Doug Millington-Smith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
magicaddict) wrote2007-12-05 05:15 pm
magicaddict) wrote2007-12-05 05:15 pm
My Attempt To Stop Ranting For A While...
...has me turning to something not many people know I'm a fan of.
Does anyone else think that Ricky Hatton suddenly has a chance against Floyd Mayweather in the welterwight title match this Saturday?
After three months of badmouthing world-beating mancuniuan chav Hatton (43-0 and currently beltless as he has dropped them to fight Mayweather), pretty boy Floyd (38-0, WBC champion) has cancelled a training session less than a week before things kick off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas late on Saturday night. Ricky is a renowned pressure fighter who, when he decides to get off the pies and bring his A-game can give just about anyone in his weight category the fight of their life. Floyd, on the other hand, is seen as the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet, and two weeks ago there really were very few who disputed this with any gusto.
Floyd is also famous for having powder puffs rather than fists. He wasn't previously addressing this as a problem, as Ricky has a powder puff rather than a face (I could probably open Ricky's face up if I tried hard enough, let alone Floyd). His plan was to out-box the less technically sound Hatton over the course of the twelve rounds, wearing him out, opening him up and letting the blood flow knock the wind out of him.
This cancellation of the training session, coupled with the fact he won't be training in public (pretty essential for the big fights these days) has people talking, however. He's already gathered enough heat with his disrespectfulness and mad antics to make him thoroughly disliked by almost all boxing fans, and this culminated in his getting booed by his own American crowd at a recent press conference. Ricky, on the other hand, has cheeky chappie down to a fine art, and has been impressing fans on both sides of the Atlantic with both obscene guts (surviving getting both eyebrows thoroughly minced against Carlos Maussa to be the first man to drop him), and outstanding ability when he puts his mind to it (Kostya Tszyu and Jose Luis Castillo getting beautifully stylish numbers done on them, the first one way against the odds). He's making a lot of friends, and I think it's getting to Floyd.
Wild speculation exists that Floyd may be shaping up to cancel the fight at the last minute, and attempt to get out of Vegas and keep the "best in the world" title while he's at it. This would suggest that he's actually afraid Ricky will beat him, which is something not many of us would have thought Hatton had in him a month ago. Regardless of whether cutting and running is actually his intention, this sudden change in Floyd's demeanour has a lot of people wondering whether or not his camp know something they don't. Odds on Hatton are currently shortening by the hour.
Ricky's preparation has, by all accounts, proceeded flawlessly over its entire duration, and he's managed to hold off retaliating on the verbals until right at the death. He's been the model quiet challenger to Floyd's loud-mouthed champion, and it's just possible that the dividends are about to get paid. A large portion of the crowd will be behind him, the question will be in everyone's minds as to whether Floyd's hands are okay, and there will be an air in the arena that this is going to be a lot closer than previously thought. Floyd's hand speed, ring craft and pure boxing nous are not in question. He's a genius in the ring, but genius boxers have a nasty history of being undone by scrappier pressure fighters. Thoughts go back to Lloyd Honeyghan pulling off one of the greatest upsets in boxing history when he swarmed all over "best in the world" Don Curry in 1986 to win the undisputed welterweight crown, or Barry McGuigan's pressure clinic against Eusebio Pedroza in 1985. It can work - the world is just holding it's breath to see whether or not Ricky can do it again. Personally, I think it's very much going to go down to the state of Hatton's face after the first six rounds. If Floyd's opened him up properly, Ricky'll run out of gas down the stretch and go down fighting. If Ricky's managed to keep his face clean and is still feeling alright, he might well stop Floyd between eight and ten.
If it goes the distance on the night, it'll be Mayweather by unanimous decision. Ricky's going to have to stop him or knock him out. I'll reserve judgement on which of those I think is going to happen until just before the fight.
But on the quiet, I'd love The Hitman to shut that arrogant Yankee honoured guest up once and for all.
Does anyone else think that Ricky Hatton suddenly has a chance against Floyd Mayweather in the welterwight title match this Saturday?
After three months of badmouthing world-beating mancuniuan chav Hatton (43-0 and currently beltless as he has dropped them to fight Mayweather), pretty boy Floyd (38-0, WBC champion) has cancelled a training session less than a week before things kick off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas late on Saturday night. Ricky is a renowned pressure fighter who, when he decides to get off the pies and bring his A-game can give just about anyone in his weight category the fight of their life. Floyd, on the other hand, is seen as the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet, and two weeks ago there really were very few who disputed this with any gusto.
Floyd is also famous for having powder puffs rather than fists. He wasn't previously addressing this as a problem, as Ricky has a powder puff rather than a face (I could probably open Ricky's face up if I tried hard enough, let alone Floyd). His plan was to out-box the less technically sound Hatton over the course of the twelve rounds, wearing him out, opening him up and letting the blood flow knock the wind out of him.
This cancellation of the training session, coupled with the fact he won't be training in public (pretty essential for the big fights these days) has people talking, however. He's already gathered enough heat with his disrespectfulness and mad antics to make him thoroughly disliked by almost all boxing fans, and this culminated in his getting booed by his own American crowd at a recent press conference. Ricky, on the other hand, has cheeky chappie down to a fine art, and has been impressing fans on both sides of the Atlantic with both obscene guts (surviving getting both eyebrows thoroughly minced against Carlos Maussa to be the first man to drop him), and outstanding ability when he puts his mind to it (Kostya Tszyu and Jose Luis Castillo getting beautifully stylish numbers done on them, the first one way against the odds). He's making a lot of friends, and I think it's getting to Floyd.
Wild speculation exists that Floyd may be shaping up to cancel the fight at the last minute, and attempt to get out of Vegas and keep the "best in the world" title while he's at it. This would suggest that he's actually afraid Ricky will beat him, which is something not many of us would have thought Hatton had in him a month ago. Regardless of whether cutting and running is actually his intention, this sudden change in Floyd's demeanour has a lot of people wondering whether or not his camp know something they don't. Odds on Hatton are currently shortening by the hour.
Ricky's preparation has, by all accounts, proceeded flawlessly over its entire duration, and he's managed to hold off retaliating on the verbals until right at the death. He's been the model quiet challenger to Floyd's loud-mouthed champion, and it's just possible that the dividends are about to get paid. A large portion of the crowd will be behind him, the question will be in everyone's minds as to whether Floyd's hands are okay, and there will be an air in the arena that this is going to be a lot closer than previously thought. Floyd's hand speed, ring craft and pure boxing nous are not in question. He's a genius in the ring, but genius boxers have a nasty history of being undone by scrappier pressure fighters. Thoughts go back to Lloyd Honeyghan pulling off one of the greatest upsets in boxing history when he swarmed all over "best in the world" Don Curry in 1986 to win the undisputed welterweight crown, or Barry McGuigan's pressure clinic against Eusebio Pedroza in 1985. It can work - the world is just holding it's breath to see whether or not Ricky can do it again. Personally, I think it's very much going to go down to the state of Hatton's face after the first six rounds. If Floyd's opened him up properly, Ricky'll run out of gas down the stretch and go down fighting. If Ricky's managed to keep his face clean and is still feeling alright, he might well stop Floyd between eight and ten.
If it goes the distance on the night, it'll be Mayweather by unanimous decision. Ricky's going to have to stop him or knock him out. I'll reserve judgement on which of those I think is going to happen until just before the fight.
But on the quiet, I'd love The Hitman to shut that arrogant Yankee honoured guest up once and for all.