Hatton Hangs Tough

Ricky Hatton had a few questions to answer in his first bout since being knocked out by Floyd Mayweather. Has he slipped since defeating Kostya Tszyu in 2005? Has the string of clinch filled, sub-par performances been due to the higher weight class of 147, or because Ricky has now been facing better fighters?

Some were answered and new questions emerged as Hatton won a clear but competition decision against Juan Lazcano on May 24.

Hatton came out with guns ablaze in the first round, landing clean hooks to the body and jabbing well from the outside. Lazcano struggled to cope with the Hitman’s hand speed, and sought unsuccessfully to time his counters at the end of Hatton’s flurries.

Rounds two and three saw Hatton double up his left hook to the body and head, while continuing to pump a stiff, quick jab which destroyed Lazcano’s attempts to find a rhythm. However, the former lightweight titlist started to find isolated success when he would let his hands go with hooks on the inside.

Going into round five, Lazcano had still not won a round. Hatton continued to be aggressive and started the stanza by bullying Lazcano into the ropes with quick, leaping left hooks to the head. Lazcano’s attempt to flurry back was ineffective, as Hatton’s clinching smothered most of the attack.

Lazcano was finally able to sustain an attack in round eight. Here the challenger hurt Hatton with a solid left hook counter. After initially holding, Hatton fired back hooks of his own to close out the round. However, the damage was enough to put Lazcano on the board.

Round nine saw Hatton bounce back behind flashy but dangerous chin-up-in-the-air leaping hooks. Likely surprised by Hatton’s sudden freshness, Lazcano spent most of the round in a shell and trying to block most of Hatton’s flurries.

Renewed trouble manifested for Hatton in round ten, as Lazcano hurt the Manchester native badly with three successive left hook counters to the head. With his legs turning to jelly, Hatton immediately grabbed while stumbling into Lazcano’s chest.

The hometown ref amazingly called a halt to the action, ordering Hatton to a neutral corner while he admonished Lazcano for rabbit punching. The reprieve extended further as the ref then allowed Hatton’s corner to retie his shoe.

After nearly a minute of recovery time, Hatton bounced back strong to end the tenth.

In the championship rounds Hatton simply outclassed Lazcano with his superior hand speed. Lazcano found his reaction time too slow to avoid Hatton charges and he became susceptible to right hand leads which Hatton used to close out the bout.

Final scorecards for the contest were 120-110, 118-110, and 120-108 all for Hatton.

Hatton did well in his comeback bout. There was a lot less clinching, and he showed flashes of the quick combinations to the body that made him the talk of the boxing world in 2005.

However, some of the same glaring problems remained. As with his past bouts, Hatton began to falter down the stretch, becoming sloppier in the second half of the bout and getting clocked with counters as a result. The lack of head movement which has plagued him at the higher level is still apparent.

Also, Hatton abandoned his jab in the second half of the bout and relied solely on leaping hooks and straights to get him inside (which in December resulted in Mayweather introducing him into a turnbuckle).

At this stage, it’s unlikely that Hatton can do much to drastically alter his style. And luckily, his next likely opponent (Malignaggi) doesn’t have the power or punching accuracy to make him pay for his deficiencies.

Malignaggi Escapes N’Dou in Rematch

After receiving with a dubious unanimous decision against Herman Ngoudjo, Paulie Malignaggi had the task of looking good on the Hatton undercard to set up a 140 showdown to unify the IBF and Ring linear title.

Unfortunately tough veteran Lovemore N’Dou (46-10-1, 31 KOs) had other ideas, and Malignaggi (25-1, 5 KOs) barely escaped with a split decision win in a bout marred by mauling and Paulie’s “weave dreadlocks.”

Seeking to add some pageantry to his entrance and bout, Malignaggi donned a Rey Mysterio type mask and dreadlock extensions. The weave proved disastrous in the first round as N’Dou jarred Malignaggi with two counter rights off the Brooklynite’s jab. The hair flopped all over Paulie’s face, and likely prevented him from seeing the shots coming.

After getting the extensions tapped, Malignaggi boxed well in rounds two through four, where his sharp jab kept N’Dou at bay and forced the challenger to try and match boxing skills with a naturally quicker opponent. Here Malignaggi was able to maintain a work rate edge and counter N’Dou with left hooks and straight rights whenever the challenger would attempt to barge forward.

In round five, N’Dou rediscovered the timing for his overhand shots. Due to his jab becoming lazy, Malignaggi found himself on the receiving end of thudding left and right hook counters.

N’Dou carried the momentum shift into round six. It now became noticeable that while Malignaggi had the edge in volume (mostly due to his jab), N’Dou was landing the harder, more punishing shots.

Round seven saw the Magic Man attempt to get back in the fight behind shoeshine flurries. Undeterred, N’Dou stalked the champion and once again landed hard right hook counters to secure the round.

As Malignaggi’s hair again became unraveled in the eighth, N’Dou now began to out-jab Malignaggi, The champion seemed reluctant to throw and spent the majority of the round backpedaling.

Feeling the urgency Malignaggi became aggressive in the tenth, bullying N’Dou to the ropes and rediscovering his jab from the earlier rounds. Here Malignaggi was successful in keeping N’Dou off balance with movement and avoiding overhand counters to his flurries.

The championship rounds featured lots of mauling from both men. Malignaggi kept his edge in punch volume, while N’Dou caught attention with his harder but isolated single shots.

Final scorecards read 114-115, 116-112, and 116-113 for Malignaggi in a split decision win. Afterward, Malignaggi revealed he hurt his hand in the sixth which completely threw off his game plan.

The win sets up a showdown with Ricky Hatton for the fall, in which Malignaggi will be a decisive underdog. For all his faults, Hatton is exceptional in cutting off the ring with his foot speed. Even Floyd Mayweather was forced to take the fight inside after Hatton’s speed prevented outside potshotting in the early rounds. Malignaggi won’t have any space to work his jab, and unlike Mayweather, the Magic Man is woeful on the inside. In those trenches Hatton will have a field day.

Despite this possibility, Malignaggi has earned his shot by facing and winning against tough competition. Hopefully Paulie and Ricky will settle matters by year’s end.

Aaron Williams Upset on ESPN Friday Night Fights

In a shocking turn of events, formerly undefeated cruiserweight Aaron Williams (17-1-1, 12 KOs) was stopped by unheralded Jose Luis Herrera (16-4, 16 KOs) this past Friday.

An obvious showcase bout, Williams sought to do just that by blitzing Herrara in the first with straights and hooks. Herrera seemed on the verge of being counted out after being dropped in the corner by a hard right. Slowly rising, Herrera inadvertently saved himself after his clinching attempt resulted in both fighters losing their balance and crashing to the canvas. Afterward, the referee allowed the ringside doctor to examine Herrera which brought him more time and resulted in the Columbian escaping the round.

In rounds two through four, Williams inexplicably stopped pressing his attack. Instead, the promising prospect was content to wait on Herrera while keeping his left hand dangerously low. Wary of getting caught again, Herrera kept his distance and made sure he didn’t give Williams counterpunching opportunities.

In the fifth, Herrera crashed home a right hand bomb to Williams’ temple. Hurt badly, Williams retreated as Herrera flailed after him. Another right hand spun Williams into the ropes and scored a knockdown.

Bravely rising after the mandatory eight, Williams still had not recovered from the first huge right. With Herrera right back on him swinging for the fences, Williams quickly took a knee without being hit rather than take another right that would likely have ended matters.

However, the ringside doctor came to the apron to view Williams. After checking his eyes, the doctor decided Williams was in no condition to continue, and on his advice the bout was stopped with 1:58 remaining.

The abrupt ending is a disappointing outing for Williams, who could have made a huge statement in the now wide open cruiserweight division. With many of the marquee names in the division coming off losses (Bell, Maccarinelli, Mormeck) or leaving (Haye), this fight marks a missed opportunity for the young prospect.

But at 22-years-old, all is not lost - and hopefully Williams uses this fight as a strong learning experience.

Throwback Fighter of the Week: Aaron Pryor

Arguably the greatest fighter of the light welterweight division, “The Hawk” Aaron Pryor ran roughshod over all those who opposed him in the early ‘80s.

After turning pro in 1976, Pryor went on to win 26 fights in a row by knockout. He won his first title against aging legend Antonio Cervantes by knockout.

His most well known bouts are his two entertaining but lopsided knockout wins over Alexis Arguello. The first fight was marred in controversy due to Pryor’s trainer Panama Lewis giving him a “black bottle” before round 14. What was in that bottle was never disclosed, and a urine test was not done after the bout. Pryor erased all doubts by defeating Arguello emphatically in the rematch.

Later Pryor’s career suffered from drug abuse and eye problems. After two retirements Pryor finally hung up the gloves in 1990 with a final record 39-1, 35 KOs. Pryor was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996, and now serves as a pastor in Cincinnati.