Re: Admit it.
Posted: 25 May 2008, 09:24
Well said PN. I'm certainly not a Hatton 'nut-hugger' (and anyone can check my previous posts if they want proof of that), but I went along last night as I took clients, and I'm genuinely surprised at some of the reactions on here. I thought for a comeback fight he was sharper from the off than I expected and he maintained a great workrate throughout the course of the fight, particularly considering he was loading up on so many shots. He still has a better shot selection and variety of punches than 99% of boxers from these shores and while he led with his face on occasion I think that was in part because he was desperate to secure the stoppage win in front of his home crowd, and also because he didn't respect Lazcano's power. Lazcano himself didn't come to lie down and put in a great effort - no-one would have blamed him if he'd pulled out in the final third and just collected his cheque, but in the 8th and the 10th he gave it a real go.Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:What a load of BS, I just watched the stream. How many fighters throw 70punches with power a round for 12rounds? How many fighters are that fast and accurate? Win every round against an ex-top 5 lightweight? When has Hatton actually been better?
Now Lazcanno is past his best and semi-retired, but he had a hard training camp, he is biggish at 140 himself, and he is an opponent on par with Phillips/Tackie and better than Maussa. He is pretty basic but there are few who could take that sort of punnishment, it looked pretty painful
Everyone knows I'm a big Hatton critic but that was a solid comeback.
As for the holding, from where I was watching it was Lazcano who was initiating the majority bar the last couple of rounds and when Lazcano did hurt Ricky in the 8th he came blazing back - if that had been any other British fighter we'd have been raving about that round and Hatton's response.
Of course Ricky shouldn't step in with Floyd again, but along with Haye and Calzaghe he's one of the few who is a genuine world-class talent from these isles so I don't understand the degree of criticism. He deserves to take some regarding past choice of opposition and last night being PPV, but what's on this board goes way beyond that.
On a separate note, couldn't believe how many people started leaving after the 10th round... and invariably from the most expensive seats. Guess that's what happens when you go 'mass market'!