13.05.08 – by James Slater: No sooner was new WBC light-welterweight champion Timothy Bradley raising his hands in victory after being rightfully given the winning verdict in his fight with defending champion Junior Witter on Saturday, were fight fans debating what would happen if Ricky Hatton were to fight Bradley..
Well, in an interview with Setanta Sports, one man who might have a good idea on the subject gave his expert opinion. Brendan Ingle, the wise old trainer of the man Bradley defeated in Junior Witter, told of how he felt Ricky Hatton would likely come up trumps is a fight with the fighter known as “Desert Storm.”
“Hatton would stop this guy in four or five rounds,” Ingle declared. “His style would be perfect for him. But Junior would still beat Hatton even now. That’s boxing, A beats B, B beats C and C can beat A.”
While Ingle’s opinion has to be respected, this writer feels he is wrong when he says “The Hitman” would get Bradley out of there as quickly as inside five rounds. Sure, styles make fights, but nothing Bradley did on Saturday night made me believe he’d be relatively easy pickings for Hatton. One thing Ingle said that is sure to be disagreed with is his insistence that Witter would still beat Hatton, even now. It’s not likely too many fans would go along with such thinking, not that there is much of a chance of a Witter-Hatton showdown taking place now anyway.
Ingle also commented on his fighter’s loss at the weekend, stating how well Junior did not to have been stopped by the big right hand that decked him in the 6th round.
“That punch would have knocked out 19 of 20 fighters, and he got up,” Ingle said. “It shakes you up. It shakes your brain up, it shakes your decisions. You’re on edge, because you’ve already been caught with the shot, but he caught the other fella with good shots. For a split decision the knockdown won the fight.”
There is no doubt Witter did very well to come back into the fight after being decked so heavily, but in the opinion of many Bradley’s win was wider than just a single point. For what it’s worth, this writer had Bradley a winner by three points. Timothy Bradley is a very good new champion, and he will take some beating. Whether or not a fight between he and Ricky Hatton comes off, there will be some exciting fights ahead for the “Desert Storm” in the coming months.