by Geoffrey Ciani (Interviewed by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) – This week’s 114th edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with Matthew Hatton (41-4-2, 16 KOs) who is scheduled to face young Mexican sensation Saul Alvarez (35-0-1, 26 KOs) for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title this Saturday March 5 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Hatton spoke about his upcoming opportunity and also provided opinions and insights into his career and the current boxing landscape. Here is what he had to say:
On how he is feeling about his upcoming matchup against Saul Alvarez:
“Yeah, I’m very excited about the fight. You know it’s a fantastic opportunity for me. It’s a fight that has been mentioned to me in the past so I always knew that this fight would come and it’s here now. It’s a fight I’m very confident going into and I’m very excited about.”
His views on the fact this fight was eventually upgraded to a fight for the vacant WBC 154 pound championship:
“Oh it’s a great honor to be fighting for the WBC title. It’s a great bout to be fighting for and I’m fighting an excellent fighter in Saul Alvarez so I couldn’t be more pleased about this opportunity, really. I’m just so excited about it. I’m in great shape. I prepared well for this fight so I’m really looking forward to it.”
His views on opponent Saul Alvarez:
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I’m not going to start badmouthing him or anything like that because he’s done everything right as a professional so far. He’s got an excellent record. He’s a good fighter to watch. He’s got great support which obviously speaks volumes about him as a fighter and a man outside the ring as well. So I got a lot of respect for Saul, but it’s a fight I’m going into full of confidence. There is no doubt in my mind that at this stage in our careers I’m the better fighter and I’m going to be the winner on the night, absolutely.”
On whether he believes his experience will be his major advantage against Alvarez:
“I think so, yeah. Even though he’s only 20 he is an experienced fighter. You know he’s got a lot of fights behind him, but yeah. I do feel as if I’m the more seasoned experienced fighter. I’m 29 years of age now and I think physically and mentally I’m coming into my peak now. I’ve had some hard fights, some tough fights. Saul has been in a lot of one-sided fights and that has been because he’s been a level above his opponents so more credit to him for that. But I feel I’m the more seasoned fighter, the more experienced fighter. I’ve had some tough fights and some hard moments in fights. I think this is going to be a difficult fight for both of us. I think Saul is the best fighter I’ll have stepped into the ring with and in a lot of ways I think I’ll be the best fighter he’s faced so far in his career. So I think it’s going to be a great fight. I think it’s going to be an exciting fight. Both of us guys like to come forward and I think it’s going to be a really good entertaining fight.”
On criticisms over the fact that this fight is now being fought for the vacant WBC title when neither fighter has accomplished much of note in the weight class:
“Yeah you know as for Saul, I don’t think he’s weighed at the welterweight limit. In a lot of his fights he’s been 10.9. He’s the Silver Champion at light middleweight. He’s the #1 ranked contender by the WBC at light middleweight. I’m obviously the European Welterweight Champion. I got a very healthy world ranking. I think it was #6 by the WBA and #5 by the WBC and I accepted this fight with Saul before it was granted a world title fight so I’d already stepped up to the weight to take on Saul. So yeah, it’s taking place at a catch weight. I think I fully deserve a world title fight. It’s coming at an unexpected weight division let’s say, but I think I’m deserving of a world title fight and I think me and Saul Alvarez will be a great fight.”
On being presented with an opportunity to escape his brother’s shadow and create a name for himself:
“That’s a question that I get asked a lot and obviously Ricky’s been a great fighter, but I never wanted to emulate Ricky or to emulate other fighters. I just wanted to be the best I can be and sometimes in my career when I had bad performances and did not perform to the best of my ability it has gotten me down. But I always knew I was capable of boxing at a world title level and I proved my dominance at a European level. I’ve been dominant over here so the world title is something I’m looking forward to.”
On whether being the brother of a famous boxer has given him added pressure to perform at a higher level:
“That can be the case sometimes, but that’s never been the case with me. The only time I’ve been disappointed in myself is when I feel I’ve underperformed. I just want to perform to the best of my ability and when I’m performing to the best of my ability I’m a very good fighter. Obviously Ricky’s had a great career and has been very successful and with that does come sometimes extra pressure. So yeah, I just want to be the best I can be and perform to the best of my ability and if I do that I’m sure I can become world champion.”
On what he considers to be the best performance of his career to date:
“I’d say the best performance of my career, although he’s not a big name or a marquee fighter, but I’d say my victory over Yuriy Nuzhnenko who was a former WBA world champion was probably the best win of my career. I suffered an early setback. I was dropped in the first round and I had come back to win the fight pretty comfortably and dominated the fight really. So I’d say even though I have had some good wins, that’s probably the best win of my career.”
His views on the upcoming fight between Amir Khan and Paul McCloskey:
“I think that’s a great fight. Maybe in the States people wouldn’t have heard of Paul McCloskey, but I can tell people over there he’s a very good fighter. He’s a very good boxer. He’s a good southpaw with good movement. He’s very hard to hit. He’s a European Champion so he’s a good test for Amir, but I do think that Amir is a level above really. I think Amir is boxing absolutely fantastic at the minute. He’s looking really good and I do expect it to be a good fight but I do think Amir Khan will come out on top, definitely.”
His views on Carl Froch’s chances in the Super Six Boxing Classic:
“Carl’s got an excellent chance. I’d definitely say he’s one of the favorites. I’d probably say he’s definitely one of the favorites really. It’s a great tournament. It’s had some great fights and with Carl it seems like it’s tough fight after tough fight but he’s coming through and he seems to be getting stronger. His last performance against Abraham was really good and it’s a great tournament with some exciting fights and I think ‘The Cobra’ definitely has a chance of winning that tournament.”
His views on the upcoming fight between Manny Pacquiao and Sugar Shane Mosley:
“You know Shane Mosley has always been one of my favorite fighters. He’s a great fighter to watch. He’s taken on all comers and he’s been in some great fights. I think he’s showing a few signs of wear and tear and again I expect it to be a good fight. Shane obviously has got tremendous power and he’s produced some fabulous performances in his career, but unfortunately I can only see one winner and that’s Pacquiao for sure.”
On what he considers to be the turning point in his career that showed he would become a legitimate contender:
“I wasted a lot of my time earlier in my career. I was training at Billy Graham’s gym, and no disrespect to Billy. Billy was putting a lot of time and effort into Ricky, and myself and a lot of other fighters weren’t really getting the attention we deserved. I suffered a defeat back home and when I suffered that defeat I made changes and got a new trainer. The trainer started putting more time in and I did more work and I’ve been getting better ever since. I think I’m one of the most improved fighters, not just in Britain but in the world, and I do put it down to the fact basically I moved training and started getting a lot more work done with me. So I would say the turning point was the moving of gyms.”
On whether he would be interested in facing Paquiao given the fact he is fighting for Pacquiao’s vacated belt and the history with Pacquiao and his brother:
“Oh absolutely! There is a lot of things being said about Saul. There is a lot of hype surrounding him and they’re saying that he’s in line for these big fights against the likes of Mayweather and Pacquiao. If I can beat Saul and become WBC Champion, which I’m sure I can, then that’s the sacrifice that I want to be in and like you said with that extra incentive that he has defeated my brother, they’re the big fights that I want to be in. So yeah, not just the incentive to beat Saul, to be the first man to defeat him, to win the WBC title, but also to put myself in line for some massive, massive fights. The motivation is all there and I’m so determined. I trained very hard for this fight. I’m in great shape and it can’t come quick enough for me.”
On how he expects the fight between him and Saul Alvarez to play out:
“Boxing is one of those sports where you can’t really plan. Things happen in the ring that you don’t expect. I do think it’s going to be a great fight. I think it’s going to be an exciting fight for as long as it lasts. I think we’re both tough fighters. We both take a good shot and I’m expecting the fight to be long. It’s going to be a hard, tough I believe close fight for both of us. I do believe that my extra determination, and conditioning, and maturity, and experience will tip the balance in my favor. I really do.”
On what he would like to say to his fans and supporters and the listeners of On the Ropes Boxing Radio:
“Yeah just get behind me and it’s going to be a great fight. If you can’t get to the arena watch it on TV. Get behind me and support me and one thing that I always guarantee is I always give 110% in my fights. I coming into this fight with a full tank of petrol really and every little bit of it will get used. I’m going to give it everything against Saul Alvarez and I’m sure I can be crowned the new WBC Champion.”
***
For those interested in listening to the Matthew Hatton interview in its entirety, it begins approximately one hour and two minutes into the program.
RIGHT CLICK and ‘SAVE AS’ TO DOWNLOAD EPISODE #114
***
To learn more about “On the Ropes Boxing Radio:
Visit our official Website:
http://www.ontheropesboxingradio.com
Join our Facebook Group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=231954175413&ref=ts
Or Follow us on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/JennaOnTheRopes
To contact Geoffrey Ciani or Jenna J:
ontheropes@boxing247.com
To read more by Ciani or Jenna please visit The Mushroom Mag:
http://www.eatthemushroom.com/mag