Ricky Hatton's decimation of Jose Luis Castillo this past Saturday night left nearly all  of Manchester happy. It also left Manchester West better known as the Thomas & Mack Center very happy. Though it was a nice win for the Hitman, especially after 2 lackluster prior performances in the U.S., it wasn't something that Hatton's legions of fans should get too excited about. If this was the fight that they thought would turn Hatton into a definite top five pound for pounder, then they're mistaken. Hatton did do his job well, but took advantage of a lot of things on Saturday.

     This was not the same Jose Luis Castillo that we saw fight Diego Corrales, Floyd Mayweather, or even Stevie Johnston. This was a shell of that fighter. Most boxing observers had a idea going in that Castillo was a shot fighter. The wars inside the ring, the wars on the scales, and a career that spanned back to 1990 had since caught up to Castillo, probably
even a couple of years ago. Castillo had not really been the same fighter since his epic first fight with Diego Corrales. Most fighters wouldn't be. Not only did that fight take a major toll on him physically, but he had to battle with the scales going into that fight.

    Remember after this fight that Castillo failed to make weight in their second fight, and failed to make it also in their scheduled third fight which caused a cancellation. Since that second Corrales fight, Castillo was battling weight issues, age, and wear and tear. He fought Rolando Reyes, an average fighter and won a ordinary decision. He then appeared in a co-feature fight which was supposed to hype a possible future fight with Hatton fought little known Canadian Herman Ngoudjo. Castillo looked slower, sluggish, and did have that same pop behind his punches, and squeezed out a controversial split decision win in which many thought he lost. He wasn't in proper shape totake on a young bull like Hatton.

     In fact Castillo was tailor made for Hatton; he likes to brawl and comes forward, and like Hatton was known for having a good chin. The problem for Castillo is this
description fits the Castillo of five years ago, not the present day version. To make matters worse, he was fighting a bigger and stronger Hatton. So, was there any surprise that Hatton mowed down the aging ex-champ, well there shouldn't have been. Castillo was   worn down from weight battles, and his many wars in the ring, and all these issues along with his age were finally taking its toll. To expect him to beat a bigger, younger version of himself was unfair.

     The most impressive thing about the fight was the number of fans Hatton brought to see him fight in America. But, was it impressive that he overpowered an aging, worn down Castillo; not really. This was not the Castillo we've seen recently with fighters like Erik Morales, Fernando Vargas, and Arturo Gatti, the wars eventually catch up to a fighter, and they caught up with Castillo.

     Not to totally discard Hatton, I mean he did his job, and has no control over the factors previously mentioned. He finally had his flashy fight in the States. He also showed with his fan support that he's an attractive monetary commodity for any fighter. Who's not going to want a fight with Hatton after the turnout he got? The Hitman did his job, he did what he was supposed to do, and should reap rewards from it. All I'm saying to the many Hatton fans out there is to not get too excited, because this was not the Castillo of old, it was the worn down version. 

6-23-2007