On Sat. November 22, 2008 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV, Ricky Hatton will be facing Paulie Malignaggi in a junior welterweight clash.
Many believe that Ricky Hatton is taking this fight for a safe and easy win, but Paulie Malignaggi and his corner feel he has just the right style that will help him come up with an upset win.
Malignaggi (25-1, 5 KOs) is a fighter who lacks no confidence and he has held championships. In his mind, he should be one of the top boxers of this century. "The Magic Man" has the same swagger that Prince Ahmed, Hector Camacho, and Hector Camacho Jr. brought to conferences and to the ring.
The one thing he doesn't bring like those guys, is the ability to knock opponents out.
With only five knockouts in 26 fights, Paulie doesn't have the explosive style that fans are drawn too. He also doesn't cause a big threat to opponents that have had their jaw tested like Ricky Hatton did against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The threat he does pose, however, is stamina, speed, and endurance. He is a skilled boxer with a quick jab and fast head movement that can throw any fighter off.
Paulie Malignaggi also proved he can take a punch when he faced Miguel Cotto. Although he lost the fight, Malginaggi courageously took head and body punches from a strong Cotto and ended the fight on his feet, showing amazing heart and confidence. You couldn't help but notice that Paulie Malignaggi believed he was in the right place at the right time at that moment, fighting the best.
The stakes are high for Ricky Hatton (44-1, 31 KOs) in this fight. Will he make a comeback or a departure like long time former trainer, Billy Graham, did leading up to this matchup? Hatton found a new trainer in Floyd Mayweather Sr., but the big question is what will be the out come of the merger?
Hatton had a great run with Billy Graham in his corner, with their father and son-like relationship.
They only saw one defeat and that was against the aforementioned Floyd Mayweather Jr., which was expected, since many claim he as the best pound-for-pound at the time.
"The Hitman's" bully-type style has worked against many opponents, and has stopped big time fighters such as Kostya Tszya and Jose Luis Castillo. Fighters who were willing to stand toe-to-toe with him.
However, when he has gone against fighters who relied on boxing ability and not strength, Hatton struggled.
He barely came out with the win against Luis Collazo because of the slick movement and jab Luis fought with, and last I checked Paulie Malignaggi was just that type of fighter.
Ricky could have worked on his jab and head movement with Mayweather Sr., but your not going to get that much change of style from a veteran fighter like Hatton.
You’re most likely to see frustration in Hatton's corner when Floyd Sr., is screaming for the jab and for Ricky Hatton to move side to side. Especially if Ricky can't find the rhythm or the posture he needs to throw that jab.
Hopefully if Mayweather did change Hatton’s training method, it was the conditioning and stamina to go 12 rounds.
My prediction is Ricky and Paulie will do what they to best.
Paulie will jab and move as much as possible and try to get into Ricky Hatton's head. His conditioning and experience with fights going the distance will give him an advantage in the late rounds.
Ricky Hatton may try to jab and show some boxing ability until he realizes he will need to immobilize Paulie to get some affective contact to happen. Ricky Hatton will need to bully and wrestle Paulie to be effective, if he makes it a boxing match he's setting himself up for defeat.
Style will make the fight. The winner will be the one that can make it his type of fight a brawl or a hit and miss. Will it be an easy win for Hatton or is he underestimating Malignaggi?
Will Hattons new approach of being a boxer more than a brawler as he's used to be a benefit or his downfall?
Your take on it......
some highlight video some guy made of mayweather, funny stuff
Ricky Hatton brought 30,000 fans from Manchester to Las Vegas for his superfight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. so a return visit to Sin City for his junior welterweight matchup against Paulie Maignaggi was deemed a slam dunk. It's beginning to look like the fight is closer to a brick off the backrim. The economy in Vegas is horrific and it may be worse in the U.K. A week ago, UFC 91 inhabited the same building drawing 14,272 and did a gate of $4.8 million. It also doesn't appear that American fans are willing to pony up the bucks for back-to-back fight cards.
Gareth Davies from The Telegraph says Vegas is a ghost town. Because of the crashing pound the Vegas bargains are gone for the Brits:
Curbed by the recession and the pound falling against the dollar has made the stay here 25 per cent more expensive than 11 months ago.
The story is told simply by the numbers coming over from the U.K.:
By any normal standards, the 6,000 following is huge for a British fighter in America, yet taken in context of 57,000 attending Hatton's 'Homecoming' fight with Juan Lazcano at the City of Manchester Stadium in May, and last year's showing, the recession has taken its toll.
It's clearly the wealthiest fans who are coming over. Davies says that many fans are making this into a double-dip trip by traveling to see Oasis in Mexico City.
Trainer Billy Graham, in Las Vegas for the Ricky Hatton fight, is channeling Robert DeNiro this week. DeNiro as Lefty Rosenthal in Casino delivered the classic line about Sin City in the 1970s:
"It's in the desert where a lot of the town's problems are solved."
Graham recently dumped by the Hatton brothers, Ricky and Matthew, has come to the desert with the same goal in mind. He wants to exorcise some demons according to The Sun:
“I want to go out to Vegas to put it all behind me. I can then start going to fights and taking part in boxing again as a fan. I’m not some cold-hearted p***k who is just going to walk away without some kind of end. This is my chance to lay the ghosts to rest."
Graham says he has little interest in attending the fight but he doesn't want to soak in the atmosphere:
“It will kill me that I’m not in the corner but it’s a chance to say goodbye to the British fans who go to the fights. I have not been going anywhere since the split. I have not been seen around by anyone. I want to go out to Vegas to put it all behind me. I can then start going to fights and taking part in boxing again as a fan."
There are some in the British media who think Graham's appearance isn't just some self-cleansing but an attempt to distract and screw with Hatton's mind. Other are saying dumping Graham was pointless because the change to Floyd Mayweather Sr. will have no effect on a one-dimensional fighter like Hatton.
Photo via The Telegraph
Source: news.bbc
