had no plans to go to the fight until reading through a local paper out there,in which they advertised tickets for the fight.
1 hour,1 phone call and a short cab ride later I had 4 tickets to the fight,which was taking place in 2 days time.I paid over the odds($400 each)for tickets as you would expect,and they were'nt great seats to be honest,but this fight was in huge demand.I was quite suprised at how easy it was to get a ticket.

I ain't suggesting you travel without the guarentee of a ticket,but I would be very suprised if you could'nt get hold of a ticket out there to be honest.

[jamesmcdonnell]

The MGM grand must have tickets, get one direct from them.

[johnswan1]

I'm thinking of travelling to Vegas for this fight so I was wondering what the process is for buying tickets for fights over there? Any help/information would be greatly appreciated, but mostly I'm after this information...

Where to buy them from.
How hard will it be to get tickets for this due to demand?
When do they go on sale?

Thanks in advance!!

dead easy mate, and i speak from experience having booked it all seperate before for the williams klitschko trip.

book flight on line...either BMI or virgin to vegas direct (about 350 quid) return.

book hotel seperate and on line (after booking your flight dates !!) remember in the US you are paying per room and not per individual !!

and telephone the venue direct with credit card in hand to book your tickets and collect them from the box off ice when you get to vegas.

its dead easy mate.....good luck.

Thanks for the info. Also planning on going to this one. It's in the Thomas and Mack so that means you can stay in any hotel without feeling your missing out by not staying in the hosting hotel or paying over the odds to do so. Will be booking my flights soon, think I'll go and spend a few days in either New York, LA or San Fran beforehand and make a week out of it, as I've never been to the States before. Bit worried about whether Castillo does something stupid like not make weight or pull out, but I suppose you have to expect this in boxing.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I would reccomend San Fran as a stop off, it's cheap to fly to Vegas from there, and it's a great city which you can do on foot quite easily. I stayed in San Fran before I flew to Vegas for a week, had a great time.

[Slapsie Maxie]

SF is a fun town, but for a week, I would choose NYC or Chicago unless you hire a car and head out to The Napa or down through Pebble beach towards LA on Route 1. SF itself is, I find quite small town and, after three days, you know all you need to know

I am in NYC every few weeks and it is pretty hard to get tired of it.

Chicago is just the best city in the US fantastic restaurants and nightlife ( better than NYC I think )

The only downside of Chicago is that O Hare is a bleeding disgusting airport

Slapsie

[KOJOE90]

Just read that Billy Graham says Hatton will be Britians best ever fighter if he beats Castillo -

MMMMM lets see, I'm a Hatton fan but is he better than all of the following?

Jimmy Wilde.
Jim Driscoll.
Freddie Welsh.
Lennox Lewis.
Jack 'Kid' Berg.
Ted 'Kid' Lewis.
Nigel Benn.
Chris Eubank.
Dennis Andries.
Freddie Mills.
Jock McAvoy
Ken Buchanan.
Naseem Hamed.
Owen Moran.
Benny Lynch.
John Conteh.
Howard Winstone.
Barry Mcguigan.
Lloyd Honeyghan.


Some of them? maybe but all of them? NO! At least not yet, time will tell.

I think we have to put these things in perspective Joe. Billy Graham can say what he likes. If and when Hatton himself says it ( like a certain prick from Grand Rapids, Michigan ) then we have the right to criticise him. For now let the disclaimers be aimed at Graham.

My comments were aimed at Billy Graham not Ricky Hatton who has always struck me as a very modest and likable bloke.