MAYWEATHER VS. HATTON PREVIEW
Posted on | December 3, 2007 | No Comments
MAYWEATHER VS. HATTON
** In-Depth Preview and Analysis **
By Tony Penecale
Rarely will you find two more dissimilar fighters. In one corner is Floyd Mayweather, the brash and cocky champion and #1 Pound-for-Pound boxer in the world today. In the other corner is Ricky Hatton, the tough, blue-collar fighter from England. The only similarities are the internal drive to be the best in the world and the undefeated record each man carries into the ring. When the battle ends in Las Vegas, who will reign supreme and who will lose their unblemished record?
AGE, RECORD, AND STATS
Mayweather: Age: 30 years old
Record: 38-0 (24 Knockouts)
Height: 5?8?
Weight: 150 * * Weight for last bout (5-5-07)
Reach: 72?
Hatton: Age: 29 years old
Record: 43-0 (31 Knockouts)
Height: 5?6?
Weight: 140 * * Weight for last bout (6-23-07)
Reach: 65?
RING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Mayweather: 1996 Olympic Bronze Medalist
WBC Super Featherweight Champion (?98-?02)
WBC Lightweight Champion (?02-?04)
Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion (?02-?04)
WBC Junior Welterweight Champion (?05-?06)
IBF Welterweight Champion (?06)
WBC Welterweight Champion (?06-Pres)
WBC Junior Middleweight Champion (?07)
Ring Magazine Welterweight Champion (?06-Pres)
Ring Magazine Pound-4-Pound #1 Boxer (?05-Pres)
Hatton: IBF Junior Welterweight Champion (?05-?07)
WBA Junior Welterweight Champion (?05-?06)
WBA Welterweight Champion (?06)
STYLE
Mayweather: Arguably, he is the fastest fighter on the face of the earth today. A very relaxed boxer who does everything well with an arsenal that includes a snapping jab, accurate right hand, and left hook that can be doubled and tripled with tremendous effect. Uses feint moves to freeze opponents and open punching lanes. Tucks his chin well behind his shoulder to roll with punches. Even on the ropes, he is a difficult target to land a solid punch. He doesn?t have great punching power. Most of his stoppage victories come from outpunching and outclassing his opponents but rarely scoring clean knockouts.
Hatton: A pure pressure fighter who makes each bout a war of attrition. Likes to get right in his opponents chest and maul on the inside, clutching, brawling, and winging strength-sapping body shots with both hands. Once the opponent is worn down, he is a very good finisher. With such a wide-open attack, his offense serves as his best defense. He can be hit on the way in but is willing to take two punches to land one of his own.
STRENGTHS
Mayweather: * Experience ? Boxing is in Mayweather?s blood since his childhood. Completed an extensive amateur career by competing in the ?96 Olympic games. He has been competing successfully on a championship level for the past nine years, facing and defeating all styles.
* Speed ? Speed Kills. Mayweather has incredible hand and foot speed, which allows him to move inside, unload his offense, and dart out of range before his opponent can set himself.
* Ring Generalship ? Mayweather knows every inch of the ring and how to control a fight. When to attack, when to box, and when to coast, Mayweather owns the ring when he is in there.
Hatton: * Body Attack ? Once on the inside, Hatton cranks out repeated punishing body shots. Any part of the torso, including arms, shoulders, and hips are relentlessly pounded until the hands come down.
* Aggression ? Hatton attacks from the opening bell. While he tends to gain weight between bouts, he trains intensely and is always in tremendous shape. He doesn?t give his opponent a second to breathe. In conjunction with his body attack, Hatton?s aggressiveness will leave an opponent both physically and psychologically beaten.
* Passion ? For the last several years, Hatton has been a popular figure in his native England. He yearns to reach that status in the United States. There is no doubt that he will bring everything he has and more to the biggest event of his career.
WEAKNESSES
Mayweather: * Brittle Hands ? Mayweather has been plagued throughout his career with hand injuries. The soreness in his hands, especially the right hand, reduces Mayweather?s exceptional offense, often forcing him to rely on his foot speed to dance around and pitter-pat opponents.
* Lack of Focus ? Mayweather was considering retirement after his last fight. Just a few months ago, he was competing on Dancing with the Stars, which potentially could have lasted until 12 days before the bout. He also has to deal with the continuing personal and professional rift with his father and former trainer, Floyd Sr.
* Punching Power ? Most of Mayweather?s stoppage wins have come from an accumulation of punches. The usual result is the referee or opposing corner stopping the bout to prevent further punishment. It is rare to see Mayweather finish a bout with one punch dating back to his days as a 130 lb boxer.
Hatton: * Balance ? When pressing the action, Hatton has a bad habit of stepping in with his back foot, squaring himself up and giving his opponent a wide open target to hit.
* Skin ? Like many English fighters over the years, Hatton has to deal with soft skin. He has been susceptible to facial cuts and bruises, most notably in his fight with Luis Collazo, where Hatton suffered severe swelling to his eyes.
* Size ? Hatton has only competed once at welterweight and he struggled mightily in winning a razor-thin decision over the aforementioned Collazo. His punches were not nearly as effective at creating the havoc that was caused at junior welterweight.
PREVIOUS BOUT
Mayweather: Mayweather won a split decision over the popular crowd favorite and marquee attraction, Oscar De la Hoya. Mayweather was successful boxing in the center of the ring, using his speed to outland De la Hoya but ran into difficulty when De la Hoya pressured him to the ropes. Mayweather used his superior condition to win three of the final four rounds.
Hatton: Hatton stopped former world champion Jose Luis Castillo in four rounds, dropping him for the count with a single body shot. Hatton pressed the fight from the onset, backing Castillo up throughout, before he crashed a vicious hook into the side, which put Castillo down for the count.
3 BEST PERFORMANCES
Mayweather: * Diego Corrales (1/20/01) ? Experts were torn on who to pick in this one with many leaning towards Corrales to win by KO. Mayweather never let him in the bout, knocking him down five times before the bout was halted in the 10th round.
* Arturo Gatti (6/25/05) ? Although Mayweather was a solid betting favorite, many expected Gatti to make things rough for Mayweather. It never happened as Mayweather dealt out a severe beating before Gatti?s corner stopped the bout after six one-sided rounds.
* Angel Manfredy (12/19/98) ? This was Mayweather?s first defense of the WBC Super Featherweight Title and it was coming against a tough and skilled Manfredy. Mayweather staggered Manfredy with the first punch of the fight, kept composure throughout the remainder of the first and most of the second before hurting Manfredy against and unleashing a torrid offensive burst, prompting a referee?s stoppage.
Hatton: * Kostya Tszyu (6/4/05) ? Even though the bout was in Hatton?s native England, many figured he the long-reigning champion, Tszyu, would retain his crown. Hatton applied pressure and never gave Tszyu the range he needed to unleash his offense. The pressure gradually sapped the strength and resolve of the aging champion, forcing him to surrender on his stool after the 11th round.
* Jose Luis Castillo (6/23/07) ? While it was generally regarded the Castillo was on the decline, his epic wars with Diego Corrales were still fresh in people?s minds and there was some doubt if Hatton could deal with the power-punching Mexican. But Hatton ran through him, making Castillo look like a shot fighter, and then finishing matters with one crushing blow to the liver.
* Mike Stewart (10/1/04) ? Before he was a contestant on ?The Contender Season 2?, Stewart was an up-and-coming prospect, coming off a decision loss to Sharmba Mitchell. His travel across the Atlantic Ocean was much more painful as Hatton overwhelmed him, dropping him twice before the bout was stopped. When Stewart was asked if his nose was broken, he responded saying that he felt like ?a lot of things were broken.?
QUESTIONS
Mayweather: * Does Mayweather care enough about boxing to put in a top-flight effort?
* After winning the biggest fight in recent memory, will Mayweather be sufficiently focused and motivated against a smaller, lesser-known opponent?
* If Hatton finds success early, will Mayweather get pulled out of his gameplan and into a brawl?
Hatton: * At the higher weight, will he be able to successfully challenge the world?s best boxer?
* Will Hatton?s weight fluctuations between bouts finally catch up to him?
* If his one-dimensional offensive attack proves unsuccessful, will he be able to adapt in mid-fight?
PENECALE PREDICTION
Hatton has an immense desire to not only take Mayweather?s welterweight title, but to take his spot at the top of the boxing mountain. In order to do so, he knows he must bring the fight to the champion.
Hatton will charge out of his corner at the opening bell and immediately try to force Mayweather back to the ropes. Mayweather will start the bout on his toes, looking to avoid Hatton?s rushes and get a feel for what Hatton brings to the table. While infrequently, Hatton will, on several occasions, succeed in getting close to Mayweather, where he will clutch him with one arm and punch with the other. Frustrated by his opponent?s tactics, Mayweather will look to Joe Cortez and complain. Once separated, Mayweather will go back to moving, pivoting out of danger, and landing punches on the way out, and while they won?t have much force behind them, they will score cleanly.
By the 3rd round, Mayweather will have spotted an opening in Hatton. Like a pitcher who tips his pitches, Hatton?s habit of squaring himself up will be the equivalent of serving Mayweather a hanging curveball. Mayweather will time Hatton?s rushes and land double right hands which will snap his head back. Mayweather will also start to mix uppercuts into the equation.
Going into the 5th round, Hatton?s face will start to show the effects of the punishment, with him bleeding from the nose and damage around the eyes. He will start to look confused but he will stick with what brought him to the dance and he will make every effort in staying in Mayweather?s chest, in hopes of wearing him down.
The tactic will open up more chances for Mayweather, and from the 7th through the 9th rounds, it will start to become target practice, similar to his win over Gatti. Mayweather will pick his shots, land them cleanly, move on an angle, and fire again with minimal response from Hatton.
At the conclusion of the 9th round, a game but beaten Hatton will return to his corner, where this chief second will stop the bout, to prevent any further punishment.
Tags: boxer > Boxing > fighter > Floyd Mayweather > pound for pound > Ricky Hatton > Tony Penecale > undefeated