Hatton @ 140

Well, Gomez and Corrrales were both stopped again within 3 years. MAB is a great example. As I said, it's happened but I couldn't think of too many examples.

But the thing that really makes Hatton different is how long he went undefeated. The guy went 10 years undefeated as a pro. This has to damage his mentality.

 

dsimon writes:

I agree. Its no slight but when the fight happens it lets people draw conclusions. I call it being "exposed" and the thing is: At the elite level of boxing when somoene designs a blueprint to beating you, other guys will also find a way at that point. It isn't always about class either.... As good as Jones is when Tarver Ko'ed him, Johnson knew he could too and that was it for Jones as an elite.

And.... its a matter of very subtle things! I mean if Hatton was a little faster closing the gap on Floyd coming in, or a little stronger and could attack Floyd on the inside (he couldn't), or if Hatton had the ability to adjust a little more, or a few more skills... Any one of these things might have made the difference. But Sec is right. At the end of the day they didn't because Ricky just is not able at that level and every fighter who faces him now knows that.

Frankly Witter may well be able to beat Ricky by gowing to the body and he knows that as well and that is why Ricky is a marked man at this point in any division.

And you know why? because as much as boxing in ridiculed, as much as fighters are called bums in jest.... professional fighting men are professionals. Professionals don't just throw punches and hope for the best, they analyze weakness and attack it in the ring. hatton obviously has some weaknesses in his style that will be pinpointed now. The guy wh fights Floyd next cannot say the same thing as Floyd has shown no way that he is vulnerable.

 

:bears: :bears: :bears:

 

The problem I have here is that, by yours and Sec's rationale, my interpretation of what you say is as follows:

1. Hatton is no longer/has never been an elite level lighter
2. Losing to Mayweather means that you become 'exposed'

I cannot see how either of these can be right.

I accept that Hatton is not/has never been/will never be elite at Welterweight, but that doesn't mean he was not/is not elite at Lt Welterweight. Sec referred to ODLH earlier, who hindsight proved to not be an elite Middleweight (after the fight with Hopkins), but NO-ONE would take his inability to operate at elite level as a middleweight as evidence that ODLH was not/never was an elite fighter.

As to the second point- sure, Hatton may well have had his weaknesses shown for the world to see by Floyd, but no fighter is not without weakness and I'd be very surprised if his weaknesses from that fight have come as a surprise to any of the guys who have fought against him before. As you say, professionals analyise weaknesses, right? You don't think Hatton's have been spotted before by any of his previous 43 opponents? That would be incredible, to be honest.

There is a BIG difference between knowing a fighter's weaknessess and actually exploiting them. Floyd could do it because he is a much better fighter than Ricky Hatton, especially at 147lb where Hatton is much diminished. But prior to this, NOT A SINGLE FIGHTER, including Kostya Tszyu and Jose Castillo, could exploit them sufficiently at 140lb. What makes people suddenly confident that, just because Mayweather (P4P no 1 according to most) could do this, suddenly a fighter like Junior Witter can? :dunno:

Unless you are also claiming that Hatton has/is entering a period of terminal decline also?

MTF opcorn:

 

Not necessarily, but I agree that a bad (KO) loss often does have a tremendous impact on a fighter. The list of these guys is far, FAR greater than the list who come back to anywhere near the level they were at.

I mean, Christ, look at Lacy on Saturday night? This guy was a world champ in a unification match just two fights previous :eeeek:

It'll be interesting to see how Hatton reacts- his next fight will probably tell us all you need to know here.

 

Do you honestly believe that Hatton losing to the P4P no1 at a lesser favoured weight means that he is NOT an elite fighter? Even at 140lb, where he was considered the no1 by almost everyone right up until Saturday just gone?

Who is more skilled than Hatton at 140lb? Witter? Malinaggi? You make it sound like Hatton has no skills at all, simply because he was beaten and 'outskilled' by the most skilled boxer on the planet...

MTF

 

I agree. And while I have my opinion, I sincerly hope Hatton proves me wrong. It wouldn't bother me if he beat Witter, Paulie and Rees at 140 to unify and then faced Juan Diaz coming up from 135.

Regarding Lacy, I actually think getting 'out pointed' in the devastating fashion he did over 12 rounds does more to damage a fighter than a brutal KO.

 

Well, let me put this in my perspective. Before Hatton was stopped by Mayweather, I thought Ricky was superior to Witter and Malinaggi. However, now I think both would be pick-em fights in which Ricky could be beaten again.

Think about it from Witter and Paulie's standpoint. They both now know that Hatton can be beaten at his own game, he can be out-gassed and he can be stopped. Even more important than the damage to Hatton's confidence is the added confidence the Hatton loss to Mayweather might give Hatton's future opponents.

 

when has he done this?