Friday, October 19, 2007

Ricky Hatton and comments about Dec. 8 fight

On Dec. 8 in Las Vegas, Nev., the highly-anticipated welterweight match between 43-0 Ricky Hatton and 38-0 Floyd Mayweather takes place.

Mayweather is the fighter with the great hand speed, tremendous footwork and a cockiness that can drive people crazy.

Hatton is the British fighter that is aggressive, underrated in many facets and has great motivation because so many people have picked him to lose the fight between two of the sport's biggest personalities.

On Thursday via teleconference, Hatton had many things to say. Here are a few quotes.

"I'm coming off one of the best fights of my career when I beat Jose Luis Castillo in June. Floyd is coming off a great win against Oscar De La Hoya. I can't wait for this fight. Floyd is a great fighter, he's got good hand speed and he's a great defensive fighter."

"I've been studying a lot of his fights and what his strengths and weaknesses are. He's least comfortable when there is pressure on him. I have to set a high pace and not waste a lot of punches. I want to be ready for rounds 6-12. I'm motivated because nobody is picking me to win the fight. I won't leave Floyd alone in the ring, I want to put constant pressure in the ring."

Hatton has mainly campaigned at 140 pounds, but in May of 2006 he fought Luis Collazo at 147 and although he won the fight, he looked sluggish at times.

"I came into the fight too heavy and I was sluggish down the stretch," Hatton said. "For the Mayweather fight, I won't gain as much weight between the weigh-in and the fight."

While many so-called boxing experts (believe me, there are very few) pick Mayweather, I actually like Hatton on Dec. 8. If Hatton can smother Mayweather like Castillo did in Castillo-Mayweather I, Hatton has a great chance of winning on points because he is quicker and stronger than Castillo. Plus, Hatton has learned from his mistakes in the Collazo fight and he's maturing into a much more complete fighter.

Don't put your money on it, but I like Hatton by a score of 115-113 on Dec. 9

— Felix

No comments: