There has been a lot of talk lately about the possibility of a "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Ricky "Hitman" Hatton encounter. To be honest, this isn't even a good fight on paper. It's a super-fight because both guys are undefeated but their skill levels are as far apart as the distance that separates Manchester, England, from the United States. Even the biggest Ricky Hatton fan has to really question his honest chances against Mayweather Jr.

Hatton is a very entertaining fighter to watch at times, when he isn't finding a way to clinch and grab hold of his opponent. He throws a lot of punches, has decent hand-speed and decent punching power. He has a big win over Kostya Tszyu that has given him a huge sense of credibility with the boxing world. That in itself is a great accomplishment, although Tszyu's inactivity may have also contributed to Hatton's biggest win. Once Hatton decided he wanted to test the waters at a higher weight class, things didn't go quite as well as he thought they would. His effort against Luis Collazo was meager at best; actually, the fight could have easily gone the other way.

Hatton wasted no time running back to the Jr. Welterweight division where the grass was a lot greener than it was at Welterweight. Compare that to the fact that since starting his professional career at Jr. Lightweight where he captured his first title belt, Mayweather has also captured belts at Lightweight, Jr. Welterweight, Welterweight, and Super Welterweight, all against pretty good fighters. Hands down he is one of the most gifted fighters in the world today.

Mayweather vs Hatton is a fans fight and most of them will probably be rooting for Hatton, but really wouldn't put their hard earned money down on him to actually win the fight. Floyd has far too much in his arsenal for this fight to even be competitive in my eyes. Boxing is the theater of the unexpected and of course anything can happen but if both fighters come with their A-game it's a huge mismatch; too much speed, too defensively sound and at welterweight even the better puncher.

These are two fighters whose abilities speak volumes and certainly on different levels. Honest assessment is that these fighters are not in the same league... 

Questions? Comments? Email Jeff Mayweather

7-16-2007