Hatton gets Tackie

Ulysses · Post by **Ulysses** » 23 Oct 2003, 10:06

On December 13, if Sinclair-Vincent is confirmed it makes for a very good card. Two good dust-ups!

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 23 Oct 2003, 10:38

Good fight for Hatton, can't argue with that - looks like Showtime must've put their foot down.

Tackie is heavy handed and will probably be there for the full 12 ( assuming Hatton manages to do the 12 rounds as well ) so Ricky might have to outbox him, similar to the Magee fight.

Interesting!

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 23 Oct 2003, 10:42

No Urkal then. So no chance of a Gatti confrontation.
Oh, well, at least Tackie is better than Argie spoiler Omar Weis.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 23 Oct 2003, 10:51

Ben "Wonder" Tackie, a 30-year-old Ghanaian based in America, has lost widely in his last two fights at the hands of Kostya Tszyu and Sharmba Mitchell, but was still winging at the final bell both times - and has never been stopped. A brave, durable, big-hitting, persistent adversary, Tackie stalks opponents relentlessly looking to land his heavy single shots - and is dangerous right to very end of a fight. Robert Garcia and Edwin Santana were both outpointing the African going into the 10th and final round of their respective fights, but Tackie's pressure suddenly told and he finished them both in the last. It's an approach that has also worn down other contenders like Terrell Finger, Teddy Reid, Golden Johnson and Ray Oliveira (the only man to have beaten WBA champion, Vivian Harris), as well as former 'world' champions Freddie Pendleton and Garcia.
However, it hasn't worked against smart boxers like Gregorio 'Goyo' Vargas, John-John Molina, the brilliant Kostya Tszyu and Sharmba Mitchell last time out, all of whom outslicked and outpointed him - and made him look ponderous in the process.
More worryingly, Mitchell put Tackie down for the first time in his career in the 11th of their one-sided encounter last May.
But it says a lot for the strength and power of the Ghanaian that Kostya Tszyu opted to pick his shots in their undisputed light-welterweight title affair last year in Las Vegas and refused to get involved. Tszyu boxed carefully and steadily for the whole 12 rounds. It's highly doubtful Hatton will deal with him in the same manner, which makes this a potentially exciting encounter. Tackie's big-hitting reputation has been carved out in tough American rings, and Hatton's chin will be tested. Ben managed to jolt Tszyu with a right hand in the third round, and landed a couple of useful-looking left hooks in the 11th (though that was about it). Tackie also knocked out Freddie Pendleton in the first round - a round earlier than Hatton's body punching dismissal of the Philadelphia man a year later, and scored an excellent fifth round stoppage of current NABF welterweight champion Teddy Reid, who, like Hatton, holds a win over Eamonn Magee. Hatton of course was floored by Magee in the first round of their 2002 battle.
Tackie turned pro in 1994 and won his first 13 fights straight off in and around his native Ghana, before he switched to California under Joe Goossen in 1997 after the success of fellow Ghanaian Ike 'Bazooka' Quartey in the States. He campaigned at lightweight in his early years there, beating the quality likes of Louie Leija, Golden Johnson, Edwin Santana and Robert Garcia, but losing a couple of 10-rounders to former much-touted 'world' champions "Goyo" Vargas and Juan Molina, the latter on a split decision. But a first round knockout of Freddie Pendleton in 2000 - a man who had just gone 11 rounds with WBA welterweight champion, James Page, indicated his future was to be at a higher weight. And he proved an instant hit at light-welter with a sixth round stoppage of the useful Terrell Finger in early 2001 and then a thrilling - and gruelling - points win over Ray Oliveira for the NABF light-welterweight in a fight in which both men threw a combined 2,729 - the third most punches ever in a fight under the auspices of according CompuBox. Tackie was clearly far more comfortable at 10 stone and scored another fine win when, in defence of his NABF title and an IBF title eliminator, he stopped the decidely useful Teddy Reid in five rounds to secure that shot at Tszyu.
Tackie, although ponderous at times, can bang and he carries his power into the later stages. He was inactive for a year after the Tszyu setback, and it showed against Mitchell, who won massively on all three scorecards, but that 12-rounder may have sharpened him up for this one. Hatton, for all his crippling body shots, can be hit and can be cut.
Tackie brings over a record of 24-4 (15). He has never been stopped.

TT · Post by TT » 23 Oct 2003, 11:12

Big ups to Showtime for setting up what should be a difficult fight for 'The Hitman'. Expect Ricky to win via a UD in the end tho' but will be very difficult..

knockout artist · Post by **knockout artist** » 23 Oct 2003, 13:41

What price for Mickey Vann as referee?

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 23 Oct 2003, 14:40

bennie wrote:No Urkal then. So no chance of a Gatti confrontation.
Oh, well, at least Tackie is better than Argie spoiler Omar Weis.

I disagree here, Tackie's on the slide I think Weis is the better fighter at the moment.

I know thats styles makes fights, but Shamba Mitchell struggled more with Vince Phillips than Ben Tackie.

Overall, still happy though.

Interestingly, didn't Warren say that showtime wouldn't show this fight - due to Tackie poor recent form.

Good match though.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 23 Oct 2003, 15:32

stujones wrote:
bennie wrote:No Urkal then. So no chance of a Gatti confrontation.
Oh, well, at least Tackie is better than Argie spoiler Omar Weis.
I disagree here, Tackie's on the slide I think Weis is the better fighter at the moment.

I know thats styles makes fights, but Shamba Mitchell struggled more with Vince Phillips than Ben Tackie.

Overall, still happy though.

Interestingly, didn't Warren say that showtime wouldn't show this fight - due to Tackie poor recent form.

Good match though.

Weis is a better fighter than Tackie right now, but he's not good to watch. Tackie's style will make for a much better fight.

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 23 Oct 2003, 16:18

bennie wrote:
stujones wrote:
bennie wrote:No Urkal then. So no chance of a Gatti confrontation.
Oh, well, at least Tackie is better than Argie spoiler Omar Weis.
I disagree here, Tackie's on the slide I think Weis is the better fighter at the moment.

I know thats styles makes fights, but Shamba Mitchell struggled more with Vince Phillips than Ben Tackie.

Overall, still happy though.

Interestingly, didn't Warren say that showtime wouldn't show this fight - due to Tackie poor recent form.

Good match though.
Weis is a better fighter than Tackie right now, but he's not good to watch. Tackie's style will make for a much better fight.

Agreed, my only criticism is that while I think Weiss had a good chance of an upset (I would be sitting on the fence for a long time before making a prediction), I don't feel the same about Tackie.

However, its still a good match up and Ricky and Frank must be applauded.

Hatton to win bya wide points margin, but with one or two shaky moments ala Vince Phillips/Eamonn Magee.

Maybe Weiss will be next year.

Southpaw Stylist · Post by **Southpaw Stylist** » 23 Oct 2003, 17:53

I believe Hatton will win, but this his is REAL test.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 24 Oct 2003, 05:52

I wouldn't want to see Hatton in with a spoiler like Weis anyway.

Don't think Tackie is on the slide either - just because he got outpointed by Tszyu and Mitchell doesn't mean a helluva lot - that would've happened at any point in his career.

He's going to love the chance to maybe have a punch up with Hatton - some people are saying Tackie is made for Hatton, but you could just as easily say that Hatton is made for Tackie - which makes it a good fight.

I'm sure Showtime will be showing this one.

Blue · Post by **Blue** » 08 Nov 2003, 04:17

Tackie is still second level (I thought the fans were promised a “Top Ten rated” opponent?)

Every time he stepped up, Ben has come up short. :(
He isn’t rated in any of the major alphabet cartel rankings,

so I guess Bait & Switch Frank is gona keep hyping the WBU.

If Hatton truly wants to move up he will have to go thru Urkal (WBC & WBA) & Witter (WBO) to get respect from the International community.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 08 Nov 2003, 09:56

Blue wrote:Tackie is still second level (I thought the fans were promised a “Top Ten rated” opponent?)

Every time he stepped up, Ben has come up short. :(
He isn’t rated in any of the major alphabet cartel rankings,
so I guess Bait & Switch Frank is gona keep hyping the WBU.

If Hatton truly wants to move up he will have to go thru Urkal (WBC & WBA) & Witter (WBO) to get respect from the International community.

Is Tackie not rated in the top ten, Blue?

Blue · Post by **Blue** » 08 Nov 2003, 16:12

Not in any of the alphabet rankings.

The highest Tackie ranking is in the IBF at 14.
http://www.fightnews.com/rankings2.htm

BoxRec does have Tackie at 10 and Hatton at at 3.

But it strays away from the merit system too much for my taste. :(

Except for publicist who like to quote a favorable rating of their fighter…
Most people I know don’t take BoxRec ratings seriously.

Tackie and Hatton have nothing on their records that merit a top ten ranking.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 08 Nov 2003, 16:39

You're right, Blue. Tackie's best ranking is number 14 with the IBF as you say. I never realized he was so lowly-ranked.

Goz · Post by **Goz** » 10 Nov 2003, 06:03

Tackie is a good fighter, wins over Reid and Oliveria and going the course with Micthell and Tszyu are testimony to this. Far better than anything Witter has on his record.

Tackie will come to win as well, I'm sure he still views himself as a force and will want to use a win here to catapult himself back into the world title picture.

Loftgroov · Post by **Loftgroov** » 10 Nov 2003, 06:57

Just you wait.

Tackie will pull out 4 days before the fight, and Hatton will fight a stiff instead.

You so know it could happen......

Goz · Post by **Goz** » 10 Nov 2003, 07:01

Loftgroov wrote:Just you wait.

Tackie will pull out 4 days before the fight, and Hatton will fight a stiff instead.

You so know it could happen......

I said this when the fight was announced.... I'll be in the Dominican Republic when the fight is on anyway so I'll only find out when I get back.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 10 Nov 2003, 07:15

bennie wrote:You're right, Blue. Tackie's best ranking is number 14 with the IBF as you say. I never realized he was so lowly-ranked.

He's probably got a low rating because fell behind in his monthly payments.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 10 Nov 2003, 08:10

Loftgroov wrote:Just you wait.

Tackie will pull out 4 days before the fight, and Hatton will fight a stiff instead.

You so know it could happen......

Yes, this could well happen. Good call, Loftgroov.

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 10 Nov 2003, 08:35

Bennie, regarding Tackie's rating.

As you know Tackie is 0-2 in his last two contest, while these fighters are probably #1 and #2 in the devision at the moment, its still hard to rank Tackie in the top 10 just simply because of the depth of the devision.

Alot American (and who know their stuff) still believe Tackie should be ranked low in the ten. Remeber before the Tszyu defeat he was in most independent rankings top 5.

If you look at the three fighters Hatton on the shortlist (Weiss, Urkal, and Tackie). I would say on a world wide rankings that Urkal is the highest, followed by Tackie then Weiss. Whereas, for me, out of these three Tackie is the least likely to cause an upset.

But make no mistake, Tackie is an excellent puncher and this is BY FAR Hatton's most dangerous fight. Any one of those three would have been good.

Tackie would clearly be in the top ten in most devisions

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 10 Nov 2003, 08:40

stujones wrote:Bennie, regarding Tackie's rating.

As you know Tackie is 0-2 in his last two contest, while these fighters are probably #1 and #2 in the devision at the moment, its still hard to rank Tackie in the top 10 just simply because of the depth of the devision.

Alot American (and who know their stuff) still believe Tackie should be ranked low in the ten. Remeber before the Tszyu defeat he was in most independent rankings top 5.

If you look at the three fighters Hatton on the shortlist (Weiss, Urkal, and Tackie). I would say on a world wide rankings that Urkal is the highest, followed by Tackie then Weiss. Whereas, for me, out of these three Tackie is the least likely to cause an upset.

But make no mistake, Tackie is an excellent puncher and this is BY FAR Hatton's most dangerous fight. Any one of those three would have been good.

Tackie would clearly be in the top ten in most devisions

Yes, Tackie's rating was a surprise to me because I felt he would be in the top ten. As you say, he lost to Mitchell and Tszyu in his last two fights, but going the distance with those two is hardly career-end form. He's a good opponent for Hatton. No doubt about it. He's never been stopped, floored only once by Mitchell, has some good wins on his record, and compared to some of the old men Hatton has fought, is positively a teenager at 30.
And what do the alphabet boys know about rankings anyway! The WBC have Jason Cook as their number nine light-welter!

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 10 Nov 2003, 08:59

bennie wrote:
The WBC have Jason Cook as their number nine light-welter!

I got a letter from Boxing Monthly (fair play) in repsponse to a letter I wrote in 1994 asking why they had Steve Robinson only at 6 in their world rankings and Hamed at 5 in the Super Bantam. I was trying to argue (and I was only 14 at the time) that Hamed shouldn't be in the top ten and Robinson should be alot higher.

Basically they said that they had to rank Hamed in the top ten because he was the European champion and thats the done thing to do. Robinson was ranked lowly cause they felt he hadn't beaten the opposition of the 3 other champions and they still felt Gayo Vargas and another fight (who I've forgotten) deserved to remain high - but they did conceed Robinson could very well be the #1 guy in the devision at that time.

So basically, as Cook was an undefeated European champion (also scoring a win over the current champion) its easy to see why he's in the top ten. Do I think there are ten better Lightweights, yes I do - but that European belt is still held in high esteem.

Look at the recent rankings of Samil Sam, Maurice Haaker and even before that poor French fighter who got anhilated by Oscar De La Hoya. All were European champions.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 10 Nov 2003, 09:01

Yes, but they've got him at light-welterweight, Stu. I know he struggles to make lightweight, but it's a generous ranking to say the least. I'm surprised Warren hasn't jumped at the chance to match him with Hatton and say, "well, he's in the top ten!"