Photos: Tom Casino / Showtime

Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton vs. “Cool” Vince Phillips
(32-0-24 KO’s) (44-7-1-32 KO’s)

By Frank Gonzalez Jr.

07.04 - There’s something about the energy at the MEN arena in Manchester. The unified chants of the crowd, the moments of silence and the chorus of song at just the right moments, a sense of fellowship between audience and fighter, unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere. So it was, Saturday night, as Manchester’s own Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton took his midterm examination against former IBF Jr. Welterweight champion, “Cool” Vince Phillips in defense of his WBU Light Welterweight title.

24-year-old Ricky Hatton is a high volume puncher who attacks his opponents in disruptive fashion, forcing them to adapt to him instead of focusing on their own fight plans. His energy is relentless and --although he cuts easily, he never lets his own blood get between him and his opponent, he just keeps coming forward, always firing away. Though he seems reckless in his pursuit, his defense is getting better, just like the rest of his game.

Vince Phillips would be Hatton’s first big test in the sport. Hatton came to the ring with a 31-0 record. A record littered with the names of unknown, unheralded opponents. Hatton’s promoter, Frank Warren, has brought Ricky along slowly. Like a leg of lamb in the oven, you just can’t rush certain things if you want them to turn out right. Now time has come for Hatton to step up and move forward.

In his last two fights, Hatton beat Stephen Smith by a Second-Round Disqualification when Smith’s father ran into the ring protesting an elbow thrown by Hatton, his son, disqualified as a result. Mercy works in mysterious ways. He later beat American journeyman, Joe Hutchinson by Knockout in four rounds.

Experiencing some problems prior to the fight, Vince supposedly missed five days of training and was reported ready to walk out on the fight if certain financial demands were not met. I won’t get into that because it’s not where I want to go. Regardless of what issues there were, Phillips would show up ready to fight.

“Cool” Vince Phillips is a 39 year old at the twilight of his career. They don’t call him “Cool” for nothing. The man is the consummate professional. He doesn’t taunt his opponents, don’t throw stools at referees after a loss and never brags or showboats when he wins. He’s simply, ‘cool.’ He had a noteworthy career, which started back in 1989, when Hatton was just 11 years old.

Known for his ring savvy and powerful right hand, the former IBF Jr. Welterweight champion Vince Phillips is a well-respected veteran of boxing. He is responsible for that lone loss on Kostya Tszyu’s record as he knocked out the current unified 140-lb champion back in May of 1997. Two years later, he lost that title to Terron Millett. In his last two outings, Phillips won a Unanimous Decision over ‘up and coming’ Nick Acevedo (15-0) in March of 2002.

During his last fight against Sharmba Mitchell, Phillips showed definite signs of aging. He was too slow and often out-boxed by the cagey, flamboyant, skirt wearing Mitchell.

After 14 years of professional boxing, Father Time has come to remind Vince that the time to hang up his gloves is near. At 39, Phillips is unlikely to win any relevant titles but could still be a good gauge or stepping stone for the likes of Ricky Hatton.

* * *

The Fight

Round One-

Phillips was able to avoid much of Hatton’s aggression with good counter punching, he scored well and opened a cut above Hatton’s right eye, which bleed profusely as the round ended. Hatton did some good work, pressed the action and scored well himself. I called this round even.

Round Two -

Hatton’s fast forward ‘in your face’ pace overwhelmed Vince, who tried to target the cut on Hatton’s eye but found himself too busy defending himself from Hatton’s pressure, which included lots of body shots and hooks and over hands to the head. Vince was at a disadvantage. Hatton easily wins this round.

Round Three-

Phillips gets cut on his right eye from a Hatton punch. Hatton presses, Vince retreats, scoring only on occasion. “The Hitman” pours it on and wins another round.

Round Four-

Hatton controls the tempo, hitting Phillips with body shots from many angles, often catching him upstairs too. At one point, Phillips counters and catches Hatton with a good series of punches that had to hurt, but Hatton pressed forward and out-worked and out-punched Vince and won another round.

Round Five-

More of Hatton pursuing Phillips and Vince scoring on occasion while Hatton scored continually. The cut on Vince’s eye was bleeding a lot more than Hatton’s was, since it was being hit more. The ring was a 17-footer and the logo in the center was becoming slippery, forcing the fighters to avoid the area, making the ring even smaller. Hatton destroys Phillips in this round.

Round Six-

All Ricky Hatton, who pummels Vince to the head and body the whole round. Phillips, his face a bloodied mess, Phillips wobbles to his corner as the bell rings. Another Hatton round.

Round Seven-

Phillips didn’t quite recover from the last round and barely hangs on to survive. All target practice for Hatton, who is all over Vince, forcing him backwards and neutralizing Phillips longer arms.

Round Eight-

With Hatton doing most of the punching, Phillips looked shakier as the fight progressed. Vince came on late and scored nicely with some combinations of his own, reopening Hatton’s cut eye. Phillips slipped on the wet logo in the center of the ring. It’s ruled a slip. Hatton pummels him until the bell rings.

Round Nine-

Hatton batters Phillips, seeming intent on a stoppage. Vince again slips on the wet canvas -- while in the motion of throwing a right hand. Every time it looked like the fight should have been stopped, Phillips throws a few punches and scores-- but never enough to win a round. Phillips’ legs looked like spaghetti, but being the warrior he is, kept himself in the fight. Giving up isn’t part of Vince’s character. As the bell rang, Phillips wobbled to his corner. All Hatton.

Round 10-

Phillips again slipped on the wet logo, the result of the two wet fighters dripping all over it when they came out of their corners. The referee called a time out and took a towel and wiped the excess water on the logo. A moment later, Hatton slips, but doesn’t fall down. Hatton continues to throw bunches of punches while Phillips took more punishment, occasionally getting in a punch of his own. Hatton wins another.

Round 11-

Both fighters try to stay within the perimeter of the slippery logo at center ring. They box, Hatton gets the better of Phillips again and Vince scores one or two times. Hatton wins another.

Round 12-

Hatton clearly tried to finish Phillips, but Vince stayed on his feet and survived the final round. Brave as Phillips was, he tried to catch Hatton with some desperate right hands but to no avail. Ding-ding, its over. Hatton wins by a landslide.

Both fighters embraced and walked round the ring together to the applause of satisfied fans. Both their faces bloodied and smeared, they showed mutual respect and even likeness for each other. There was no animosity, it was spent from rounds one through twelve. Something happens to fighters after having shared a violent personal experience for 12 rounds, a bond is created. Fighters with high self-esteem allow the positive to shine over the negative. The result, a classy finish.

Phillips may have lost almost every round—but he gained the respect of the loud fans in a foreign land that booed him when he entered the ring but cheered him when it was over. As for Hatton, he left his fans satisfied with a memorable, winning performance.

* * *

The Judge’s Scores:

Des Bloyd – 120-107 for Hatton

Howard Goldberg – 120- 108 for Hatton

Reg Thompson – 120- 109 for Hatton

I had it 120- 109 for Hatton.

Punch Stats
Hatton Phillips

722…..Thrown …..435

323…..Landed…..118

44%..…Percent..…27%

The 24-year old from Manchester had passed the test. He beat a well known, albeit aged, quality fighter and did so impressively by always forcing him backwards and imposing his will.

Afterwards, Colin Hart conducted the post fight interviews. Both fighters were gracious in turn. Vince Phillips credited Hatton as a good fighter, saying Hatton is like a mini-Rocky Marciano. He said Hatton never really hurt him except for some of his body shots. Vince said Ricky is a very good body puncher.

Hatton was equally complimentary of Phillips, noting that Vince is a good fighter, who hurt him a couple of time in the fight, which at 39 years old, “defies logic.” When asked if he was disappointed about not being able to knock Phillips out, Hatton said instead of being disappointed, he’d rather credit Vince Phillips, who again, at 39 years old, defies logic.

Asked if he’s ready for the likes of Kostya Tszyu, Hatton says he thinks so. Ricky also spoke to the camera and said he hoped he’d gained more American fans. He did.

* * *

The 140-lb. Division is one of the most talent laden in boxing today. There are lots of big fish on the horizon for young Hatton. Some may feel he’s not ready for Tszyu but then again, why not? I know boxing is more about the money than the sport itself and managers and Promoters prefer the safest road to the biggest paydays but why not test ones self against the very best? Some prognosticators recommend Ricky wait till Tszyu is even older. That sounds like a safer course but I don’t like it. What’s the worst that could happen? He might lose. So what? If he’s going to be a real champion, a loss to the best could be just the experience that makes him the best he can be. But, then again, he might win. Imagine the paydays how good the paydays could be if he were the Unified Champion? I know, its ambitious but as a fan, I like to think that there’s a bit more to everything than just money. What about the glory.

I’m convinced that Hatton can beat some of the top ten guys in his division, but not all of them, not just yet. But styles do make fights and Hatton’s ferocious attacking style coupled with his amazing stamina seem a good recipe for success. I’d like to see Hatton take on Zab Judah more than Junior Witter, who’s hoping to be next on Ricky’s menu. I believe Witter would be overwhelmed and run for 12 rounds and that’s not my idea of entertainment. Judah is a big puncher with an unorthodox technique that could possibly pose problems for Hatton. Yet if Hatton can keep Judah out of his rhythm with his anxious approach, he could very well dominate Zab too. Who knows, maybe we’ll get to see that famous Zab-dance from the canvas again?

There’s Sharmba Mitchell, who didn’t beat Phillips even half as impressively as Hatton just did. I can see Hatton beating Mitchell, who won’t have the stamina to keep up with Ricky. But you never know. Mitchell may be better than I give him credit for.

There’s “Vicious” Vivian Harris, who punches with serious authority and seems similar to Hatton in that he’s an offensive minded fighter. That would be a hell of a fight to see. What about Ben Tackie, Arturo Gatti, DeMarcus Corley, or Irish Mickey Ward? Those would all be tremendous fights.

There is another prospect at 140 who is untested but seemingly devastating and that’s Mohammad Abdullaev, who’s only 10-0 now as a pro but has a long amateur career and in my view is ready to move up—well past who he’s been fighting lately. Can you imagine the fireworks Abdullaev vs. Hatton? It would be the biggest fight in Europe! It would be pretty large in the States too.

Hatton is on a much shorter road to the top than fellow prospect Miguel Cotto, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Hatton fight Cotto either. Hey, Hatton is like Arturo Gatti in that you always know you’re getting an action packed fight.

* * *

Agree or disagree? Comments can be sent to: dshark87@hotmail.com