25.05.05 – By Robin York: As the big fight draws closer, opinions could not be more divided on the outcome of this summer’s epic showdown between Manchester’s undefeated star Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton and the number one light welterweight in the world, Kostya Tszyu. It will be a lion’s den that Tszyu will enter on June the 4th, performing in front of 22,000 Hatton fans at the MEN Arena in Manchester.. The bout is for Tszyu’s IBF belt, but more importantly for Hatton is the Russian’s worldwide recognition as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world today.
Tszyu has proven time and time again that he is the best light welterweight in the world. Hatton has yet to convince everyone, especially in the US, that he even deserves world class status despite being ranked number one by the IBF and previously so by the WBO, all the while remaining undefeated in 38 fights.
But for Hatton’s British fans, this type of fight has been long overdue. After potential challenges to Miguel Cotto, Sharmba Mitchell and Vivian Harris failed to materialise, Hatton seemed to lose faith in the sport. This unease was evident in his one sided victory in June of last year over Carlos Vilches. While the Mancunain did get the points win, it was a poor performance by the high standards that “The Hitman’s” fans are accustomed to.
Hatton and his legion of supporters were frustrated alike and the pressure began to mount on promoter Frank Warren to deliver a big fight. The head of Sports Network told everyone doubting him that he would come through for Hatton and he has delivered admirably. Not only did he land Tszyu, the biggest name in the division, but also he enticed the IBF Champion to defend his title in the challenger’s back yard. Credit must go to Warren and Hatton for targeting the hardest possible fight and also to the champion for accepting the difficult challenge of defending on away turf.
While the majority of American fight fans expect Tszyu to retain, many in Britain truly believe that Hatton has what it takes to dethrone the champion. And why shouldn’t they? Hatton has defeated every man put in front of him and mostly all in style. Even when Hatton has laboured, he has never looked close to losing. When floored for the first and only time in his career, during the first round against the hard-hitting Irishman Eamonn Magee, Hatton remained calm and went on to easily outbox his bitter rival.
The Magee fight and a British title defense against Jon Thaxton were arguably the most difficult fights, in that Hatton had to contend with substantial adversity before prevailing. Hatton was always in control against Thaxton but was horrendously cut from the first round on. Somehow he managed to remain calm and batter Thaxton for the remainder of the contest, keeping his British belt.
Being able to remain calm under pressure is a quality that “The Hitman” is going to need when faced with the thunderous right hands coming his way from Kostya Tszyu. But Tszyu will also need that quality when faced with the lethal body attacks likely to come his way. Hatton sets a frenetic pace, seen in particular during his last fight when he became the first man to stop Ray Oliveira, and body shots are the trademarks of his non-stop attacks.
While Tszyu has the greater single punch power, the challenger has a wider variety of shots and his swarming tactics, coupled with a high work rate, may dishearten the champion if Tszyu’s cannon-like punches are ineffective. But that is a big “if”. The general feeling in the US is that Tszyu’s power will tell against Hatton, who is perceived as largely untested. Hatton has been beaten some solid contenders, including Mike Stewart, Ben Tackie and Vince Phillips, who incidentally is the only man to have beaten the champion, but many are of the opinion that those fighters were past their best and nowhere near the class that Tszyu represents now.
Despite Tszyu’s return from a long layoff to brutally stop old foe Sharmba Mitchell in the 3rd round last November, the Sydney resident is now 35 and there are just as many questions surrounding him as there are of Hatton. So while Tszyu will start off the favourite, British fans know that “The Hitman” could not be better prepared for this fight. If it’s going to happen for Hatton, it will happen on June 4th. The champion, no matter how great, is not invincible and Hatton has the tools to reinforce that vulnerability.
With so many questions being asked surrounding this battle, come fight night we should get all the answers we require.
All Photos by Paul Speak