BoxRec

-If Hatton and Witter and M'Baye get through their next fights, 140 will practically be in the grip of England. Is there any chance of them fighting one another? IMO the Hatton-HBO deal is already souring, which hopefully would pave the way for Hatton-Witter.

Hatton has this so called Ring title from beatig Tszyu. But right now Witter is the clear #2 in the division. So if Hatton doesn't fight his leading contender (Witter), will Hatton be penalised of his Universal Status?

-With Mosley making a mark at 147 again, what will be the welterweight superfight? It was going to be Cotto-Margarito. Will it be Cotto-Mosley, or Margarito-Williams, etc etc


Ultimately, who will be The Proper Champions of each division, and what will be the superfights/important fights of each class?

viciousmaussa wrote: Ultimately, who will be The Proper Champions of each division, and what will be the superfights/important fights of each class?

A bit ambitous hoping for that, we know Hatton will never fight Witter/Mbaiye and if Castillo wins hes off upto 147

At 147 Mosley would school Cotto and knock him out, but Arrum wont let that happen. Mayweather-Mosley is the super fight at 147 or Mayweather-Cotto, Margarito gets beat up by Cotto first. Not sure how well Mayweather does against Cotto or Mosley

As I see it, Hatton (140), and Mayweather (147) hold the lineal titles.

However, Hatton is reluctant to face the #2 in the division Witter, just as Mayweather seemed reluctant to take on the #2 after him, Margarito. So their championships are tenuous and Ring should strip them if they show no inclination to validate their titles.

I think Cotto's well ready for a big fight, whether it's Margarito, Mosley or Mayweather. Probably will be Judah next.

Can't see Mosley schooling Cotto, it's an even fight Cotto is class.

Yeah I agree with that Steve - Cotto is a class act and certainly is a different proposition to Collazo, who has been kinda exposed.

I agree with Dan Raphael by the way in that Cotto will beat Margarito handily. Margarito is good but the fact people are avoiding him due to his style has elevated the Mexican into some sort of unbeatable monster. Margarito throws plenty of punches but also takes a lot, he "fights with his face" as Ian Darke says.

Had Joshua Clottey not injured his hand i can well see Margarito titleless right now as Clottey had his number and was landing straight shots at will even after the injury and still pushed Margarito close.

Anyway i back Cotto to beat Margarito and as i said...Cotto-Mosley is a 50/50 fight.

steve689 wrote:Can't see Mosley schooling Cotto, it's an even fight Cotto is class.

Slow class without a great workrate hes actually a similar proporsition to Vargas but with sharper harder punches

viciousmaussa wrote:-If Hatton and Witter and M'Baye get through their next fights, 140 will practically be in the grip of England. Is there any chance of them fighting one another? IMO the Hatton-HBO deal is already souring, which hopefully would pave the way for Hatton-Witter.

Hatton has this so called Ring title from beatig Tszyu. But right now Witter is the clear #2 in the division. So if Hatton doesn't fight his leading contender (Witter), will Hatton be penalised of his Universal Status?

Well, as Hatton is going to be fighting the man ranked above Witter by The Ring, I don't think they'll be any complaint from them. I think 140 is going to shake itself out over the next few months. Right now I'm not sure if Witter can honestly claim to be the clear number 2 in the division. Hatton is hanging on to his claim to be champion thanks to a victory that will have happened 2 years ago by the time of his next fight, so he needs a big win to re-establish himself as well.

But looking at the fights due up next for those in the mix: If M'Baye can put in a good showing in his rematch with Kotelnik, he could have a claim for being ahead of Witter, and then we have Hatton-Castillo and Wittter-Harris (providing they both happen) in the summer, so it's quite possible that neither of the Brits could have a belt of any kind in a few months time.

140 is pretty crap at the moment, a few years back it was THE devision, but with Tszyu, Mayweather, Gatti, Judah, Cotto, Mitchell etc either retired or up at 147 the talent depth is pretty poor at 140.

Lazcano is alright, but he would never be considered a leading contender at 140 with all those other fighters around.... he still is despite his defeat.

People are anxiously awaiting the return of Diego Corrales at 140... and he is 0-2 in his last two outings and but for some dodgy officiating/judges could be 1-5.

Mbaye and Witter will never capture the attention their talents deserve without competition, and currently there is not much out there to really go wow about.

147 completely different matter. You stlll have the likes of Judah, Mosley, Cotto, Margarito, Williams, Baldomir etc... and possibly Mayweather and Spinks if things don't work out for them.

Mayweather will go back to 147 even if he wins (unless theres a rematch), but Spinks Im not sure he can make 147 anymore

Can't quite see Castillo #2 at light welter! He only had two fights in the division - vs a feisty Ngoudjo and a Corrales who'd weighed in at 135 - of recent.

I like the divsion. The fighters aren't glamorous - even the 'personality kid' Hatton is hard to watch and he insults the sport with his shocking out of the ring appearance - though he can still be effective. Did anyone see the state of him at Moore-Macklin?

There is ability though. Witter (ulgy yet effective), Castillo (though he needs to sharpen up), Harris, Ngoudjo looked good, M'baye is very slick and impressive in style, Kotelnik skilled but maybe on the way out, Torres a heavy hitter and Arnoutis very able.

When they all start fighting each other there may be some real fun.


I think Cotto will be very hard to beat at 147. Like Castillo but with more speed and movement. He can cut off the ring, punch well in combinations, box outside and hits with real venom. It was ultra impressive the way he battered Quintana, who IMO is on the same level as Collazo. I know some ppl are druink on Mosley right now but...

Cotto's destruction of Quintana was mightily impressive, Quintana had shown himself to be perfectly able and Cotto worked him out and hurt the body with vicious intent. Would love to see Mayweather-Cotto at Welterweight but big fights don't happen these days unless one of the parties is damaged goods or on the slide. Two great fighters at their peak clashing is rare.

viciousmaussa wrote:Can't quite see Castillo #2 at light welter! He only had two fights in the division - vs a feisty Ngoudjo and a Corrales who'd weighed in at 135 - of recent.

I like the divsion. The fighters aren't glamorous - even the 'personality kid' Hatton is hard to watch and he insults the sport with his shocking out of the ring appearance - though he can still be effective. Did anyone see the state of him at Moore-Macklin?

There is ability though. Witter (ulgy yet effective), Castillo (though he needs to sharpen up), Harris, Ngoudjo looked good, M'baye is very slick and impressive in style, Kotelnik skilled but maybe on the way out, Torres a heavy hitter and Arnoutis very able.

When they all start fighting each other there may be some real fun.


I think Cotto will be very hard to beat at 147. Like Castillo but with more speed and movement. He can cut off the ring, punch well in combinations, box outside and hits with real venom. It was ultra impressive the way he battered Quintana, who IMO is on the same level as Collazo. I know some ppl are druink on Mosley right now but...

Big difference between be able and being a potential P4P. Arnoutis is okay, but never really world title winning material (when Tszyu was all around). Had Tszyu, Mayweather, Gatti, Mitchell, Judah etc all remained then Castillo and Corrales would be in the lower reaches in the top 10 at the moment. Not both in the top 5 (one maybe #2).

Nkoudjo and Kotelnik woudn't be considered major threats.

I see the potential for a lot of good fights. Maybe one last great effort from Castillo? A 'career defining' win for Witter? Or Harris to fulfil his potential? Kotelnik's bad luck to run out, M'Baye to shine with his speed and skills, Ngoudjo to get another big opportunity, N'dou to break the heart of another top ten fighter, throw Lazcano in, mebbe even Ricky to do something impressive - rather than CYNICAL - on HBO...

Sometimes the difference between a p4p/elite fighter and a fierce top contender is very slim. Mitchell-N'dou, Castillo-Ngoudjo, for instance.

stujones wrote: Big difference between be able and being a potential P4P. Arnoutis is okay, but never really world title winning material (when Tszyu was all around). Had Tszyu, Mayweather, Gatti, Mitchell, Judah etc all remained then Castillo and Corrales would be in the lower reaches in the top 10 at the moment. Not both in the top 5 (one maybe #2).

Nkoudjo and Kotelnik woudn't be considered major threats.

Well Castillo and COrrales would do well against Mitchell and Gatti and possibly Judah, lets be honest both did better against Mayweather. And who knows either might pip Tyszu at the post. As for either of them against Judah - theres a chance of a ko victory although I'd pick Judah to KO them both personally

I think Castillo would break Judah's heart, prime for prime. JLC faced tougher (mentally, physically), better, more skilled lefthanders in Johnston and Casamayor, albeit smaller than Judah.

Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:

stujones wrote: Big difference between be able and being a potential P4P. Arnoutis is okay, but never really world title winning material (when Tszyu was all around). Had Tszyu, Mayweather, Gatti, Mitchell, Judah etc all remained then Castillo and Corrales would be in the lower reaches in the top 10 at the moment. Not both in the top 5 (one maybe #2).

Nkoudjo and Kotelnik woudn't be considered major threats.

Well Castillo and COrrales would do well against Mitchell and Gatti and possibly Judah, lets be honest both did better against Mayweather. And who knows either might pip Tyszu at the post. As for either of them against Judah - theres a chance of a ko victory although I'd pick Judah to KO them both personally

As bad as Gatti / Mitchell (not Judah) did vs Mayweather.... Corrales vs Mayweather was practically as one sided.

What I meant was CURRENTLY they would rank that highly at 140 due to their lack of fights. They would be below the proven fighters. Now there is less proven fighters at the weight, hence their lofty ranking.