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Ricky Hatton – The New Addiction – Part 2 of 2
WED September 7, BUSTER PARIS - Call me Pooky. Some months ago – never mind how long precisely – having little or no expectations of an upcoming bout between Kostya Tszyu and Ricky Hatton I became painfully addicted to the fighting style of Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton.
Hatton was a fighter that I was completely unfamiliar with and was totally stunned and shocked when he thoroughly trounced the amazing Tszyu.
On June 4 2005 I sat with my mouth wide open in shock and disbelief as this unfamiliar kid was swarming all over Tszyu. His technique and style immediately struck a chord in me. He had the relentless fury of Roberto Duran and the never say die attitude of Micky Ward.
I was hooked and have been desperately searching for anything Ricky Hatton since and for far too long I simply couldn’t score. His left hook to the body would become my White Whale, my obsession and addiction.
My search for anything Hatton brought me scavenging through dusty and musty old copies of The Ring and Boxing Digest as well as all over the web. Nothing could satisfy the itch.
Finally, either by blessing or curse, I came across tape of his 1998 fight against Kevin Carter and in less than 3 minutes of viewing I would never be the same again.
This bout took place on October 31 1998 in New Jersey at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Maybe 10 people were on hand, no doubt arriving early for a later scheduled bout and not paying attention to the phenomenon happening in the center of the hall.
The bell rings and Ricky is becoming Kevin’s aura. He is simply on him and radiating around him.
2:02 into the first round Hatton lands a crushing left hook to Carters body. Carter’s knee chooses the canvas as if his insides were crumbling.
59 seconds remaining in the round and Ricky lands a left hook to the body that revolutionizes Kevin’s look of pain.
49 seconds to go and Hatton lands that left hook again causing Carter to slide about 3 feet to his left. Carter has this freshly wounded and utterly confused expression on his face as if two intruders invaded the ring and one of them swung a sledgehammer into his right side as the other smashed a wooden chair across his back.
Kevin’s knee is made an offer it can’t refuse and resigns itself to a residence on the canvas while his right peck tries to embrace his stomach at least for a moment.
Kevin would be unable to continue.
It was from here that things got worse for me. I would be unable to escape the memory of Ricky Hatton’s left hook.
With the fight over Hatton raised both fists triumphantly skyward and at that moment my phone rang - and a young girls voice eerily whispered:
“…Seven days…”
That was the beginning of the end for me. I’m reeled in and hooked. I think Ricky is one hell of a fighter and on par with many of the greats that came before him.
The comparisons to Duran are right on. Hatton doesn’t take a step backward and is unrelenting in his attack. One difference is that where Duran is “Manos de Piedra” (Hands of Stone) Hatton is the next hand evolution. He has an indestructible hungry cement cinder block for a left hand and an anvil forged of the strongest iron for a right.
He’s awesome to watch and I need to see more.
The 140-pound division is the most exciting division in boxing right now and there are some amazing match-ups to be done. The potential is enormous for some of the best fights in decades to take place.
At the time of writing this it’s just been announced that I’ll get my wish for more Ricky Hatton. The Hitman has a bout scheduled for November 26 2005 against the dangerous and too often taken for granted Carlos Moussa.
Carlos should be nicknamed “Sideshow” Carlos Moussa because the man is a freak of nature. He has no center of gravity, pain doesn’t register and he rubbery moves, bends and stretches like Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. If he weren’t boxing he’d either be a Circus Geek or crash test dummy.
This will by no means be a walk in the park for Ricky.
For the sake of argument let’s say that Ricky makes it past Carlos – here are 4 fights that I’d like to see next for our man Hatton and why:
Colin Lynes (26 wins / 1 loss) – the experience would be good for Ricky and I’d like to see Hatton with the IBO title and belt.
DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley (30 wins / 4 losses) – this would be a good test for Ricky and he’d gain great experience from this. Courley’s very tough and a Southpaw to boot - it will be very interesting to see how Ricky handles him – remember - many great fighters have had a tough time with Chop Chop.
“Vicious” Vivian Harris (25 wins / 2 losses / 1 draw) – again, to be in the ring with a skilled and high quality opponent would do wonders for Hatton’s reputation as well as building his experience.
Junior “The Hitter” Witter (32 wins / 1 loss / 2 draws) – this is another up and coming hard-hitting British boxer. It’s interesting to me how many great fighters are coming from across the pond lately. This fight is appealing to me because right now Junior is in the same spot in my head that Ricky was in last year. I know little to nothing about him, but unlike my initial brushing off of Hatton I have a curious eye on The Hitter.
Once any of the above-mentioned bouts take place then things will take a dramatic turn – this is where it all gets tricky and even though everything has masterfully led up to these next 3 bouts I’m completely torn because these potential opponents are all on my favorites list and 2 of them are on my top 10 pound for pound best list.
These 3 bouts will blow apart my boxing world.
These 3 bouts will forever change everything we know about boxing.
These 3 bouts will change the entire landscape of a sport.
These 3 bouts will profoundly alter the future of every boxing fan…
…Sorry to leave you hanging - but I gotta go meet a guy who says he can get me tape of Hatton vs. Kid McAuley!
Next week: Hatton and the Magnificent 3 – Forever Changing the Light-Welterweights As We Now Know It
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions.
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