Hatton-Witter: Who is Britain's Best?

By Don Deane

11.04 - This past Saturday, Britain's main entrants in the Junior Welterweight division showcased their talents in front of a raucous crowd in Manchester, England. Junior Witter was in against a tough Belgian named Jurgen Haeck, and Ricky Hatton faced former Kostya Tszyu conqueror Vince Phillips. The fight card was mostly intended to be a showcase of the two talents who plan to square off in the future and the largely pro-Hatton crowd let it be known who they were behind. After both fights were finished the stage was set. Hero versus Villian. Blue Collar tough versus White Collar Style. Straight forward puncher versus switch hitting counter puncher. Hitman versus Hitter. Hatton versus Witter.

Junior Witter was first on deck, as Ricky Hatton was the main event given his hometown. Witter fought a guy with obvious less skill than Hatton but roughly the same style. From the start, Witter displayed some of the traits that make him dangerous, as well as some traits that make him just another Naseem Hamed clone from Brendan Ingle's stable. Witter landed a few nice counter left hands early. The style resembled Sharmba Mitchell's, who employs that style of backward movement and counter punching effectively. But unlike Mitchell, Witter continuously hung his hands at his side and threw lunging punches that were unguarded. Witter also spent too much time switching styles from conventional to southpaw and back. Being unorthodox is good in some ways but it is almost impossible to maintain solid balance if you constantly switch your feet placement. Against a hard hitter like Hatton he will not want to lose a point because of an off balance flash knockdown.

Another trouble spot for him against Hatton will be his tendency to throw a wide left hand. When he was rushed by Haeck, Witter would set his feet and let loose a wild left hand. If Hatton gets inside that wide punch he will have the opportunity to score at will with his rights to the body.

To Witter's credit he does have a more aggressive demeanor and dances less. He was seen stalking his soon to be victim in rounds 3 and 4 and the final blow was a single overhand left that shows Witter does have a little pop. Overall, Witter looked competent in the ring and he is quick enough to get away with his lack of defense most times. A little less Hamed would benefit his game a lot more.

Now on to the main event that pitted Hatton against "Cool" Vince Phillips. Unlike Witter, there is no showmanship in Hatton's game. He comes right out and attacks. Hatton is a throwback who would probably fight as well barehanded with no rules as he does in the ring with gloves and referees. Hatton is always coming forward and works at a steady, consistent pace. He uses his good conditioning to apply consistent pressure to his opponent. He is going to need that against Witter, who will probably be less aggressive and more fleet footed in this bout.

Where Hatton may run into trouble there is by coming straight in. He rarely takes an angle of attack, he waits until he is already inside to pivot or slide. Witter may be able to get those counters in on Hatton as he is coming in. Vince Phillips was successful on a few occasions sticking a straight right hand up the middle upon Hatton's entry. The keyword there is "straight" as Witter will need to abandon the wide, haymaker lefts and concentrate on dropping straight rights and lefts, depending on how he is standing at the time.

Hatton very seldom jabs and he prefers to use a bounce and bob technique to get into striking range. This I believe makes him harder to hit because a jabber will keep his head relatively still while he punches. By making guys miss, Hatton is able to find openings to stick his tough hooks to the body. To counter this, Witter would have to stay low to protect his body and throw the jab to keep from getting squared up.

A big plus in Hatton's game is how he fights guys who are on the ropes. He uses a nice slide and pivot step to keep guys from getting themselves out of trouble. This allows him to stay inside and punish guys more. But if he doesn't get inside he will be in trouble. Hatton's hand placement leaves a lot to be desired as he keeps his gloves clasped together below his chin. His face is a wide open target when he is not working inside and he is a sitting duck for a long jab. He needs to approach more like Mike Tyson did in his younger days. He always kept his hands up alongside his head and only moved his punching hand. His off hand remained up to his chin. Granted defense like that is developed through a strong amateur program, but it would work for Hatton.

So now that that is said, what will happen? Well, I think I will go out on a limb as I am prone to do and pick Witter by decision. It seems Hatton is well accustomed to fighting overmatched guys and Witter will be a big step up. I think Witter is fast enough to pepper Hatton when he is coming in unprotected. Sorry Manchester, but no singing of Blue Moon tonight.