Phillips could win this. Hatton would come to him looking to outwork him. However, Vince is very strong at this weight and has a high punch output. He has the faster hands and probably more one shot power. If Vince performs like he did against Kostya Tzyu he wins this by decision or late TKO.
I take Hatton if he performs to the level of his fight with Tszyu. Phillips would run him close, though. That Hatton workload was nuts, though. “I tried everything to keep him off me.” - Tszyu.
Hatton cops a bit of criticism on here after he let himself go post the Tszyu fight. Up until then he was a monster, a great fighter. Mind you, Cool Vince was no mug, when he was switched on he could go with the best of them. Good fight. Potentially an awesome fight in fact. Hatton for me but with no conviction whatsoever.
He was immense but was allowed to get away with plenty. That said, when you are fighting a legend like Kostya Tszyu then you find whatever edge you can. Hatton was a great fighter.
Phillips would flat out knock Hatton out if the two met at their best. Phillips could crack with that right-hand and had insane stamina at his best and had a pretty good chin. Hatton is not going to be able to take that right hand all fight long. Absolutely no way.
Everyone said Kostya Tszyu would do the same to Hatton but it never happened because prime Hatton's relentless pressure and rough inside game meant Tszyu could never use his straight right or get any leverage on it. Hatton's greatest performance was built around a game plan designed to negate the straight right, which Hatton executed excellently. I think prime Hatton probably smothers Phillips and works him over on the inside, where Vince wouldn't be able to land clean.
For whatever reason on the night Hatton could walk through Kosta's right hand. If he could do that Kosta he could do it with Phillips. He was stronger on the inside, faster feet and Hatton was no feather-fisted pressure fighter he could turn your lights off upstairs or downstairs with the left hook to head or body. I'd lean towards Hatton.
I think the Kostya that Phillips beat was just a touch green still. The Kostya Hatton beat was on a better run but was also older. I think if Hatton fought the Kostya Phillips did it plays out roughly the same but Kostya has more success, winning one or two more rounds, and goes on to hear the final bell, just because I think his stamina got away from him in his late career, and it showed with him huffing and puffing in his Hatton fight.
If Phillips would not have had a drug problem early on in his career he would have achieved much more. KT was NOT the same when Hatton met him as to opposed to when Phillips met him. Hatton is not going to be bullying Phillips I can assure you that.
Quick aside (I don’t want to derail the threads main question) but how does Tszyu of his peak (around 2000-01) do against Hatton?
