BoxRec

Due to Kosta's inactivity Hatton is now number one!!!!!!!

great news :P :P :P

Ha ha, brilliant. I think someone should review the ratings system. I think it should be Zab Judah who is first if Tszyu is dethroned, he has beaten De Marcus Corley and at least been in the ring with Tszyu himself. Or maybe Sharmba Mitchell should be top.

putting Ricky top 5 is pushing it........zab, Sharmba, Gatti deserve to be above him at this point in time.

hatton at no 1 so he should be at last the world is slowly realising this kid is the real deal.

How does Gatti deserve to be above Hatton??!!

IMO Hatton should be in the top 5 at best......All he has done is beat a made to measure Tackie which everyone knew he was going to anyway.

He still has a hell of a lot to prove!!

I know he can hang with the best but he has to prove that.

HH

Yes, I agree, it's perhaps a bit premature regarding him as the next best thing to Tszyu, I belive that Mitchell might be the best around right now, Tszyu has been out for ages by the time he faces Mitchell, and in some respects Hatton's performance was more impressive against tackie than either Mitchell's or Tszyu's, if less controlled. Hatton actually succeeded in taking the fight to Tackie, and won.

However, Arturo Gatti's only claim to fame as a light welterweight, is beating a past prime Teron Millett, and beating Ward twice (3 times in my book), they might have been exciting fights, but no better than what Hatton has done at all.

It's not that outlandish, I mean, Tszyu is not getting any younger and has become the invisible man of the division and never fights anymore, Mitchell is a fair pick going on his run of wins (like Hatton) over Phillips and Tackie, but that doesn't mean I don't think Hatton couldn't beat him as I think he's a great chance.

Judah is also up there, but I still think he's damaged goods as he was wrecked by Tzysu, even though it was a bolt out of the blue early on.

Plus, while superb fights, the Ward v Gatti trilogy was overrated when it comes to how you rate Gatti at the top of the division. I mean, after watching Hatton tame a well up for it Vince Phillips and boss a decision over Tackie, do you honestly think he couldn't beat Gatti or Ward? I think he would stop both of them. Gatti's power is not the same at 140lb as it was at super-feather and Hatton would put more heat on him than Ward could, that's for sure. Ward would not be able to cope with Hatton's pressure, Ricky would have been too quick for him and using a mixture of pressure and movement, would outwork the slow-of-foot Ward. even before he took on Gatti.

Hatton's top five at the very least on recent form. Top spot, arguable, but once again, not an outrageous opinion.

My pick of the top five is:

1 Tszyu
2 Hatton
3 Mitchell
4 Judah
5 Harris (with Gatti next)

IMO Hatton v Ward would have been a 50/50 fight. No way would Ricky have stopped Ward at any stage. The lad is no great puncher at world level.

I don't care too much for rankings these days but I'd be more than confident that Gatti's mix of boxing and punching would be too much for Hatton to soak up.

And by the way I believe Judah would do an absolute number on Hatton.

Christ, Ward is as slow as Shit through a funnell, I don't think Hatton would have struggled with him, he looks like he can take a shot, and all Ward really had by the time he got to Gatti was toughness, stamina and 1 punch and decent power.

I think Hatton would have decisioned Ward or stopped him on cuts, judging by the way he dealt with Tackie.

Personally out of the three I was least impressed with Hatton's win over Tackie. Sure he won clearly but the way he was having to repeatedly clinch over the final third showed to me he's still going to have to improve considerably if he's ever going to become the true #1.

Sounds like Zab is moving to 147, so his days at light welter might be over, as I think he'll probably beat Spinks over 12.

No-one knows how good Cotto is yet, but he does look just about the best prospect in the world, and is already WBO No#1.
Pinto in WBO #2.

I like Vivian Harris - the guy seems to be the division's dark horse and has a punch like a mule's kick. He's called Hatton out many times and is always met with complete silence.

And I still think Mohamad Abdulaev can go all the way too.