BoxRec

fair point but we dont know for sure do we? at the end of the day its been the june fight especially that has caused the most consternation Pinto looked a good opponent on paper, so we are criticising based on a pull out and a one sub standard match up) also Witter had a choice against Judah. And pinto (do you believe the possibly spurious inury story?)

Im not here to slate witter I just think that whats good for the goose...

I would say this....

I don't think Hatton would have gone through Battaglia like that, would have been a tougher night for him.

Yeah when I heard that about Zab Judah being a great, I was almost fuming but laughing at the same time!

This is another thing about this country, people use the word great very easily. Judah is NOT a great fighter, he is merely a very good one, every time he has stepped up in calibre, he has come short.

I was also cheesed off when on ringside last night, Adam Smith was going through the history of British Featherweight champions and they called Paul Ingle a "fabulous fighter". Paul Ingle fabulous my arse! A good fighter yes, but not fabulous! He was just a decent fringe world class fighter who had a breif reign as a world champion.

jamesmcdonnell wrote:I would say this....

I don't think Hatton would have gone through Battaglia like that, would have been a tougher night for him.

totally agree but thats down to style.

Agreed, however I do think that on the world scene Witter's power, provided he is able to deliver it, could be a factor which would allow him to win fights. I wasn't sold on Witter's punchpower before, but going through Battaglia, who had a reputation as a tough and cagey fighter, has convinced me that Witter has the power to hurt anyone he hits.

well good luck to both of them.

Maybe now Witter has taken this step he can stop bleating on about Hatton, and "team" hatton will get their arse in great and fight someone decent.

AND EVENTUALLY HOPEFULLY THEY WILL MEET

I think the point made on BritishBoxing.net is very apposite, in that Witter was calling Hatton 'just another fight' or something, leaving us to infer that he's kind of given up on that one. The only way that comes off is in a few years' time, if Hatton's in need of a career boost and Witter's sliding. Unless Hatton leaves Warren.


I've also been impressed with the power Witter has developed. He's just in this awkward limbo which so many Ingle fighters find themselves in of being too tricky and good to match with anyone who's serious.

And I agree that Hatton could well have taken longer, but he'd have done it very differently.

Battaglia, I'd rate him on a par with Vilches. Certainly above Pedersen.

mickeybeard wrote:

steve689 wrote:

Witter lost to Zab Judah, one of the greats of the modern era

I don't know whether to laugh of cry

I thought I heard that last night. fornicate me the BBC team are arse...

yeah i had to laugh at that one modern lippy little sh*t more like

J wrote:guys guys, yes witter looked good but can we honestly say if Battaglia was announced as hattons opponnent on the 12th rather than vilches that we wouldnt be slating him for fighting a sub standard opponent.

one rule for one and one for another

Yeh, but Hatton's supposedly one of the top 5 light welters, whereas Witter isn't....

that depends on who you listen to.

NickR wrote:

J wrote:guys guys, yes witter looked good but can we honestly say if Battaglia was announced as hattons opponnent on the 12th rather than vilches that we wouldnt be slating him for fighting a sub standard opponent.

one rule for one and one for another

Yeh, but Hatton's supposedly one of the top 5 light welters, whereas Witter isn't....

Witter's still a top ten light welter, plus he's about 5 years older than Hatton, so really he should be at a more advanced stage of his career by now.

fair comment kev witter is five years older but they both started their pro careers in 1997 and ricky being the more marketable fighter would have had easier access to the bigger fights, if he or his management team had wanted them that is.

But since his loss to Judah, Witter has won14 straight, surley he could have stepped up the competition a bit. I'm not anti Witter or anything, but it just seems a bit unfair when Hatton is critisised about his opponents, when he has fought the better opposition overall.

Witters Euro belt is worth far more than Hattons WBU plus however many defenses he's made. That belt will get him a top ten ranking.

To be fair to Witter, I think that Warren lavished all the attention and marketing money on Hatton, who he saw as the more marketable fighter, whilst Witter was kind of left to fend for himself, which is I think what angered the Ingles.

Fair enough, Warren is a businessman, and he's not obliged to spend money on someone who he doesn't think can cut it in terms of putting bums on seats, but this explains I think the piss-poor competition, Witter until now has had no profile at all, and nobody wanted to fight him.

Even now American fighters are hardly going to be queueing up to fight Witter, his style is a nightmare. Things are still going to be very hard for Junior.