Ricky Hatton returned to the win column yesterday after a 12 round UD over Juan Lazcano in front of 56,000 people. The scores were 120-111, 120-108 and 118-110, but do not by any means let that fool you into thinking it was a walk through the park for Hatton. Hatton took lots of clean punches and despite what he may say, he was in danger on more than one occassion. As the fight began, Hatton was not as aggressive as he has been in the past. However he still has not learned how to move his head and he continued to absorb punishment. His energy level was still there and his attack to the body is still good, but those who watch closely can see he is a spent fighter. The aggressive style Hatton has used is starting to work against him even against less opponents like Lazcano. In rounds 8 and 10, Hatton ate several lefts hands that truly stunned him. In the 10th round, Lazcano caught Hatton with a check left hook similiar to the one that put him on his ass against Mayweather. Hatton's knees buckled and he held on. He then took several more shots before the ref stepped in to break the fighters. Then the ref warned Lazcano and then Hatton's shoe needed to be tied. Hatton had time to recover and he was not hurt like that again. If we play the what if game for a moment, if Hatton had not gotten that time to rest he would have been put on his ass again. I am almost positive because his knees buckled hard and he was taking punches. Hatton did dominate most of the fight, but against a lesser opponent who had not fought in 15 months prior to yesterday. My concern for Hatton is when he steps up against a better opponent that he gets dropped and KOd again. He keeps talking about he wants a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr., there is no way in hell he needs to be in the ring with Mayweather again. Mayweather would get him out a lot sooner because Hatton's weaknesses are still wide open and even his strengths of attack are not what they used to be. It was a good confidence win for a World Champion who was last KOd, but there was no improvements to make me think he should step up in competition like he did against Mayweather.
Paulie Malignaggi got a split decision victory over Lovemore Ndou in a piss poor fight. Malignaggi, who loves to taunt and never shut up, came into the ring with hair extensions as a way to piss off Ndou. However by the end of the first round, Malignaggi had been caught with several hard right hands and the extensions were going wild all over his face. Between rounds his corner kept trying to tie and tape them into a ponytail, but they kept coming loose. They affected him because they kept getting in his face and blinding him from seeing punches. Finally right before the ninth round, his corner cut them out. The fact that Malignaggi came into the ring with those extensions proved just how disrespectful he is as a fighter and a so-called Champion. It is one thing to taunt a fighter before the fight, but to try to do it during the fight is just plain stupid. I have to admit I was really hoping Ndou would step it up and KO Malignaggi. It is obvious Malignaggi does not have much power and Ndou should have really pressed him. The combination of those extensions in his face and his lack of power, Ndou should have really punished Malignaggi. In the sixth round, Malignaggi hurt his right hand and was pretty much a left hand fighter from then on. The scores were 115-114 N’dou, 116-112 and 116-113 for Malignaggi. I was not impressed with Malignaggi and I lost pretty much all respect for him. The fans in England booed him before and after the fight. No one wants to see a fighter who cares more about his look and ring entrance than the actual fight. After the fight, Malignaggi said he believes he broke his right hand. Well in that case he may have career problems because that is the same hand that he has had several surgeries on already. Also if his hand is broken that is going to delay or actually cancel his scheduled fight with Hatton for the fall. As for Ndou, he probably will not get a title shot again. I wish he would have pressed a little more, he probably could gotten the win. Paulie, grow up, because you already have no power and your funny antics are just plain stupid. No one is laughing at your antics but you.
2 comments:
I have to say that I am not impressed with either ones performance, especially Hatton. His mauling style is no longer cute, and his refusal to commit to a jab is the reason he kept walking into hooks. Than to see how he had the ref in his pocket! The dude stops the fight when Hatton was clearly rocked to have his shoes tied?!?! If I am in the other corner I am throwing a chair in the ring!
Malignaggi, I have a soft spot for him I must admit. He has the qualities that can make him a star with the exception of power. And that may be his undoing because he has zero, strange considering how he keeps breaking his hands. Cant say a thing about the hair other than WTF.
That being said i look foward to seeing these two fight still.
Well Mayweather exposed Hatton, lets just be honest. I like Hatton because his fights are exciting but skills wise he is not good. His discipline to stick with a certain style is not good. He is not committed to his craft because between fights he lets his weight get out of control. However I know when I watch one of his fights, he is going to give it his all no matter what he lacks as a fighter. Now he was on his way at least down if not out when the ref stopped the action. He got caught with a check left hook like the one Mayweather hit him with. So what that means is in 2 straight fights he has been more than wide open for that shot. That tells me that when he meets a fighter who is active and has good power, he will sit down again. I really hope it happens before a possible rematch with Mayweather. Mayweather would actually end his career.
Malignaggi, I try to be a fan, but the antics piss me off. He has turned in two bad performances in a row. His hand keeps getting injured which is not good because well that is how he fights. You imagine him breaking his hand against Hatton. Goodnight because he does not have enough power in two hands to keep Hatton off of him, so one would mean he would be knocked around all night. I do not like Paulie because of the attitude and antics. I can deal with both if he was winning big fights without doubts. He is not winning like that, his fights are lackluster.
Now a fight between Hatton and Malignaggi could be very interesting. The pure boxer is Paulie, but he gets into battles sometimes that he needs not be in. Hatton is a bully in the ring and he can beat Paulie around. However Paulie's foot movement could really cause problems for Hatton. I can see the fight going either way. So yes it would still be interesting to watch.
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