BoxRec

Alright lads, seen a lot of negative posts. I admit, I didn't enjoy the fights as much as I expected. I always feel the day after is a bad day to comment, because things aren't always in perspective.

Anyhow - I've seen loads of Castillo's non title fights. He looks as he did vs Ngodjou in most of the 'stay busy' fights. The Cameroon guy was competent and live. This was a great fight to shed the rust & prepare for war.

With Hatton, I recks the fade is a bit overexaggerated. Ricky won ugly but was quite effective winning most of the 12 rounds. It was not what we wanted but he just beat a top ten dangerman, proving he can adjust after a body beating.

OK, we're not so eager for Ricky v Jose. But anything think both men are more ready now & will produce against one another?

Good point, both will be better vs the other. Hatton had 8 months out himself but his shedule & fitness need reworking

On the whole I was impressed with Ricky, I think Urango was limited but strong as an ox and could hurt Hatton. I think he fought the right fight tactically and I think the grabbing was not do to him fading but because as Billy rightly said, Urango didn't know what to do in that situation - so better to do that, than in and out and risk getting tagged.

My worry is though, is his strength at 10 stone still there. Is his lifestyle catching up. When he fought Kostya Tszyu he looked like the strongest 10 stone fighter of the lot. Hell, he outstrengthed a fighter NOTED for his strength.... Now, he looked EASILY outstrengthed. If anyone was going to win by KO it was Urango. That was my other worry, the two rounds Urango put something together - he hurt Hatton, nothing serious - but seeing Ricky lift his leg up in anticipation of a body shot isn't a good sign. Aside from these spells, Hatton was very good.

I can see what you are saying. I to have seen Castillo in many a warm up fight (Reyes being the last one). It did resemble that, but the alarming thing I thought was again (as with Hatton) there didn't seem to be any snap there at all. Will it come back, or has it gone forever. Again Njoudjo was by far the stronger man, and it looked like he could walk through Castillo's shots. Castillo has always been limited, relied on workrate and strength to get him buy - does he have this at 140? He looked fresh at the end, but he seemed to be throwing alot of leather and not budging Herman. I was alarmed at the number of times Castillo was forced onto the ropes - thats not him, in warm ups or anything. The fight was too close for him not to try and KO him late, but he still couldn't make a dent in him.

With his lifestyle, he should of stayed up In weight.

At least Duran moved up In weight.

Castillo's not limited. Slow on his feet and upright? Yes. But he has a fine selection of punches, compact punches that slice you up, a withering body attack, cuts down the ring very well, is patient, excellent at long distance fights. These are vital ingredients for a pressure fighter. Things that people wish Margarito would do.

I think Ngoudjo was maybe wrong for him. Wouldn't be surprised to see the shots that Ngoudjo took do away with many at 140.

Ngoudjo did some good things. He crowded Castillo, not letting him get his best shots in. Jose needs room to punch - many times Ngoudjo denied him that. I give Jose credit for winning the hard fight after so much time off.

Tactically Hatton got it spot on and came away with a fairly comfortable win, I enjoyed the fight for the first half or so, Rickys in-out tactics were good to watch IMO and ideal for his opponent. It was right for Ricky to tie Urango up on the inside, but it made for poor viewing and was happening too regular

I numerously referred to Hatton has having the best work-rate in the world at the weight after the Tszyu, but he hasn't been able to reach the same heights since, fair enough he didn't need to this weekend as he was well clear on the cards, but he could have done with the extra output down the stretch against Collazo.

Urango looked as hard as nails and it quickly became clear that Hatton had little chance of stopping him, but to be honest Urango is a league below the likes of Hatton and he's always going to struggle against speed and movement.

two words on both fights job done.

The hatton fight was closer than scored and the castillo fight suimiallry wasnt as close to be a sd imo.

Now i just gotta sort my tickets out for June 2nd.

Maybe the fights put us off a bit. But on the other hand, maybe this got both men ready for a hard night's work with a great deal at stake. Roll on June 2.

I thought Hatton did ok. Urango was strong as an ox so Rickys in and out tactics were spot on, he looked very good when he was doing that.

He copped a massive body shot in the 5th I think it was and was covering up the body area a lot after that, at the time I was wondering if there was any rib damage.

Hatton does a superb job of not sending out distress signals too, even when wobbled (I'm think more about the Collazo fight than this weekend) he seems to regaing composure very quickly, whether he actually is or not is another matter but he doesn't give the opponent that advantage.

fried bread wrote:Castillo's not limited. Slow on his feet and upright? Yes. But he has a fine selection of punches, compact punches that slice you up, a withering body attack, cuts down the ring very well, is patient, excellent at long distance fights. These are vital ingredients for a pressure fighter. Things that people wish Margarito would do.

I think Ngoudjo was maybe wrong for him. Wouldn't be surprised to see the shots that Ngoudjo took do away with many at 140.

Ngoudjo did some good things. He crowded Castillo, not letting him get his best shots in. Jose needs room to punch - many times Ngoudjo denied him that. I give Jose credit for winning the hard fight after so much time off.

I agree with all that, depends on your definition of limited I suppose. I would say slow on your feet and upright is a sign of being limited - especially when you are a come forward fighter. Castillo has been outboxed, untill his strength took over - Joel Casamayor was making him look silly and people go on about the Mayweather fight - but Floyd (who won well both times IMO) did only have one hand for most of the first fight. I did score the Casamayor fight in favour of Castillo - but it was only his strength at 9stone 9 that won it for him. He was hurting Joel, who is a small lightweight.

I don't want to do Castillo a disserve - of course he is an elite fighter, who probably warrants a low P4P top ten rating. You don't beat the fighters he has done so without obviously being exceptional. However, he is not a complete fighter.... for me, he is a level behind those two fellow great Mexicans of his generation (Morales and Barrera). Most of his big wins have come cause of his strength and frame at 9 stone 9. Is Njoudjo just a massively strong Light Welter, or is Castillo going to continually struggle cause one of his major advantages has gone? I was kind of saying the same thing after Collazo vs Hatton. You can become a very very credible world champion with obvious flaws also - Cory Spinks lack of punch power puts him in the category, similarly Ricardo Mayorga's lack of defence and shot variety also the same. Both been credible champions, but both always looked flawed and beatable.

I would tip Paulie Malignaggi to beat Castillo.

I see Castillo as a damn good grinder who comes in with a plan, "knows the 12 round distance" as Jim Watt says, and let''s face it, has the cruel cumulative effect of Chavez.

A lot of great fighters were upright, slow, and took their times to get to grips with hard styles. Arguello anyone? Often Castillo needs 15 rounds, as Arguello (a text book puncher if ever there was one) did.

Given the impact Castillo's shots have, you can only wonder what he'd have gone on to do with more time.

Obviously, today's fighters have to be more quick witted and on the ball early on. But this man is terrific at applying clever pressure, making the other guy react to his moves and burn up energy, finding the right shot for the right situation.

I recall my first sighting of Castillo. It was vs Casamayor and I really didn't take any notice. But I got the Lazcano and Diaz fights and I saw real smarts in there. He knows what he's doing between those ropes and has proven it vs some ve tricky/tough customers.

The Arguello comparison is a good one. I can see that. I do think though that Arguello had that a better single punch power than Castillo and like Jose Luis his main strength (during his prime) was his strength at the weight. Of course, Arguello carried it up a few weight devision, the jury is out on if Castillo did.

At a lower level, but still world class - Steve Robinson and Scott Harrison fits the same description. Would Robinson been effective as a Super Feather (indeed, will Harrison?).

fried bread wrote:Alright lads, seen a lot of negative posts. I admit, I didn't enjoy the fights as much as I expected. I always feel the day after is a bad day to comment, because things aren't always in perspective.

Anyhow - I've seen loads of Castillo's non title fights. He looks as he did vs Ngodjou in most of the 'stay busy' fights. The Cameroon guy was competent and live. This was a great fight to shed the rust & prepare for war.

With Hatton, I recks the fade is a bit overexaggerated. Ricky won ugly but was quite effective winning most of the 12 rounds. It was not what we wanted but he just beat a top ten dangerman, proving he can adjust after a body beating.

OK, we're not so eager for Ricky v Jose. But anything think both men are more ready now & will produce against one another?

I have to say that I found Hatton quite impressive in the early rounds. Better than in his last bout.