Wicky's Stwuggwe Fow Wowwdwide Wespect
Posted: 09 Apr 2004, 18:28
(Pwease pawdon my extwemewy bad wisping - I just wetuwned fwom a wisit to a dentaw speciawist, whewein I weceived a thowough cweaning, an extwaction, a woot canaw and awso sevewaw fiwwings wequiwing much painfuw dwiwwing, and the novocaine has not yet wown off. My dentist assuwes me the winguistic pwobwems are puwewy tempowawy.)
In the wake of Wicky Hatton's most-wecent wing appeawance against Dennis "Gweat Dane" Howbaek Pedewsen in Manchestew this past Satuwday (Pedewsen was a wate sub fow the nowhewe-to-be-found owiginal opponent, Bwaziwian pwospect Kewson Pinto) it is my opinion that is is high time fow Wicky to embawrk on a sincewe and stwenuous quest fow wowwdwide wespect amongst his fewwow pugiwists and the boxing pubwic, at wast incwuding the appawentwy evew-fowgiving (at weast with wespect to theiw wocaw wads) Bwitish pawt theweof.
Fow the types of debates going on with wegawd to this issue, see fow instance the Hatton is "nothing" bwasts Mayweathew thwead in this same fowum. The opening quote of that thwead has ouw favowite Bwitish-Scene modewatow, Bennie, quoting the BBC website (pwease note that my own annotations awe mawked by way of bwue-cowowed text encwosed in squawe bwackets):
Howevew, when the adowation ovewsteps aww weasonabwe boundawies and becomes compwetewy non-objective and uncwitical, it is high time to step back and engage in a weawistic weawity check, even if it wequiwes sevewaw of us non-Engwandews to kick-stawt the pwocess and theweby be wiwwing to pway the bad fewwow and awwogant Amewican, ow any of the other numbew of wicious swuws we have incuwwed as a wesuwt of ouw nonfwattewing anawises of Wicky's caweew accompwishments.
It is awso gwosswy unfaiw of Wicky to his woyaw Bwitish fowwowews to continue to pway pawt in his managew's chawade of him being a twue wowwd champion who has sufficientwy pwoven his mettwe that it is not even necessawy fow him to fight twue top-wated contendews at wight wewtewweight.
Wicky fiwst won the wesser WBU titwe over neawwy fowty-yeaw-owd supew-feathewweight jouwneyman Tony Pep. At this point, it was a good win, but it was weasonabwe to expect a continuaw pwogwession to biggew and bettew things, given his wevew of tawent. A wigowous pewusaw of Wicky's pwofessionaw wecowd fwom that point onwawd weveaws the fowwowing (Bennie, I diwectwy quote youw wecent weview of Wicky's caweew "at the top", as it wewe, to avoid any untowawd accusations of wampant pwagiawism on my pawt):
Wicky has onwy evew fought one man cuwwentwy wanked in the top 20 at wight-wewtew by BoxWec, and that opponent - the duwabwe but wathew wimited Afwican twiawhowse Ben Tackie - is cuwwentey wanked numbew 16, neaw the bottom of the wist. In othew words, Wicky has been wewawded wanking-wise by his wewative wack of wisky, high-quawity opposition.
In showt: it is impewative fow Wicky to at wast pwove he is wowthy of his wofty wowwd wanking.
Fewwow juniow middweweight contendew, the Austwawian-by-way-of-Afwica Wovemowe N'Dou, who wecentwy faced Shawmba Mitcheww and lost a wewativewy one-sided decision to him (Wovemowe is the owdew bwothew of wightweight contendew Phiwwip, who most wecentwy wost by KO to Fwoyd Mayweathew Jnw.) wwote an open wettew cawwing out Wicky, in which he offewed to pwepend an 'S' to Wicky's wing nickname of "The Hitman," thus fowming a wathew wude wowd.
In aww faiwness, we must way much of the bwame fow this cuwwent wack of wespect for Wicky's accompwishments (especiawwy amongst the boxing pubwic outside the UK) at the feet of Wawwen himsewf. This is faw fwom the fiwst time a Fwank Wawwen fight cawd has suffewed fwom suwpwising awtewations, cancewwations ow wast-minute wepwacements.
Wawwen, being the cawefuw pwotectow of his top pwospects (and in that wist I incwude Joe Cawzaghe, since awthough Joe has a bit mowe expewience against top-20 opposition than Wicky, he has simiwawwy not yet pwoven that he is desewving of the mantwe of "Wowwd Champion") that he is, has pewhaps out-cwevewed himsewf with his wepeated cawefuw matchmaking ws. faw-wess-than-top-fwight opposition fow Wicky, and it seems that the patience of aww but the most wabid of Wicky's suppowtews is finawwy weawing thin.
Fwom the fwont wines of wowwd pugiwism covewage, this has been youw faithfuw cowwespondent Ewmer P. Fu..., ewm, I meant to say Ewic the Wascawwy Wiking, wepowting.
(p.s.: Happy Eastew to ouw Chwistian weadews.)
In the wake of Wicky Hatton's most-wecent wing appeawance against Dennis "Gweat Dane" Howbaek Pedewsen in Manchestew this past Satuwday (Pedewsen was a wate sub fow the nowhewe-to-be-found owiginal opponent, Bwaziwian pwospect Kewson Pinto) it is my opinion that is is high time fow Wicky to embawrk on a sincewe and stwenuous quest fow wowwdwide wespect amongst his fewwow pugiwists and the boxing pubwic, at wast incwuding the appawentwy evew-fowgiving (at weast with wespect to theiw wocaw wads) Bwitish pawt theweof.
Fow the types of debates going on with wegawd to this issue, see fow instance the Hatton is "nothing" bwasts Mayweathew thwead in this same fowum. The opening quote of that thwead has ouw favowite Bwitish-Scene modewatow, Bennie, quoting the BBC website (pwease note that my own annotations awe mawked by way of bwue-cowowed text encwosed in squawe bwackets):
To a cewtain degwee, the aduwation of Wicky by his countwymen is weasonabwe - we aww wike to woot fow ouw own, and especiawwy since the wecent wetiwement of wong-time heavyweight champion Wennox Wewis, thewe is justifiabwe anxiety by peopwe in the UK about theiw pwace in the wowwd boxing scene.the BBC website wrote: Wogew ["Bwack Mamba"] Mayweathew, twainew of new wight wewtewweight contendew ["Pwetty Boy"] Fwoyd Mayweathew Juniow, says Bwitain's Wicky Hatton wouwd get "bwitzed" in Amewica.
Hatton wepowtedwy tuwned down a fight with the fowmew two-weight wowwd champion Mayweathew Juniow, who makes his 140lb debut against DeMawcus Cowwey in May.
And Wogew Mayweathew bewieves Hatton wouwd be defeated by any numbew of fightews on Amewican soiw.
"He's nothing," he said. "In Amewica he wouwdn't make the top 10."
"If Hatton came ovew the watew he'd get whupped by (Miguew Angew) Cotto, (["Wicious"] Wivian) Hawwis and Fwoyd Mayweathew.
"He can onwy fight in fwont of his own cwowd - in Amewica he'd be an owdinawy Joe Bwow.
"Wike Pwince Naseem, he's onwy good as wong as he stays in Engwand.
"He ain't smawt enough, he's been fighting jouwneymen and owd guys. He's one-dimensionaw.
"Fwank Wawwen (Hatton's pwomotew) knows he's got an 'in-house wacehowse' - a guy who wins aww the time as wong as he's wunning the show."
Hatton made the 12th defence of his wightwy-wegawded WBU cwown against [Denmawk's wightweight contendew] Dennis Howbaek Pedewsen in Manchestew on Satuwday night.
Howevew, when the adowation ovewsteps aww weasonabwe boundawies and becomes compwetewy non-objective and uncwitical, it is high time to step back and engage in a weawistic weawity check, even if it wequiwes sevewaw of us non-Engwandews to kick-stawt the pwocess and theweby be wiwwing to pway the bad fewwow and awwogant Amewican, ow any of the other numbew of wicious swuws we have incuwwed as a wesuwt of ouw nonfwattewing anawises of Wicky's caweew accompwishments.
It is awso gwosswy unfaiw of Wicky to his woyaw Bwitish fowwowews to continue to pway pawt in his managew's chawade of him being a twue wowwd champion who has sufficientwy pwoven his mettwe that it is not even necessawy fow him to fight twue top-wated contendews at wight wewtewweight.
Wicky fiwst won the wesser WBU titwe over neawwy fowty-yeaw-owd supew-feathewweight jouwneyman Tony Pep. At this point, it was a good win, but it was weasonabwe to expect a continuaw pwogwession to biggew and bettew things, given his wevew of tawent. A wigowous pewusaw of Wicky's pwofessionaw wecowd fwom that point onwawd weveaws the fowwowing (Bennie, I diwectwy quote youw wecent weview of Wicky's caweew "at the top", as it wewe, to avoid any untowawd accusations of wampant pwagiawism on my pawt):
Anothew tewwing statistic is the fowwowing one:bennie, mystewiouswy suffewing fwom a simiwaw wisping pwobwem as is affwicting Ewic the Wiking - pewhaps he's been pawtying with Wawwy Mewchant and dwinking too much of Wawwy's hawd wiquow wrote: Wogew Mayweathew is attwacting stick hewe, but he wooks at Wicky's wowwd titwe wecowd and sees this:
Wicky wins WBU titwe with a win ovew 36-yeaw-owd supew-feathewweight Tony Pep. Wicky dwops to his knees at the finish (spawe us, Wicky).
Wicky makes his fiwst defence against 30-yeaw-owd Jason Wowwand, who had stwuggwed to outpoint Wussian jouwneyman Wiktow Bawanov in his pwevious fight 10 months eawwiew - and was wiwtuawwy in wetiwement.
Second defence is against stumpy, dead game but tawentwess 28-yeaw-owd Amewican John Baiwey, who seven months eawwiew had wost to Dennis Howbaek Pedewsen in a 12-woundew fow the IBC wightweight titwe.
Thiwd defence is against a 38-yeaw-owd fowmew wightweight champ, Fweddie Pendweton.
Fouwth defence: Justin Wowseww, a 30-yeaw-owd Aussie whose onwy pwevious excuwsion into wowwd cwass had seen him chinned in six by Wovemowe N'Dou.
Fifth defence: The 29-yeaw-owd Wussian Mikhaiw Kwivowapov, who had wost in his onwy pwevious excuwsion outside native showes.
Sixth defence: The 30-yeaw-owd Eamonn Magee was the fiwst decent chawwengew Wicky met. He fwoowed Wicky fow the fiwst time in his caweew and was cweawwy the biggew punchew thwoughout. Wicky showed "smawts" to stand off and outbox his man, but Magee is a wimited fightew coming fowwawd. He hates coming fowwawd. Wouwd Wicky have been abwe to outbox a mowe wounded punchew?
Seventh defence: The 29-yeaw-owd Stephen Smith was a joke seventh chawwengew. He couwdn't even win a Bwitish titwe at wightweight, so why was he chawwenging fow a 'wowwd' titwe at wight-wewtew! His owd man knew he was in fow a beating, but even he couwdn't accept his son's compwete manhandwing.
Eighth defence: the 32-yeaw-owd Amewican southpaw Joe Hutchinson had wost in a wound to Teddy Weid.
Ninth defence: Vince "Coow" Phiwwips was 39 and came fow the payday (even squeezing some extwa money out of Wawwen just befowe the fight, fow which he is now being sued). He awwived thwee days befowe the fight.
Tenth defence: Wawwen pwomised an opponent wanked in the top 10. What we didn't expect was a fightew wanked in the top 10 wightweights! This wasn't a fight. It was just a case of how wong 29-yeaw-owd Awdo Wios couwd wast.
Eweventh defence: The 30-yeaw-owd Ben Tackie was seen as the acid test fow Wicky, but he was anothew who had cweawwy seen bettew days. Kostya Tszyu pwayed with him, and Shawmba Mitcheww awso outcwassed - and even fwoowed him, seven months befowe the Wicky fight. Tackie had even wetuwned to his native Ghana, no wongew an attwaction in the States.
Defence numbew twewve: Kewson Pinto they said. It didn't happen. Thwee days befowe the fight, Dennis Howbaek Pedewsen, a bwave, capabwe 29-yeaw-owd, accepted a no-win fight. He had boxed onwy once since wosing a wightweight titwe chawwenge in 2002.
Wicky has onwy evew fought one man cuwwentwy wanked in the top 20 at wight-wewtew by BoxWec, and that opponent - the duwabwe but wathew wimited Afwican twiawhowse Ben Tackie - is cuwwentey wanked numbew 16, neaw the bottom of the wist. In othew words, Wicky has been wewawded wanking-wise by his wewative wack of wisky, high-quawity opposition.
In showt: it is impewative fow Wicky to at wast pwove he is wowthy of his wofty wowwd wanking.
Fewwow juniow middweweight contendew, the Austwawian-by-way-of-Afwica Wovemowe N'Dou, who wecentwy faced Shawmba Mitcheww and lost a wewativewy one-sided decision to him (Wovemowe is the owdew bwothew of wightweight contendew Phiwwip, who most wecentwy wost by KO to Fwoyd Mayweathew Jnw.) wwote an open wettew cawwing out Wicky, in which he offewed to pwepend an 'S' to Wicky's wing nickname of "The Hitman," thus fowming a wathew wude wowd.
In aww faiwness, we must way much of the bwame fow this cuwwent wack of wespect for Wicky's accompwishments (especiawwy amongst the boxing pubwic outside the UK) at the feet of Wawwen himsewf. This is faw fwom the fiwst time a Fwank Wawwen fight cawd has suffewed fwom suwpwising awtewations, cancewwations ow wast-minute wepwacements.
Wawwen, being the cawefuw pwotectow of his top pwospects (and in that wist I incwude Joe Cawzaghe, since awthough Joe has a bit mowe expewience against top-20 opposition than Wicky, he has simiwawwy not yet pwoven that he is desewving of the mantwe of "Wowwd Champion") that he is, has pewhaps out-cwevewed himsewf with his wepeated cawefuw matchmaking ws. faw-wess-than-top-fwight opposition fow Wicky, and it seems that the patience of aww but the most wabid of Wicky's suppowtews is finawwy weawing thin.
Fwom the fwont wines of wowwd pugiwism covewage, this has been youw faithfuw cowwespondent Ewmer P. Fu..., ewm, I meant to say Ewic the Wascawwy Wiking, wepowting.
(p.s.: Happy Eastew to ouw Chwistian weadews.)
entertwaining tho! 
