27.05.05 – By Gennadi “Komar” Komarnitzky: (translation: Izyaslav Koza) – Tickets for the bout between 140 pound-unified champ, Kostya Tszyu, and undefeated challenger Ricky Hatton, that will happen on June 5th in Manchester England, sold out within a few hours after the booths opened. None of the fans even seemed to care that the fight will take place at 2 in the morning local time.
Tszyu, living and fighting out of Australia, has trained long and hard for this fight, and that is saying something considering the fact that he has some, if not the most brutal training methods in boxing today. The native Russian will not have it easy considering his challenge is to win over the sympathy of an audience, born in the same place as the sweet science. England has always been proud, and boasted, of its boxer. It might take too long to name all of them but only in the last few years, we the fans have received, Prince Hamed, Lennox Lewis, Joe Calzaghe, and Howard Eastman. However an altogether different prospect awaits the Russian boxer in Manchester, in the form of local favorite, Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton.
Hatton has to date had more professional bouts then Tszyu. His record is yet to be blemished by a defeat. However, the final answer, as to which fighter is better, can only come from the fight itself. At the moment, however, we can remember that Tszyu and Hatton have had some of the same opponents.
One of them in Vince Phillips, who was the same man that gave Tszyu his single taste of defeat long ago in 1997. He was 34 then, and had just stopped taking drugs, which allowed him to pull of the most sensational upset of the year. We can debate about that fight for quite a while, but what we cannot debate about is the Phillips by TKO in 10, that has forever been immortalized in the pathways of history. Six years later 39-year-old Vince, entered the ring against young Hatton and basically lost every single round.
Here is what “Cool” Vince had to say about this fight:
”If I was Kostya I would do everything to make this fight happen. Hatton’s style is tailor-made for Tszyu. If I were Hatton however, I would stay far away from Kostya. I have fought in the higher weight classes against bigger fighters, but none of them could hit as hard as Tszyu.” (from “the RING” magazine)
The other fighter, representing Ghana, Ben Tackie went twelve rounds with both fighters. First he met with Kostya, and arguably lost every minute of every round. Those in the press who understood the spectacle of this boxing lesson, triumphantly wrote about how Tszyu gave a lesson in boxing, and forced the couch critics, who claimed he was a one dimensional slugger, to quiet down. It was as if he had taken us back in time to his amateur days when it was almost impossible to contact on him with a glove.
Then came Hatton’s turn. Credit should be given to the Englishman for winning confidently and convincingly, and even having enough enthusiasm to proclaim that his victory was easier for him then Tsyzu’s.
The Statistics tell all.
So then, in his professional career, Hatton has averaged 5 rounds per bout. Kostya’s round average is higher by one. However if we only consider the last few matches, of both fighters, where they had to meet with stronger opponents, the indicator shifts in Tszyu’s favor with seven rounds for him, and nine for the Englishman.
Hatton has only fought outside of the United Kingdom four times-once in Germany and three times in the United States. Tszyu has split half his fights between Australia and the United States.
The percentage of KO/TKO victories is 81% for Tszyu, and 74% for Hatton, which is a good indicator of Hatton’s disadvantage in power. His biggest weakness however is his defense, considering he has been hit with a lot more punches against weaker opponents the Tszyu. In a fight with Kostya, not being able to avoid punches is catastrophic.
Hatton has also never met with a single fighter in the top 10 at that weight. Yes he had difficult opponents in Olivera, Magee, and Tony Pepp, but they were on their way out or never entered the building in the first place. Hatton has only entered the elite 10 of the 140 pounders at the end of 2002.
On the other hand Tszyu has met with 13 former or current champions. In his last 7 fights he has defeated boxers who were at the time in the top 10 of the 140-pound division. He has been considered one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound ever since his stunning knock out over current 147 unified champ Zab Judah.
If we would use medical terminology to describe both fighters’ styles then, Hatton can be described as a dull headache for his opponent, which you can handle but cannot get rid off. Tszyu’s actions in the ring are similar to a sharp toothache, which makes a person feel as if they do not want to live, and can only think about removal.
I was able to give the results of the voting from Russian boxing fans, to Konstantin himself, when we were together along with “Sport Express” (Russian newspaper) boxing analyst Alexander Belenkii. In terms of who fans wanted Kostya to face, Hatton took 3rd place. However even though this is an acceptable fight for Kostya, Hatton still didn’t take second or first. I think the reason is Hatton’s promoter Frank Warren. The situation is such that his fighter had to finally step up in class and fight a world class opponent, and risk/reward didn’t allow Warren to take many chances to make his fighter a higher place on that list. With no prior experience who would was waiting for him there on the world scene anyway?
WBC champ Arturo Gatti? Never Gatti belongs to America. It created him, made him successful, changed his style to that of a boxer, and should give him up? His title can only pass into responsible American hands.
WBA champ Vivian Harris? Her majesty, the Queen’s, proud citizen doesn’t come that cheap. Vivian could go to England for 150 grand American (not even pounds btw), however if Hatton loses where does that leave him?
There is another local hero, who has more knockout victories in his last couple of fights, then the champion of the “honorary” WBU belt, Hatton, has defenses, but he isn’t too interesting for the world viewers as a whole. We are discussing British boxer Junior Witter of course.
So what is left? Its time to “give away the bride,” but potential “grooms” won’t wait long, and time is ticking. However as with all weddings, it’s more important for the parent (Warren) that the union is financially beneficial, and in case of a less then successful divorce when it’s over(meaning Hatton loses), there is still a chance for another wedding down the road.
Kostya Tszyu. That is the name of the most beneficial match. So Warren made the offer to the Russian.
For Kostya it’s a few million, but for Hatton? A chance to get the American TV dollars for the fight. A chance to get into the history books, and a chance to return and resurrect British boxing for British fight fans.
Only what chance does Ricky have? Of course if we listen to British fight fans, and Hatton’s promoter Kostya Tszyu is ready to be upset, however, what do the people who know Kostya think about this fight?
The following is what Viktor Ageev(considered by many as the “Soviet” Roy Jones), two time European champion, four time Soviet champ, and president of the Professional Russian Boxing Federation had to say:
“The Brit is already a good fighter, because he is seemingly not that scared. We can expect to see a wonderful boxing spectacle, of that I am sure, however the difference in quality of opposition is what makes me cautious. Tszyu cannot seem to get old. There are tons of examples in the history of boxing, amateur and professional, where older fighters effortlessly achieved victory in their bouts. I have little doubt about Tszyu coming out victorious, however, how and when, is something only he knows.”
Alexander Lebzyak, Olympic champion, world champion, and two time European champion, as well as the head coach of the Russian boxing team, had the following words:
“Hatton is a very serious opponent and is currently one of the best fighters in Europe. Of course, Konstantin, has to be very focused in the fight, and protect not just his head but his body as well. His experience in the amateur and professional ranks, as well as his Russian spirit, give me confidence in his victory. Judah was the first one to scream Tszyu was old and so on. We all know what those words mean in the end. Kostya is such a consummate professional, that he can get tuned for this fight correctly, and not even notice the critics or the fans, ardently supporting their hometown hero, as well as anything that could possibly make him lose focus. I thought he would beat Mitchell by KO before the end of the seventh. He did it much faster. I doubt this fight will go the full distance either, and I already have a winner in mind. My friend Kostya Tszyu can’t lose. He is just made that way.”
In conclusion a short anecdote: Remember that pilots from around the world used to mark the number of downed enemy craft, by stars on the fuselage of their plane. If you look closer at the Australian flag, under which Kostya Tszyu fights, it has six stars which corresponds to the number of belts Kostya has won. The British flag is in the upper-left corner of the Australian, and should serve as another trophy, along with the six stars, for Kostya Tszyu.
For now however it is the calm before the storm, and Ricky Hatton was playing Playstation 2 when Kostya began his training. However the meeting between the British shores, and the big wave is unavoidable.
Fact File:
Kostya Tszyu
Age: 35
Amateur Career: 270 fights, 259 victories, and 11 losses.
Professional debut- 1992.
33 fights: 31 wins (25 KO’s), 1 loss, and 1 NC.
IBF champ 1995-1997, and in 2001-.
WBC champ 1999-2003.
WBA champ 2001-2004.
Undisputed champ from 2001 till the present.
13 title defenses.
Ricky Hatton
Age: 26
Amateur career: 80 fights, 76 wins, and 4 losses.
Professional Debut: 1997
38 wins (28 KO’s), 0 losses.
WBU champ since 2001.
15 title defenses.