By James Slater: As was widely expected, 20-year-old Saul Alvarez failed to make the agreed 150-pound weight for his fight tonight with Matthew Hatton. Earlier this week, big brother Ricky Hatton expressed his concerns over whether or not “Canelo” would try his hardest to make 150, feeling the Mexican would settle for paying a fine for coming over instead of draining himself.
Ricky’s concerns proved to be prophetic when the official weigh-in for the fight, which will contest the vacant WBC 154-pound title, took place. Alvarez stepped on the scale and weighed 151.8. Then, after an attempt to drop the excess weight, Alvarez weighed in at 151.4. As per the rules, Alvarez will now lose a significant portion of his purse. Hatton came in at a ready149.6.
Hatton, feeling he can win tonight, chose not to walk away due to his opponent’s failure to get down to the agreed poundage, but “Magic” was a considerable underdog when the fight was first announced. He will be given even less chance of winning in the opinion of most fans due to the big weight advantage “Canelo” will have over him.
A natural light-middleweight, Alvarez could conceivably enter the ring at something like 165-pounds if he wanted to. However, tonight’s co-challenger has been told he cannot enter the ring at any more than 160-pounds, the middleweight limit. A natural welterweight, Hatton will probably fight at less than 154.
Sometimes a slow starter, Hatton could well have some rough patches in the early going of tonight’s fight. The European welterweight champ has been knocked down in the 1st round before, only to come back to win. Tonight, he may have to get back up from another early knockdown. I have a feeling, an awful feeling if you’re a Hatton fan, that Alvarez will steamroll “Magic” tonight and win early.
A harder puncher, the faster, younger man, Alvarez will also have that big weight advantage. Hatton, in my opinion, will cause a massive shock if he wins tonight. U.K trade paper Boxing News have Hatton losing after eight tough rounds. I see the man many see as the next Mexican superstar wining much quicker than that.
Look for Alvarez to win his first “world” title by way of a win inside three rounds. I honestly wouldn’t be too surprised if Alvarez managed to bag the win inside three minutes.