Round-by-Round Hatton-Lazcano, Malignaggi-Ndou

Buddy, you're off your fucking NUT. It seems like almost everyone can see it now, but somehow not you.

His speed, timing, reaction speed, defense, ability to cut off the ring, footwork, punch resistance, all gone. And that's not even mentioning his workrate and stamina and energy.

I hate Tszyu, but he is a better, sharper, more skillful fighter than lazcano, and hatton looked 10 times the fighter against Tszyu than he did tonight.

Shit, he looked better against tszyu than he did against urango. With your silly logic and argument, I guess this means Urango is better than Tszyu, thus hatton is exposed.

I respectfully think you're either blind, or a hater and don't want to admit hatton is shot so as to claim he is just no good actually.

 

Yes he did, tonight it certainly wasn't hard to see was it? He is more shot than I thought actually.

I knew he had declined rapidly over the last few years but tonight? Fucking hell, he really did look borderline shot.

He seemed to have no energy and power, and no timing and accuracy. And you're right, he couldn't generate his normal power. Regardless of how much they hurt lazcano, you could just see they lacked their normal impact when they landed, they seemed to have nothing behind them.

 

Why talk to a person that you do not know like he's an asshole over the internet?

 

I'm not talking to you like you're an asshole, I'm talking to you like you're wrong. There's a difference.

And you are wrong, simple as that. Even the hatton haters like X can see Hatton is borderline shot.

Completely regardless of level of opposition, anyone with eyes can see he has lost the physical attributes and athleticism that are visible against any opponent, or even in training.

Instead of getting offended, why not address the points I made?

 

hatton will whip malignaggi and be in line for a rematch with mayweather in the first half of 09.

I don't care to see it, but the fight is easy pickins for mayweather and equal or more $ than a cotto fight brings.

 

I wasn't getting offended...I was just wondering why you'd insult someone over the internet like saying "Buddy, you're off your fucking NUT" in the first sentence to them. If you were having a discussion with someone you didn't know in person and started it off like that you'd probably find yourself in a scuffle.

Look, I'm not a hater nor am I an apologist. I just believe that when you fight someone that is not great you can look great:

Athleticism - I don't know what your boxing background is, but have you never seen a guy come into the gym and look like Sugar Ray Leonard on the heavy bag and then, when he steps in to spar with a live person, looks like he's got two left feet? Can't get off, punches look awkward, can't get his feet set, etc? And you've never seen a guy look good against one fighter and then step up and look like he flat out doesn't belong and can't do shit against others? That describes just about every fighter that's ever fought who was ranked but didn't get to the title. To show athleticism you've got to get in a rhythm...and against slower, less powerfull, and less skilled fighters you can get in that rhythm and look great. And I know you've seen fighters that just look 'off' in a fight and then, a few rounds later, get in a rhythm and start looking much better.

Work Rate - Again, ever see a guy come into the gym and throw beautiful combinations for 3 minutes against the heavy bag and then get into sparring and throw just a couple of punches in a round and no meaningful combinations? You ever been that guy? I have. And it's because the heavy bag is a less skilled and less dangerous opponent than a live opponent. Never seen a fighter just never get off in a fight, therefore throw much fewer punches than in previous fights?

Defense - you seriously can't see how defense looks better against a lesser fighter than against a better fighter? Paul Spadafora looked like he couldn't be hit against some of those guys he fought early on...Dorin didn't have as much trouble hitting him...and if he had ever fought Floyd Mayweather he'd have been found all night long.

Ability to Cut off The Ring - you think you could cut the ring off as well against Floyd Mayweather as you could against Eamon Magee? It's harder to cut off the ring against better fighters because if it weren't they wouldn't be better fighters.

I can't believe that you do not think it is plausible that pre-Tszyu Hatton looked better than now because those guys weren't as good (or were lighter in weight in the case of Collazo.)

You think I've got some motivation beyond just seeing it the way I do...I'm a fan of Hatton but don't think he ever was what you must've thought he was.

The good thing is we're going to find out if he's shot or severely diminished because he's going to keep on fighting. I'll remember this conversation and hope you do, too, in the next couple of years when the story plays out.

 

Good post, mate.

 

it's pretty friendly british english. "off your nut" just means you're saying something a bit crazy, people say it to their friends, "nut" referring to mental nuts rather than testicular. and brits use swear words like "fuck" more often and more casually. clash of cultures...

and mws is a self-certified "genuine psychopath", so that was pretty light.

 

Excellent post.

 

Hatton is in his prime still, Juan fought well and Hatton fought pretty well..

 

Juan was pretty shot, I always kind of liked him but he never gave the impression leading up to the fight that he was confident of winning, he knew he wasn't in the state to win...Hatton's head movement has completely disappeared relative to his "old days", even against lesser opponents he would bob and weave when trying to get in on the inside..now his upper body is pretty static as he leaps in and when he gets caught, which is not difficult and not infrequent, he gets caught flush, and that was against lazcano who is quite slow of hand....Hatton may well beat malignaggi but so what? and where next? he's jumped the shark and is clearly more vulnerable that ever before

 

I think, on the totality of the evidence, that Hatton did pretty good in there. He was coming off a KO loss, his first loss ever, he was fighting a man every bit as big as him, he had his training camp interrupted by a serious chest infection, and he still went 12 and won widely.

Hatton landed the better shots, and the one round in which he was hurt, he rallied and backed Lazcano into the ropes and teed off. I think the scores were a bit wide but JL won very little in there last night, apart from the admiration of the commentators.

I have seen some pretty awful comeback fights- Vargas getting dropped by Wilfredo Rivera in his comeback fight was pretty shocking.....yet Vargas picked up a title in his next fight vs Flores and was unifying in a big money fight with DLH in his next one again- and he went into the 11th with Oscar in a close fight.

If Hatton keeps it together, and behaves himself outside the ring, I can see him adding some more titles to his rep. Fuck Malignaggi, the one fight I really want to see him in is the Bradley fight, cos Ricky has never had a WBC title before- albeit that his IBF belt from Tszyu and the Ring Belt are more important belts, I would still like to see him with a WBC title.

 

Well, I agree that it wasn't a terrible comeback performance and lazcano was there to survive mostly and held quite a bit through the later rounds. I do find hatton's style now very difficult to watch though and I imagine the malignaggi fight will be very ugly, I would pass on it if I were HBO and had a get out clause. I wouldn't be so keen to throw him in there with Bradley right now and hatton does like his paydays and won't see the need to fight Bradley methinks. However, the thought of another fight with mayweather is dismal.

 

The bottom line is that, for all that you make some valid points, Hatton is in decline and it is more visible than ever.

There were certain elements of Ricky's performance that I liked last night. I thought he showed a lot of heart and courage to get his ass back in the ring AT ALL after the Floyd fight, and after a slowish start, he started to warm to the task nicely around the middle rounds. I also liked, as I always do, his aggression and his willingness to take a couple to land a couple more. I also thought he went to the body nicely on a number of occasions.

Interestingly, he also cut down a lot on the irritating habit of hooking and clinching which he seemed to have taken as THE plan after the fight with Kostya.

That said:

1. Defense. Hatton got hit a TRILLION times last night. I'm not trying to say that he was ever a defensive wizard, but he certainly didn't get hit with almost every lead shot his opponent throws. His ability to slip shots with head movement and/or to parry has become almost non-existent. He was in real trouble prior to the ref breaking the action to allow Hatton to re-tie his lace- he was almost falling forward into the chest of Juan after taking a barrage of clean, unanswered shots. He also walked absolutely flush into the EXACT same check hook Floyd KHTFO with in his last fight, and Juan does not have hands as fast as Floyd has. The obvious explanation for this is that Hatton's ability to land first has diminished.

2. Punch Resistance. Watch the Tsyzu fight again. In three of the first six rounds, Kostya had, at the start of the round, the space to unload huge right hands on Hatton just before he came into to close the gap and remove that space. And land he did, flush, but Hatton kept going forward. The other KD of Hatton's career, courtesy of Maghee, was a good shot but also a combo balance shot.

Since the Tsyzu fight, Hatton has a seemingly diminishing punch resistance. Collazo had him on queer street on a number of occasions in their fight, as did Floyd. Even though neither of these guys are noted punchers at 147, apologists (me included) defend Hatton on the grounds that he is a far lesser fighter at 147. What cannot be explained, however, is how an old, inactive guy like Lazcano can rock Hatton as he did last night.

3. Jab. Now almost non-existent. Hatton used to have a good, hurtful jab which he used to close gaps and to unload his body shots. He's completely abandoned it in favour of that crazy, wide, looping left hook lead which opens him up to the shot that Floyd took him out with and the shot that Lazcano rocked him with. It's either a poor tactical decision which shows a lesson not learned from the Mayweather fight, or he just doesn't have to energy to keep his hands high and the jab pumping out as he used to.

4. Power. Hatton used to be a very hard puncher indeed. Despite his diminished ability at 147, he was able to rock Floyd in the first and to floor Collazo, also in the first (admittedly, both were power/balance combo shots). He KO-d Maussa with a single shot and stopped (a very faded) Castillo with a single body shot.

At no stage last night did I think he was going to KO Lazcano. He landed a lot of clean punches at certain stages but couldn't finish his man. His shots seemed to lack a lot of the pop they used to have.

5. Workrate/Stamina. Hatton's biggest strong-point in the past, now something of a deficiency. His workrate was such that he forced Kostya to quit on his stool in 2005, yet it was clear last night that Lazcano's camp were hoping to draw Hatton into the trenches to give their man a shot down the stretch. This is Juan Lazcano- an inactive, mid-thirty year old fighter... :doh:

In fact, you could even see the Hatton camp were keen to get Juan outta there early. In rounds 5 and 6 he expended a ton of energy trying to bang Lazcano out early, but when he failed he had to tie up and rest again. This isn't something Hatton had to do a few years back.

Don't get me wrong- I still can't see a fighter at 140 to beat Ricky at the minute. Paulie doesn't have enough pop and Bradley is too green. But that doesn't detract from the fact that Hatton is declining. Clearly declining.

MTF

 

Agree 100%...Hatton is the same old Ricky. He never had great accuracy, defence or speed. He is what he is.

 

Imagine Diego Corrales check hooking Hatton, it would be brutal.

 

It damn sure woulda been. I'd pick the pre-Castillo Chico to stop Hatton had they fought back in 04-05. Hatton might be bigger than Chico, but the way Ricky has always rushed in his career plays right into Corrales' hands. The pre-Castillo Chico woulda had the timing and handspeed to nail Hatton driving in with a check hook, and Ricky woulda been sleeping.

 

Hatton never rocked Floyd!:nono: He clearly just caught him off balance. Floyd wasnt actually hurt, or rocked. Corley, and Judah are the only ones who've ever hurt, or rocked Floyd.

 

Diego lies stinking in the earth. Imagine Floyd check hooking Diego and dropping him with right hands, over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again.

 

Anyways. Hattons should just unify 140 and retire. I'd like to see him undisputed at 140, then pack it in. Him and Calzaghe have succeeded where a lot of others have failed, and I don't just mean Brits..I mean all of them- Yanks, Cubans, Mexicans etc.

If he can unify 140 he can retire as a 2 time Undisp 140lb Champ and as a former Welter champ too.

Not a bad rep.

 

This is a good post, but the truth lies in the middle. Hatton has ALWAYS been flawed, and part of the reason he looked so good early on was because his level of comp, BUT.... at this point he IS past it. Last night he looked diminished, not only from the Hatton that beat Tszyu, he even looked diminished from the Hatton that beat Castillo. His lifestyle, ring style, age, plus the knock out to Floyd, have put him over the hill.

Maybe he'll beat Paulie, because Malignaggi has regressed himself, and his hands are shit, but idk about Bradley. Bradley is no great fighter, but he is alot younger and fresher than Hatton, has decent skill and speed, and showed against Witter he has at least a decent chin. Ive never seen Bradley against a pressure fighter before, but if he fought the current Hatton, I'd give him a VERY good chance.

All I know is that Hatton's chances in a rematch with Floyd just went from virtually zero, to not a snowball's chance in hell!

 

This man won by shutout

 

I completely agree. As for Bradley, I don't think inexperience will be an issue. The kid just took the title from a champ in the champ's hometown. Something a lot of US champs couldn't/wouldn't do. Plus, he's hungrier - with excellent skills to boot. I think he beats Hatton.

 

That guys name was WITTER. And Witter is from Sheffield, not Nottingham.:nono::nono:

 

The major difference in Hatton, in my eyes, was the way he was punching. He wasn't really turning his shots over and was doing a ton of slapping. More than I had ever seen him do.

I don't know if that was because he was coming off a KO loss and slightly afraid to comit to shots or if it's because he is fading. I would guess it's a combination of both. Time will tell.

 

:atu::bears:

 

I think the fat suit sapped his energy.

 

Hatton is classes above Corrales as a fighter

 

Has he ever run that joke in to the ground.

 

Yeah, no, he isn't.