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Sharkie’s Machine
By Frank Gonzalez Jr.
June 4th, 2005
“Hatton Too Much for Tszyu!”
WBU Jr. Welterweight
Champion, Ricky Hatton suffocated IBF Champion Kostya Tszyu for every minute
of every round forcing Tszyu to quit on his stool and surrender his Title
after the eleventh round Saturday night in the MEN Arena in Manchester
England, where Hatton draws much spirit from his hometown crowd.
This was one of the fastest fights I ever remember seeing. It was such a
wild pace that each round seemed to fly by. It turned out to be the
toughest fight of Kostya Tszyu’s career.
Last November, after Kostya Tszyu (31-2-1-25 KO’s) was away for two years,
he came back and destroyed Sharmba Mitchell (55-4-0-30 KO’s) in three
rounds, proving he was still a great Champion and not to be underestimated.
Last December, Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton (39-0-0-29 KO’s) beat a past his
prime, Ray Oliveira (47-9-2-22 KO’s) by KO 10.
Against Kostya Tszyu, Hatton fought like a man possessed. He smothered
Tszyu with punches and pressure from the first bell to the last seconds of
the eleventh round. When Hatton wasn’t punching, he was wrestling Tszyu and
forcing him to spend every ounce of energy in his 35-year old body and
never gave Tszyu a chance to get his offense in gear.
Hatton kept close to Tszyu and nullified his punching power by taking away
his range. Though Tszyu did win a few rounds with quality counter punching,
nothing he ever did impeded the avalanche that was Ricky Hatton.
Ultimately, Hatton’s pressure proved too much for Tszyu and after the
eleventh round—Kostya didn’t come out for the twelfth. With his face
swollen to a pulp, Tszyu sat on his stool and watched Hatton raise his arms
in victory, the winner by TKO 11.
I was shocked. I expected Tszyu would win in the middle rounds by KO.
Having seen many of both guys’ fights, I noticed that Hatton often gets
careless and Tszyu, a well-schooled, counter punching boxer with great
power, would catch him with a goodnight punch. That never happened.
Instead, the Tasmanian-Devil approach of Ricky Hatton proved the right
recipe to defeat the great Kostya Tszyu.
Hatton’s strategy was effective. He frustrated and drained Tszyu, who was
breathing through his mouth after the third round. Tszyu was noticeably
slowing and getting weaker as the rounds got deeper. There were times when
Tszyu would catch Hatton with good shots, but Hatton would walk right
through them and keep on attacking. Tszyu was completely frustrated and
outworked all night.
Tszyu is known to be a slow starter, but a smart boxer, who takes note of
his opponent’s weaknesses and exploits them. I expected Tszyu to dictate
the pace after figuring Hatton out. But there would be no figuring Hatton
out. Hatton executed a brilliant strategy against Tszyu and he showed he
wanted it more and used his amazing energy and stamina to force his will on
one of the best fighters in the sport.
There was never a dull moment in this fight. There was a lot of rough
housing, rabbit punching, low blows, pushing and heads perilously grazing
each other during clinches. In the seventh round, Tszyu landed a low blow
that saw Hatton fall to the canvas. It was ruled a slip since the punch that
felled him was a low blow. In the eighth, Tszyu pushed Hatton out of a
clinch and Hatton fell backwards into the ropes and down. That too was
ruled a slip. Hatton soon retaliated with a vicious, intentional low blow
that saw Tszyu fall to his knees. Dave Parris, the referee, took no point.
After all, Tszyu got away with it twice. While Tszyu should have taken the
full five minutes to recover, he only took about 45 seconds. That was a
mistake. A little recovery time may have given him a better chance when they
continued.
Hatton kept coming in like a buzz saw and then grabbing onto Tszyu every
time they got close, leaning in with his head and forcing Tszyu into
awkward positions that left him in poor position from which to counter.
Hatton’s pressure neutralized whatever superior boxing skills Tszyu may
have brought with him to the fight.
Hatton continuously smothered and bullied Tszyu, which dulled Kostya’s
reflexes. Tszyu was being hit more frequently with flush shots as the
rounds progressed. He had a mouse on his left eye, was breathing heavily
and his whole face was blowing up by the end of the eleventh round.
After the fight, Tszyu said he thought he was at least three or four points
behind and there was no way he could win. He credited Hatton as being the
better man that night.
The official Judges scored it, 107-102, 106-103, and 105-104 all for
Hatton. I had it 106-103 for Hatton.
* * *
As I type these words, I am still in shock. I expected Tszyu to take
advantage of Hatton’s wild punching and catch him with the big right
uppercut that would end the fight. Ricky Hatton has proven without a doubt
that he is now the man to beat at 140-pounds.
If you’re a hardcore fan, you’ve been frustrated, waiting for Hatton to
finally step up and face a top-notch fighter. Well, that day has come and
Ricky showed his pedigree.
People were calling him Ricky ‘Fatton,’ after seeing how he ballooned in
weight since last December. After the fight, a perfectly chiseled Ricky
Hatton donned a black, oversized T-shirt that said, “There’s only one Ricky
Fatton.”
Though Hatton was most gracious in the end, he did get the last laugh over
those who doubted him. I expected him to give a good account of himself—but
no way did I expect him to stop Kostya Tszyu.
This fight propels Hatton into the status of ‘legitimate’ World Champion.
It has taken a good long time but Hatton finally stepped up; he is now the
new owner of the IBF Jr. Welterweight Title. Hatton proved that all the
speculation in the world means nothing until two guys step between the ropes
and fight. Hatton said afterwards that he would give Tszyu a rematch if he
wanted one. Tszyu said he wasn’t ready to say whether he would continue to
fight. He’s had a hell of a career but who knows what he’ll decide when he
gets home and takes time to sort it all out.
Congratulations Ricky Hatton!
I’d like to see Hatton face the winner of Arturo Gatti vs. Floyd Mayweather
Jr. next. I can see Gatti hopping on a plane to go face Hatton in England
but there’s no way Floyd would go fight in England, I don’t think he’s that
brave. Floyd is a masterful boxer, but, would he be able to handle the
pressure Hatton pours on? Would Hatton risk a major battle in the absence of
his adoring home fans, whose cheers energize him?
Somehow, I doubt a fight with Mayweather would happen, because why would
Hatton fight Mayweather in the United States when he is a much bigger draw
in Manchester than Mayweather is in the USA? Money talks—but unfortunately,
it doesn’t always talk the language that makes the best match ups happen.
There’s also WBA Champ, Vivian Harris and WBO Champ, Miguel Cotto. Getting
a fight with either of them would be another exercise in politics that
could lead to nowhere. At the high energy pace that Hatton fights, I can’t
see any of the top dogs in the division being able to handle the kind of
pressure he
applies. Beating Kostya Tszyu was HUGE.
Hatton has officially arrived.
* * *
Agree or disagree? Comments can be emailed to dshark87@hotmail.com
6-4-2005
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