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On the undercard, there were good wins for prospect Gary Young and ex-amateur star Martin Conception, who had an up-and-down tussle with Joel Ani at middleweight before the Nigerian-born Londoner retired on his stool at the start of the fourth.
On the continent, Sven Ottke won and retired, comprehensively outscoring overmatched Swede Armand Kranjc to retain his IBF and WBA super middleweight titles. Knowing that this would be his last fight, Ottke showed more aggression than usual, and legitimately swept the cards. Fabrice Tiozzo squeezed past Silvio Branco to snatch the WBA light heavyweight title from the Italian in Lyon in a tight but deserved majority decision. Tiozzo, coming down from cruiser for the shot, now looks set to tackle Dariusz Michalczewski in Paris some time over the summer in a battle of two European veterans.
Hatton-Pinto Breakdown
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He can box too, with two amateur wins over light-welterweight golden boy Miguel Cotto. Pinto is a tall boxer with a decent reach who can fight on the front or the back foot and has power in either hand, an apparently decent chin and good punch accuracy. Working behind a strong orthodox jab and with slick footwork, the taller Pinto will look to throw hard punches in combinations to body and head, typically from distance.
Hatton will have to work on shortening the gap between the two. In addition, if Hatton approaches this fight with his usual attitude of forcing the pace for every minute of every round, this could lead to some uncomfortable moments for Pinto, who is given to coasting every now and then, especially in the middle of rounds. Once Hatton has the advantage, he's a hard man to keep off.
Detractors of the Brazilian point to the fact that none of his opponents at a professional level has anything like the artillery that Hatton possesses, and the Brazilian's record looks at best padded with a mixture of smaller men, older men, and boxers with losing records. Hatton, who boxed so well last time out, will test Pinto's durability within the first few rounds more than it has been throughout his career. Certainly Pinto will find himself defensively tested, and he will have to carry his lead left much higher than he has been used to. The Hitman is currently restyling himself as a box-fighter, and this could well be the best way of approaching such a potentially difficult foe.
This is, in truth, a reasonably hard fight to call. Pinto could hurt Hatton more than anyone has before, but Hatton's body shots, particularly to a long, relatively unmuscled ribcage, have the power to drop anyone in the division. In a thoroughly entertaining match, the constant pressure style of the Mancunian should see him through. Fighting in front of the typically partisan M.E.N. Arena, Hatton should stop Pinto by the eighth or ninth round, but a test of his chin would be a welcome barometer for matches to come.
On that note, chief support / co-feature sees American Sharmba Mitchell defend his IBF light welter title against Michael Stewart in a decent contest. Stewart is a come-forward fighter who is easy to hit, but Mitchell will have to rely on his experience and broad range of skills which, after over 50 fights and at 33, are arguably beginning to wane. Expect Mitchell to win, and probably early, to set up a future IBF challenge for Hatton, but Stewart might have his moments along the way.
Filling out the bill are entertaining local fighters Michael Gomez and David Barnes. Both should win, but it promises to be a good night's boxing all round.
In Belgium, relocated Fleetwood girl Jane Couch takes on Nathalie Toro for the women's EBU light-welterweight crown. Bristol-based Couch, a tough-as-nails boxer with a great fighter's attitude, should have too much experience for the undefeated Toro.
Past British Updates
Feb. 3 | Feb. 10 | Feb. 18 | Feb. 24 | March. 3 | March. 10 | March. 18 | March. 24
