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Grading Ricky Hatton
THU May 18, BUSTER PARIS - B- or a C+
I can’t make up my mind and I’ve been back and forth with it ever since I drove out of the parking garage at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, MA
May 13th 2006 - I was at the fight – sitting in the Press section - row 5, seat 3 - watching Ricky Hatton challenge Luis Collazo for the WBA Welterweight title.
Pretty much everyone near me thought Collazo won – but I actually I had the bout scored 114 to 113 for Ricky Hatton - had him squeaking by with the “W” via 1 point. Seems that in the end it was that knockdown in the first 20 or 30 seconds that clinched it for Hatton.
I wasn’t alone in scoring the fight for the Hitman - Judge Leo Gerstel had it 114-113, Judge Don O'Neill and Judge Paul Driscoll both had it 115-112.
I had Ricky winning round 1 (a 10 – 8 round) and then rounds 2, 8, 9, 10 and 11 – and I had Luis winning rounds 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 12.
The Hatton fan in me was...well… freaking out by the middle of round 6 - and to be honest I thought it was all over in the twelfth round when Collazo found Ricky’s off switch and the power momentarily went out…
Also I think that rounds 1 and 2 give us a great blueprint on how Hatton should fight Floyd Mayweather Jr (if it ever happens). Some improvements and tweaking are obviously needed, but it’s the same relentless forward movement and smothering style that he used on Kostya Tszyu - and for a while against Collazo he was able to nullify his hand speed and his swift feet. It’s a great blueprint that can be built on.
Let’s go over the highlights of May 13th:
Round 1: Hatton knocks Collazo down within the first 20 – 30 seconds of the bout. I guess what happened (according to Collazo) was that referee John Zablocki said break and as Luis stepped back to break Ricky clocked him – and boom! – he hits the deck.
Luis got up and Ricky was all over him, has him on the ropes and was pounding away, then at the bell Collazo was clearly annoyed and once Hatton turned to head towards his corner Luis violently pushes him away. (10 / 8 Hatton)
Round 2: Luis slips – which has me thinking maybe his legs are gone. Ricky again is all over him and at one point has him spun around – the ref didn’t do anything so Hatton just kept hitting - and eventually he smothered Collazo on the ropes. Luis finally started to let his hands go and was landing pretty well. He began to pop the jab and show some good hand speed, but Hatton was all over him – stalking him and not letting him get into any sort of rhythm. (10 / 9 Hatton)
Next – the Collazo run – rounds 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 – these 5 rounds were all Luis Collazo’s. Ricky started to hold more and more and more – and Collazo seemed to get stronger and faster and sharper. He would begin to bury Hatton in flurries of punches and would consistently land first and land the sharper and crisper punches that would send the sweat flying off Ricky’s head.
It seemed as if Luis would land 3 punches to every 1 that Hatton would land and what made each blow by Luis seem even more spectacular was the crowd erupting every time Collazo connected.
Hatton kept the pressure on and kept trudging forward, but Collazo was able to fight backing up and was doing damage – more damage than Hatton was.
It was really in round 6 that Ricky seemed to be running out of steam and the Hatton fanatic in me was starting to freak out. He had lost the last 3 rounds, was losing round 6, his left eye was badly swollen, his punch count seemed to be lowering and when he got Luis against the ropes he just couldn’t capitalize on the moment.
Round 8: Ricky was gaining life again and began to bull his way back to the inside and started hammering away. Collazo landed a mammoth hook to Hatton’s head that had everyone on their feet. Ricky held on and landed his own huge left hook on Luis’ face to punctuate the end of the round. (10 / 9 Hatton)
Rounds 9, 10 and 11 are Hatton rounds even with his left eye closing he kept the pressure on and kept going after Collazo. Luis would have decent moments in the rounds and was impressive with his popping jabs, hand speed and grit, but Ricky would have the bigger moments and seemed to have more grit – more tenacity and determination - and he seemed to be hurting Collazo a lot more than Collazo hurt him – at one point in the 10th I thought that it was lights out for Luis when Ricky landed an enormous shot on his noggin and sent him stumbling backward.
Round 12: Without a doubt all Luis Collazo. He started the round strong – throwing punches and flurrying – then out of nowhere he found Hatton’s off button – BOOM! – I don’t even know what he hit him with, but the next thing I knew the entire TD Banknorth Garden exploded with “OH!” and the sound of EVERYONE jumping out of their seats.
Ricky Hatton could go at any second – it was as if his arms and legs just disconnected from their power source.
Ricky smartly held on and began to try to answer back. They were both trading shots and both slamming away.
At the bell both were lifted up on their teams shoulders.
All in all – it was an ugly fight, but a good one – definitely Hatton’s toughest match to date.
Most people there thought he lost – I don’t think he lost, he won on points, but I don’t think he did enough to take away a Champions title and belt.
How does that work – you win on points, but clearly didn’t do enough to claim victory.
THAT is the real test – THAT is the real question – is the answer a rematch? – or is this one of those “things” in boxing that we never get closure on and it gets blown off – or - are we looking at a great marketing monster 3 or 4 years from now?
After all is said and done I’m still back and forth between a B- and C+ for Hatton’s grade for his performance during the fight itself.
And I’m interested in your thoughts – what grade do you give him? And how does this work – you win on points, but clearly didn’t do enough to claim victory – what happens now?
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions
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