Boxing

Hatton's begin his Run toward the Big Time

Tom Donelson

06.04 - Showtime commentator Steve Alberts summed up Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton dilemma when he stated that boxing is filled of fighters who fail in moving from the prospect status to actual stardom. Hatton's fight with Vincent Phillips represented a step forward as his promoters no longer could avoid protecting their fighters with the right fighters. Hatton now must prove that he is indeed the real deal. History is littered with prospects that wilt under their first taste under the limelight. Phillips, who is the only man to conquer the recognized reigning 140-pound champion Kostya Tszyu, took a fight in Hatton's backyard to give himself one more shot at the championship.

Phillips was the cagey veteran and even at the age of 39, still could deliver a solid right hand- the right hand that ended Tszyu undefeated streak six years earlier. Hatton's strategy was simple, pressure the older man until he could no longer take it. Hatton is a plodder whose only strategy is keep coming forward. For Hatton, there is no strategy B as my good friend Frank Lotierzo likes to say. As for Phillips, the real question was how much did he have left and could he make the Hitman respect him with the right hand.

The first round set the pace for the rest of the fight. Ricky Hatton moved forward as he throws left hook to the body and solids rights. Phillips retreated throughout the entire round till the end of the round when he smacked a left hook to Hatton's right eye, causing blood to spurt. Hatton's corner proved to be as adept in taking care of medical emergencies as they were at other aspect of managing Hatton career. Hatton, who is susceptible to cuts, was tended to immediately and the cut proved not to be a factor for the rest of the fight. Never underestimate the value of a good cut man.

The second and third round followed the same pattern as Hatton pressured and Phillips countered. For every one punch that Phillips threw, Hatton seem to throw two. Hatton, who Phillips declared was the 140 pound version of Rocky Marciano before the fight, threw punches in bunches and hit every part of the body. Hatton demonstrated one aspect of being a great fighter- he never allowed his cuts and Phillips' stinging rights deter him from winning. The sight of his own blood only enraged him.

The fourth round was the key round that determined Phillips fate. In the middle of the round, he stung Hatton with a series of hard rights. For the first and only time in the fight, Hatton was stunned. For one brief moment, Phillips threw back time and appeared in control. This brief moment of glory lasted 60 seconds as Hatton ripped Phillips with body shots and uppercuts. Phillips left eye spurted blood and Hatton turned the round around in his favor. From this point Phillips merely was on the defensive as Hatton merely wore the older fighter down.

The only thing that kept Phillips up was his heart. He took a fierce beating but Hatton could not knock the veteran Phillips down. Hatton does not have the one punch knock out but he does punch hard enough to wear opponents out. In this fight, Hatton forced Phillips to fight his fight and he took Phillips leg away. It was the classic slugger vs. boxer and the slugger easily out pointed the boxer. Phillips' jab cease to be a factor and as the fight proceeded, he could not longer avoid Hatton's sledgehammers blow. Hatton threw consistently 60-70 punches around, mostly power shots, and he never slowed down. Nearly half of his punches found his target. By the end of the fight, Steve Alberts observed that three out of four fighters' eyes were bloody and two of those belong to Phillips. Two of the judges had Hatton pitching a shut out and the third judge only gave Phillips one round, the fourth. In this case, the judges all saw the same fight and they scored correctly.

What this mean for Hatton? Who knows but Hatton passed his first big test and as Steve Alberts concluded that the days of protecting Hatton were over. Hatton competes in one of Boxing's deepest division and from this point; he will be fighting the best. There is talk of matching Hatton up with Junior Witter, who beat up the light hitting Jurgen Haeck in the undercard. Witter is another British 140 pound prospect whose unorthodox style reminds one of the former featherweight champion, Prince Naz Hamid but somehow, Witter's lack of basic boxing skills will be exposed when he moves up in competition just as Hamid was exposed when he fought Marco Barrera. Hatton's chin is solid and his fighting courage unquestioned. It is too early to declare Hatton a champion but at least he demonstrated that he is close to being an elite fighter. If he fights Witter, he should win easily and then after deposing his British's competitor- it is time to come across the pond and fight in America. Then all questions will be answered.

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