by James Slater: It seems many fans are convinced Ricky Hatton was very possibly “saved” from a KO defeat in his fight with Juan Lazcano last night. Indeed, this writer has been criticised for not mentioning in more detail the incident in question that occurred in round number ten. I must admit, I saw nothing untoward in the 10th session of last night’s entertaining fight, nor did the ultra-experienced commentary team calling the fight in Britain (including former world champ Jim Watt) mention anything suggesting the existence of unfair play by referee Howard Foster..
But for those fans that feel Hatton was purposely given time to recover by the ref after he’d taken two good lefts hooks from the battered but still brave Lazcano in the 10th round, I look at the round in more detail here.
Ricky was on top of the round pretty much right through, until the incredibly tough Lazcano came back with two nice left hooks to Hatton’s chin. Hatton was hurt, no doubt, but on the verge of going over? I don’t think so. As a matter of fact, I feel Hatton was more hurt in the 8th round, when he was also caught by Juan’s left hand. Still, some fans believe Lazcano was halted in his progress by a biased third man in the ring. After looking at the round in question in close detail I cannot agree.
Yes, Lazcano landed two good shots, but Hatton was never on “queer street.” He immediately knew he had to hold and did so. This was not a case where a fighter’s legs turned to jelly. As for the time-out called by referee Foster. It should be noted that Foster had also called a time-out BEFORE the incident we are talking about here. Unhappy with the roughness of the round, Foster called a time-out. That he did so again after Hatton had taken two good shots does not mean he is a corrupt official – far from it. Foster actually let at least ten or twelve seconds go by after Lazcano’s good shots had landed before he halted the action to warn the 33-year-old for pulling Hatton down. At this point, Hatton looked in no way like a fighter who was “out on his feet.”
Then, seemingly unaware of the loose lace on Hatton’s boot, Foster was about to let the action continue. Only when Hatton signalled there was a problem with his lace did the referee prevent the action from going on. At this point, Lazcano almost staggered across the ring. If anything, the following break in the round did him more good than it did Hatton.
No, I’m sorry, there was nothing sinister going on in round number ten last night. And if anyone knew how good a referee Howard Foster is, no such offensive fingers would be pointed at him. Indeed, if he reads some of the comments left on the internet, Foster will be greatly angered.
There have been controversial time-outs in boxing in the past. Occasions where a fighter HAS been helped by a less than fair official. Last night’s Hatton-Lazcano fight featured no such incident.