hatton,conteh

[joyno]

the comparisons between Ricky hatton and john conteh are beginning to trouble me, conteh was a class act but like Ricky he indulged too much between fights and had to train like a mad man just before his fights which i think led to his downfall and defeat to Matt franklin or Matthew saad Mohammad as he called himself later, if you see any old videos of that fight you will see that conteh was well on top then his legs turned to lead which in my day was down to a serious lack of stamina training and with Ricky's admission of his legs getting heavy in his last fight and his alleged indulgence in alcohol and fast food, i fear a defeat might not be not too far away especially if he fights a durable Mexican or south American with a punch, unless he disciplines himself now i think Castillo will be his last victory, i hope I'm wrong.

[kurtangle01]

I think the reason that Ricky had gotten so big before this fight was more to do with the time he had to wait in between fights. I don't think it's a secret that he likes a few pints but it's never been a problem for him when he's been active in the ring. He normally would have 3-4 fights a year but last year he had 1. The fact that he has Castillo signed up for his next fight some time in June will mean that he will only be out of the gym for 6-8 weeks before he has to start training for that fight which I'm sure will keep him in good shape.

Alot was made of Ricky's stamina after last nights fight but I honestly don't see it as that much of a problem. I think from about the second round onwards Hatton realised that Urango would be hard to KO so he had to try and out box him for the full 12 rounds. To do that he had to keep Urango under control by getting his own shots off and and clinching before Urango could get any shots away. I can't imagine that that's easy to do against a guy the size of Urango and I think that's the reason Ricky was tired near the end.

I fully expect to see a different Ricky Hatton against Jose Luis Castillo to the one we saw last night. I think Hatton will KO Castillo in that fight and from there I think he'll probably only have 1-2 fights left before he retires.

[joyno]

I've got no problem with hattons strategy in the fight and i totally agree with you that was his plan, but i still think that Ricky would have like to have finished him off in the latter rounds to please the Americans and that i believe was also in his game plan but he worryingly started to fade in the latter rounds and it was obvious he lacked the power to take him out a scenario that wouldn't have be imagined in his early days, at the top level serious dedication and discipline is needed as Tyson learned to his cost, and letting yourself go and then training hard just before the fight worries me.

[bazza76]

ID be concerned too if i was Billy Graham, surely he or someone close to Haton must advise him to lead the life style of a world class athlete, thats why people like De La Hoya can go for so long at the top of their game, buy living the life if Ricky wants to be a real legend, he cant leave anything to chance.

[kurtangle01]

I've got no problem with hattons strategy in the fight and i totally agree with you that was his plan, but i still think that Ricky would have like to have finished him off in the latter rounds to please the Americans and that i believe was also in his game plan but he worryingly started to fade in the latter rounds and it was obvious he lacked the power to take him out a scenario that wouldn't have be imagined in his early days, at the top level serious dedication and discipline is needed as Tyson learned to his cost, and letting yourself go and then training hard just before the fight worries me.

I don't think that many fighters would be able to knock Urango out. You only have to look at the size of hi to see that. It may well have been part of Rickys plans but it would have took a monumental punch to do it. As I said before normally Ricky has 3-4 fights a year and is active in the gym through out there for his conditioning isn't that much of a problem. Last night was only his 1st fight in 8 months so he was allowed plenty of time to indulge himslef. He wont have that luxury this time due to the Castillo fight being set for June, he'll be back in the gym in 6 weeks at the very most possibly even 5. It's going to be a busy year for Hatton and I would expect him to retire by the middle of 2008 and he possibly has 3-4 fights at the very most left before he retires. He'll be in shape for Castillo IMHO because like the Tszyu fight he's up against one of the very best and to beat him would be a massive name on his record.

Not many boxers would be able to survive some of those body shots that Urango connected with last night and they were bound to take a bit out of Hatton.

Don't panic I'm sure he'll be fine and back to his very beat for the Castillo fight.

[Red Chilli]

Why do you think he's going to retire next year?

[kurtangle01]

Why do you think he's going to retire next year?

It's no secret that he plans to retire before he's thirty and Billy Graham has also said the under his advice Hatton will retire after his next 2 or 3 fights. Ricky has also said that he'd only fight another 2-3 times. There's no point sticking around forever and ruining his legacy and becoming a moving punch bag like Gatti. Gatti was one of the most exciting fighters in the world and had a similar style to Ricky but he hung around to long before realising that it was time to retire.

[bazza76]

Hatton will KO the beer and takeaways

Ricky Hatton has vowed to cut down on his junk food diet after reclaiming his old IBF light-welterweight title with a points win over Juan Urango in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Hatton's win by 119-109 on all three judges' scorecards set up a potentially explosive super-fight against Mexican Jose Luis Castillo back on the Strip in June.

And Hatton knows he will have to curb his love of beer and Chinese takeaways if he is to rise to the challenge of overcoming the former lightweight champion.

Hatton said: "I don't think my weight will increase too much this time because the fight is not too far away and obviously it's the kind of fight you want to stay in shape for.

"I will go away on a family cruise and relax but then it will be back in the gym to prepare for Castillo because we all know that is a massive fight for me."

Hatton gave his win over Urango seven out of 10 but admitted the lopsided scoreline did not reflect the rock-hard challenge offered by the previously unbeaten Colombian.

Twice, in rounds five and nine, Hatton was visibly hurt by clattering right hands to his body and he needed to play down his usual all-action style in order to smother his opponent and take a breather.

But his superb movement and
footwork enabled him to hold off the relatively one-dimensional Urango, even though he did begin to fade slightly in the later rounds.

Hatton said: "I felt quite comfortable for the first six rounds then the red mist set up and I probably made it harder work than I should have done.

"Juan caught me with some good shots and sometimes you have just got to soak them up and survive the moment. He is definitely the best body-puncher I have faced."

Hatton certainly did enough during the build-up and the fight itself to convince Las Vegas casino executives of his market value as a top of the bill fighter here.

And his profile could go through the roof if he produces fireworks against Castillo, who is already hugely regarded for his two epic lightweight battles against Diego Corrales.

Castillo's promoter Bob Arum used the post-fight press conference to announce the fight with Hatton was confirmed, with only the June date and precise Las Vegas venue to be confirmed.

However, the prospect did diminish slightly after Castillo produced a simply dreadful performance on the undercard as he claimed a split decision over Cameroon's Hernan Ngoudjo.

Although Castillo deserved the verdict against his unambitious opponent, he looked weak and fought as if the wars with Corrales had taken too much out of him.

Hatton said: "If you want to see two guys knocking the hell out of each other, come and watch us.

"It will be an honour to share the ring with Jose. You only become a great fighter if you share the ring with other great fighters, and that is exactly what Jose is."
Last Updated: 22 January 2007

[spud_gun]

Enjoy Hatton while you can. It's not that often we get to see a British / English fighter taking on and beating the very best in the world. He's a class act is Hatton.

He's got two or possibly three fights left at the top. Enjoy him while he's there and then we can start to disect his career.

[kurtangle01]

Enjoy Hatton while you can. It's not that often we get to see a British / English fighter taking on and beating the very best in the world. He's a class act is Hatton.

He's got two or possibly three fights left at the top. Enjoy him while he's there and then we can start to disect his career.

Well said.

[bazza76]

Enjoy Hatton while you can. It's not that often we get to see a British / English fighter taking on and beating the very best in the world. He's a class act is Hatton.

He's got two or possibly three fights left at the top. Enjoy him while he's there and then we can start to disect his career.

John Rawling
Tuesday January 23, 2007
The Guardian

Ricky Hatton says he plans to walk away from the sport when he is 30, and that he trusts his trainer, Billy Graham, to tell him when it is time to quit. The IBF world light-welterweight champion has also repeated his wish that he will fight in Las Vegas for the rest of his career after regaining the title from Colombia's Juan Urango on Saturday.

"I don't want to go on forever and leaving the sport is the hardest decision," Hatton said after a night of celebration. "My fights are never a walk in the park, and I have had 42 of them now. People like my hero Barry McGuigan never had as many fights as that. When the time comes to go, Billy will advise me as a friend as well as a trainer. Billy and I have never worked on more than a handshake. We will be mates for life. I've got good people around me and, when the time comes, they will say 'Your time is up. Turn it in, Ricky'."

Article continues
Hatton's performance in beating Urango, emphatic thought it might have been, nevertheless suggested his best days may be behind him and he may need to produce a much sharper display when he faces the Mexican José Luis Castillo in his next defence. A June 23 date has been pencilled in for it, again in Las Vegas and this time at the bigger Thomas and Mack Center.

Hatton's father said his son will undergo intensive training to build up his stomach muscles for that contest after he admitted struggling with Urango's body attacks, even though he won a wide points decision. "Ricky is a naturally strong boy and he had not needed to worry too much about his body strength before," he said. "But we will be having to go to work with the medicine ball when Ricky is preparing for Castillo. We can't take any chances."

Hatton said that it was a body shot that had caused him to change tactics during the fight, when he eschewed his fleet-footed boxing of the early rounds for holding and spoiling in the second half of the contest. "A left hook caught me under the ribs and two rounds later it was still hurting. On the scorecards [a 119-109 verdict by all three judges] it looked like a bit of landslide, but he was one of the most hurtful fighters I have faced. My sides are a bit sore. He was the first opponent who has given me a really sustained body attack. I may have looked like I was boxing his ears off but he kept pushing a haymaker off, and I can tell you they hurt."

Castillo believes the fight will end inside eight rounds one way or the other, and Hatton agrees it will be a fierce contest. "Because of my style, I always make hard work of my contests. And this will be a hard fight at close quarters between two body punchers. Most people would have him in their top 10, so it is a good fight for me. It won't be a tickling contest."

Anybody who witnessed Castillo's laboured split-decision win over the Cameroonian Hernan Ngoudjo on the Hatton undercard may see it differently, but the 33-year-old Mexican feels he has plenty left in the tank. "Ricky and I are the types of fighters people enjoy seeing," he said. "We belong in the group with [Diego] Corrales and Arturo Gatti as fighters who will always bring excitement. The public do not want to see dancers like Floyd Mayweather. I am getting ready for five more fights and then I will retire, so I need to make sure they are all big exciting fights and Ricky Hatton is just right for me."

[Doc_Piptorious]

the comparisons between Ricky hatton and john conteh are beginning to trouble me, conteh was a class act but like Ricky he indulged too much between fights and had to train like a mad man just before his fights which i think led to his downfall and defeat to Matt franklin or Matthew saad Mohammad as he called himself later, if you see any old videos of that fight you will see that conteh was well on top then his legs turned to lead which in my day was down to a serious lack of stamina training and with Ricky's admission of his legs getting heavy in his last fight and his alleged indulgence in alcohol and fast food, i fear a defeat might not be not too far away especially if he fights a durable Mexican or south American with a punch, unless he disciplines himself now i think Castillo will be his last victory, i hope I'm wrong.

I would disagree with the Conteh comparison. The training techniques today are far superior to when Conteh was at his peak and fighters are monitored much closer than then.

As for his comments about heavy legs. I would not put much stock in that, a lot of fighters, pro and am, make comments like that and then roll off another 10 fights without any ill effect.

At the moment I see only one fighter out there who would, in my opinion, beat Hatton hands down, and that is Mayweather. Hatton has just gotten past a very tough and hard hitting South American, one that I thought might upset things and beat Hatton. His previous fight was against yet another tough fighter, and again one that was not rated highly enough outside of hardcore boxing fans.

Hatton will stop Castillo, I have thought that even before watching Castillo's last fight. Hatton is a better all round package than him, and I would be surprised to see it go past the ninth round.

Hatton is gone in three or so fights, I would think that Mayweather is who he wants for his last fight.

[kurtangle01]

Hatton is gone in three or so fights, I would think that Mayweather is who he wants for his last fight.

I would love to see that fight but I'm not sure if it'll ever happen. If Mayweather sticks around after the Oscar fight will he continue to campaign at light-Middleweight or will he drop back down to Welterweight? If he beats Oscar will he retire on top or will his ego get the better of him and he'll stick around? If he loses will he retire or will he not want to go out on a defeat?


As much as I hate to say it Ricky needs Mayweather and not the other way around just like Witter needs Hatton. Hatton and Mayweather should have fought last year before Floyd moved up in weight. That was Hattons chance I think and it may have passed him by. As much as I'd love to see that fight I honestly can't see it.

[bazza76]

Id agree, cant see the Mayweather fight happening, and if it did, it could well be the first defeat of Hattons professional carreer.
I dont think its just Mayweather that could beat Hatton either, i think there is a whole lot of danger in the Welterweight division, but i think he will steer clear of that division now anyway after tasting what it was like.
He can mop up in this division with a bit of hard work, i think that what he has set his sights on anyway. Possibly another 3 or so fights.

[kurtangle01]

I think he'll fight Castillo, then Torres and then hopefully Junior "the bitter" Witter. After that I don't see anyone of note worth fighting in the Junior-Welterweight division unless he fights Corrales but I only see that happening if Corrales beats Witter...