BoxRec

Latest news from the WBC Convention:

Kostya Tszyu has been elevated to, get this, "Champion Emeritus of the World" by the WBC. Arturo Gatti thus meets Italy's Gianluca Branco on January 24 in Atlantic City for the vacant WBC title.
Ricky Hatton and Oktay Urkal have been ordered to meet on December 13 at the MEN Arena in order to find a mandatory contender for the Gatti-Branco winner.
Now over to Warren. He said he was going to have nothing more to do with the WBC after they demoted Hatton in the rankings to elevate Gatti. We'll see.

Well I didn't know what it meant so I looked it up:

emeritus
Main Entry: 1emer·i·tus
Pronunciation: i-'mer-&-t&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural emer·i·ti /-&-"tI, -"tE/
Date: 1750
: one retired from professional life but permitted to retain as an honorary title the rank of the last office held

By the way, I happen to believe, even in Manchester, Hatton wouldn't beat Urkal. That's why I'll be very surprised if Warren takes the fight. He doesn't care that there's the chance of a spectacular Hatton-Gatti showdown at stake. He's not going to risk his golden goose against Urkal.

bennie wrote:By the way, I happen to believe, even in Manchester, Hatton wouldn't beat Urkal. That's why I'll be very surprised if Warren takes the fight. He doesn't care that there's the chance of a spectacular Hatton-Gatti showdown at stake. He's not going to risk his golden goose against Urkal.

Agreed (about Warren not wanting the fight). he'll probably use his new found animosity for the WBC to explain why he wants nothing to do with these fights.
Then he'll complain about being unable to secure big names, so on, and so forth.
I bet Hatton wants a piece of Urkal and Gatti though.

Priff wrote:

bennie wrote:By the way, I happen to believe, even in Manchester, Hatton wouldn't beat Urkal. That's why I'll be very surprised if Warren takes the fight. He doesn't care that there's the chance of a spectacular Hatton-Gatti showdown at stake. He's not going to risk his golden goose against Urkal.

Agreed (about Warren not wanting the fight). he'll probably use his new found animosity for the WBC to explain why he wants nothing to do with these fights.
Then he'll complain about being unable to secure big names, so on, and so forth.
I bet Hatton wants a piece of Urkal and Gatti though.

Twenty years ago, everyone would have put their differences aside to make sure a 'natural' like Gatti-Hatton would happen. But the game has changed so much. The best fighters, or in Hatton and Gatti's case, the most exciting fighters, rarely meet anymore.
Apart from Warren's spat with the WBC (which, as you say, is quite convenient, given the number of WBU titles his fighters hold) another stumbling block is American-TV. Gatti is backed by HBO and Hatton by Showtime.

I still think it will be Hatton vs Weiss. However, either way I'm happy as both represent a step up for Hatton.

The only cause for concern is that this will also represent a step up in price (i.e. the bill will be on Sky box office).

I don't want to doubt FW ambition with Hatton, especially at this time, because although Urkal possibly is held in slighltly higher regard than Weiss you can hardly say that by putting his guy in with Weiss demonstrates a lack of belief in his ability .

Whoever (OUT OF THESE TWO) Hatton faces in December, I'll be happy.

stujones wrote:I still think it will be Hatton vs Weiss. However, either way I'm happy as both represent a step up for Hatton.

The only cause for concern is that this will also represent a step up in price (i.e. the bill will be on Sky box office).

I don't want to doubt FW ambition with Hatton, especially at this time, because although Urkal possibly is held in slighltly higher regard than Weiss you can hardly say that by putting his guy in with Weiss demonstrates a lack of belief in his ability .

Whoever (OUT OF THESE TWO) Hatton faces in December, I'll be happy.

I would be surprised if Hatton-Weiss was PPV.

I would not pay for this and I'm a big boxing fan so I can't Joe Public forking out £15 for it either...

Agreed Goz. Hatton v Gatti PPV maybe, but Omar Weis means no more than Adol Rios to the casual fan.

Couldn't see any Hatton fight being PPV too be honest unless the undercard is exceptionally strong that is, Hatton-Weiss should be interesting but not a barnstormer. Hatton-Urkal would be good too, Urkal is ok when he can run around the ring all night while guaranteed home town scoring. If he has a stalker like Hatton after him all night he might not think himself as clever like he did when he faced Eamonn Magee. Don't forget the fight with Magee was close and Urkal may not have been looked upon so favourably outside Germany with his disgraceful behaviour had he been anywhere else.

steve689 wrote:Couldn't see any Hatton fight being PPV too be honest unless the undercard is exceptionally strong that is, Hatton-Weiss should be interesting but not a barnstormer. Hatton-Urkal would be good too, Urkal is ok when he can run around the ring all night while guaranteed home town scoring. If he has a stalker like Hatton after him all night he might not think himself as clever like he did when he faced Eamonn Magee. Don't forget the fight with Magee was close and Urkal may not have been looked upon so favourably outside Germany with his disgraceful behaviour had he been anywhere else.

Just heard that Sky are considering experimenting with a Hatton PPV. I guess they miss Naz.

If its Hatton vs Urkal, I wonder weather Urkal will vacate his European Belt. It would be great to see Witter vs Magee on the undercard for that belt.

stujones wrote:

steve689 wrote:Couldn't see any Hatton fight being PPV too be honest unless the undercard is exceptionally strong that is, Hatton-Weiss should be interesting but not a barnstormer. Hatton-Urkal would be good too, Urkal is ok when he can run around the ring all night while guaranteed home town scoring. If he has a stalker like Hatton after him all night he might not think himself as clever like he did when he faced Eamonn Magee. Don't forget the fight with Magee was close and Urkal may not have been looked upon so favourably outside Germany with his disgraceful behaviour had he been anywhere else.

Just heard that Sky are considering experimenting with a Hatton PPV. I guess they miss Naz.

If its Hatton vs Urkal, I wonder weather Urkal will vacate his European Belt. It would be great to see Witter vs Magee on the undercard for that belt.

Yeah Hatton V Urkal, Witter V Magee and at least two other quality matchups maybe Farnell/Elcock V Lockett and Skelton V Long, would convince me to buy PPV, although fools like me would buy it regardless! I did after all purchase Tyson-Etienne, i am just too curious that i am missing something

Well, this is a perfect chance for Hatton to say to Frank,

"listen Mr Warren. I want this shot at the WBC title, so get the fooking fight on with Urkal."

I rekon Hatton would do Urkal, and then he is in line to have a shot at a legitimate belt. Isn't that what he has always wanted?

Time for him to stand up, and be counted.

And, no I wouldn't PPV to watch Hatton/Weis, but I might for Hatton/Urkal.

hatton wont be on ppv untill he fights in america,

hopefully hatton will demand this fight and we can see a good contest

interesting if warren losses the purse bid and hatton has to fight in germany. that will be tought for hatton.

Bennie Posted: 10 Oct 2003 14:24
Twenty years ago, everyone would have put their differences aside to make sure a 'natural' like Gatti-Hatton would happen.

Twenty years ago there was a lot more pride in the European & National Titles.
This all stopped when the WBO was formed.
This gave the paper pretenders a way to skirt around the proven contenders.

This is when the sport became an entertainment business in Europe. :(

BTW, for those of U other guys who diss Urkal,
I’d advise U to get a tape of his fight with Zoo. 8)
With Hatton’s propensity to cut, Weis is not gona be easy either.

Blue wrote:Bennie Posted: 10 Oct 2003 14:24
Twenty years ago, everyone would have put their differences aside to make sure a 'natural' like Gatti-Hatton would happen.

Twenty years ago there was a lot more pride in the European & National Titles.
This all stopped when the WBO was formed.
This gave the paper pretenders a way to skirt around the proven contenders.

This is when the sport became an entertainment business in Europe. :(

BTW, for those of U other guys who diss Urkal,
I’d advise U to get a tape of his fight with Zoo. 8)
With Hatton’s propensity to cut, Weis is not gona be easy either.

Yes, Urkal lost only narrowly on the scorecards to Tszyu and finished the stronger of the two. It remains his only setback in the paid ranks since he turned pro after winning a silver medal in the 1996 Olympics. The guy is class. And I was very impressed with his performance against Magee last time out in Germany. People talk about how well Magee fought, but he still lost the fight. That says something.

I look forward to seeing what Frank has to say about this.
Hatton, you'd think, would be applying some real pressure on his promoter to get this fight made.
It's a difficult one but I'm sure he thinks he'd win it.

Not sure how the WBC could order it to go ahead on that dec date - wouldn't it have to go to purses? The German's will ask a lot, and that might be Frank's eventual excuse.

As for Emperor Tszyu's new title....does that mean the Super Title now becomes vacant?

MightyWarrior wrote:I look forward to seeing what Frank has to say about this.
Hatton, you'd think, would be applying some real pressure on his promoter to get this fight made.
It's a difficult one but I'm sure he thinks he'd win it.

Not sure how the WBC could order it to go ahead on that dec date - wouldn't it have to go to purses? The German's will ask a lot, and that might be Frank's eventual excuse.

As for Emperor Tszyu's new title....does that mean the Super Title now becomes vacant?

Yes, it does seem strange that the WBC are telling Warren who to match on his own show. I imagine he's seething at the news. The WBC have called his bluff here. They haven't given Hatton the straight shot at the title Warren wanted for his man, but they've given him something. Interestingly, Warren was going to stage a WBC International title fight between Dennis Bakhtov and Keith Long tomorrow, before Long did his usual trick of pulling out late. Warren is in a tight corner. He can't turn around and say I don't want to deal with the WBC without someone mentioning Bakhtov-Long (though the fact the fight didn't come off helps Warren's weak argument), and if he wants his man to win a genuine world title he has to take the risky Urkal match. Why doesn't Warren just accept the match and be done? Hatton's Manchester compatriot Michael Brodie has taken it on himself to challenge the dangerous Injin Chi next week for the WBC featherweight title. Hatton - and more importantly Warren - should take a leaf out of his book

What are the chances Hatton faces off against Witter in December?

[quote="Zhuge"]What are the chances Hatton faces off against Witter in December?[/quote]

Perhaps this fight might come off instead of the Urkal one. If not then who else is Hatton going to fight?

Lickszz wrote:

Zhuge wrote:What are the chances Hatton faces off against Witter in December?

Perhaps this fight might come off instead of the Urkal one. If not then who else is Hatton going to fight?

Probably another fighter in the Rios mould, after all Hatton sells tickets regardless of the opponent.

Ricky Hatton Would Destroy Urkal Fact Been That Hatton Would Use His Trademark Bodypunching To Wear Him Down. Yeah Maybe If He Leaves Himself Open Sometimes Like He Did Against Rios He Might Lose But Urkal Is Not A Puncher Like Hatton. Hatton Has 25ko's Out Of 33 Fights. Urkal Has 11ko's Out Off 33 Wins. Urkal Is More Of A Technical Fighter And It Would Only Be A Matter Of Time During The Fight That Hatton Would Finally Get To Him Like He Did Against Rios.

Lickszz wrote:

Zhuge wrote:What are the chances Hatton faces off against Witter in December?

Perhaps this fight might come off instead of the Urkal one. If not then who else is Hatton going to fight?

I Reckon Hatton Should Move Upto Welterweight And Fight Jawaid Khaliq. That Would Be Interesting.

Not only is the term "Emeritus Champion" grammatically incorrect, it is a ludicrous concept (I assume they are using it just because they didn't want to be seen to be copying the WBA by using the "Super" title.

Loynesy wrote:Not only is the term "Emeritus Champion" grammatically incorrect, it is a ludicrous concept (I assume they are using it just because they didn't want to be seen to be copying the WBA by using the "Super" title.

Further evidence that the people running our sport are imbeciles of the highest order.

"I Reckon Hatton Should Move Upto Welterweight And Fight Jawaid Khaliq. That Would Be Interesting."

Mate, I've seen them spar, Jav gets smashed up every time.