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It’s less than a week before
the big fight and no one this side of Manchester, England is
giving Ricky Hatton any chance to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr.
I’m not that convinced of a sure Mayweather victory. I’ve
seen a similar fight that should be drawing comparisons to
the December 8th rumble in Las Vegas.
Let’s take a look back to
March 8th in the year 1971. I’m referring to the Muhammad
Ali/ Joe Frazier fight. Muhammad Ali was considered the best
“pound for pound” champion in the world, and justifiably so
as his lighting quick hands and feet had all opponents
hopelessly chasing him around the ring. His top weapon was
his quick wit combined with humiliating insults about his
opponent. Ali called Frazier a gorilla, Uncle Tom, and even
had some believing that Joe was a white man. Ali appeared
determined to crack the mental toughness of Joe Frazier and
cause him to lose his sense of direction during the fight.
Joe Frazier was the underdog
for this fight as many believed that he would be “out boxed”
by the skillful Ali. Joe was not blessed with the speed of
a Muhammad Ali nor was he gifted with the quick wit and the
charisma to have the media eating out of his hand. Frazier
was a tenacious fighter who threw left hooks in his sleep.
Joe loved to fight his opponents on the ropes where he his
hooks would be most effective. Joe was a humble man in life
and this would also be his style in preparation for the big
fight with Ali.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has the
hand and foot speed of a young Ali. Mayweather has mastered
the art of throwing punches and using his foot speed to
evade any returning punches from opponents. Mayweather also
uses his quick wit combined with insults to entice his
opponents into wasting energy by going for the early
knockout. He has called Ricky Hatton a coward, cheater,
Ricky Fatton (whatever that means), and a pussy (I know what
that means).
Ricky Hatton is the underdog
for his December 8th bout with Mayweather. Hatton is also a
humble man that lacks the boxing skills of Mayweather. He,
like Joe Frazier, is a determined fighter that prefers to
fight against the ropes. His best shots are body hooks.
Mayweather has done a good job of convincing the media and
fight fans that Ricky has only beat opponents past their
prime. That would include former champions, Kostya Tszyu,
Jose Luis Castillo. and Carlos Maussa.
We all know the outcome of
the Frazier/ Ali fight. Joe worked his way inside Ali’s
reach and wailed away with body punches and left hooks to
the head. Joe was willing to take several shots from Ali
who was also at his best for the fight. However it was
Frazier who fought every second, every minute, of every
round. Eventually this resulted in a knockdown of Ali and
the unanimous decision for Joe Frazier. This is arguably
the greatest fight that ever took place on American soil.
For Ricky Hatton to beat
Floyd Mayweather, he must use the same tactics that Frazier
used to beat Ali. Ricky must close the distance and fight
on the chest of Mayweather. He must throw tons of body
shots and not let the wily Mayweather escape his reach.
Like Frazier, Hatton must keep pounding away and throwing
punch after punch that will eventually wear down
Mayweather’s stamina.
Old timers will tell you that
Frazier won that fight against Ali because he had more
“heart.” This means that Joe was the more determined
fighter and refused to let up. Once he entered the ring for
the fight, his demeanor changed from Bruce Banner into the
Hulk! The thought of losing never even entered Joe’s mind.
Does Ricky Hatton have the
“heart” to beat Floyd Mayweather? Does he have the mental
toughness of a Joe Frazier? Has he trained hard enough to
be in top physical condition for chasing Floyd? Most
important, will Ricky give his all, every second, every
minute, of every round?
All of these questions and
more will be answered this Saturday, December 8th, in Las
Vegas. This fight could quite possibly make December 8th
stand for something other than the anniversary of John
Lennon’s murder.
Happy Holidays,
David Tyler
11-30-2007 |
