Josh Taylor vs Ricky Hatton - who'd win in their primes at 140?

Taylor has some sweet left-hand counters in his arsenal, and that would be mighty tough for Hatton to neutralise.

But it would be a War, and although I think Ricky would give it his all and push Josh all the way, I think the cleaner more damaging shots would come from Taylor and he'd win 116-112 / 115-113 type decision, maybe dropping Hatton on the way

 

Taylor would knock him out late

 

Taylor absolutely wrecks Hatton. Total demolition job.

 

Be closer then people think. Think people forgetting just how good Hatton was at 140.

Taylor was hurt by Ramirez to the body also, so would be interesting to see how he dealt with Hattons bodywork.

 

I reckon hatton would have battered ramirez as well tbh. Josh has won the belts and deserves all the credit in the world for his career...but its a relatively weak division. I reckon prime hatton would have beaten postal, ramirez and prograis as well.

To taylors credit...hes beating guys in their prime. Comes down to how great these guys actually are tho. Been surprised at the opponents being wobbled so much pre fight by taylor from a few words. Couldnt imagine guys like cotto and tyszu even batting an eyebrow at that sort of thing. Even guys like eamonn mcghee.

 

I heard on the Fight Disciples pod that Taylor's last 6 opponents have a combined record of 136-1-0. That's just insane. I disagree that it's a weak division but the money fights do seem to be at 135 and 147 at the moment.

 

It is an insane record tbf. But thats the nature of the beast nowadays. Guys that get backed get matched up with winnable fights all the way along to create these sort of records. In that 136 wins....who,s the best ten names on it. You,d struggle to pull out one great win between them all.

I m not knocking taylor because what hes achieved is incredible...hes done it the hard way...taking these names to become the undisputed but the question does remain....how good really are these guys.

I m not disputing their not good...because prograis is...so are the other two. But great...i m not so sure. Taylor still needs that one massive win to put him up there as a true elite for me. The thing is the way hes looking he could very well get it as well. Great career so far. Took on everyone asked of him. Also in his defence he couldnt of done anymore thus far.

 

It's an excellent achievement what Taylor has done. Like Eddie Hearn said on ifl, he should be coming home as a national hero on open top bus. It's shocking how little/no coverage he's got

 

About the Tszyu vs. Hatton fight, I never thought Hatton would stand a chance. Not at all. Tszyu has later said in interviews that he did not train well for that fight, partly because he underestimated Hatton. It was obvious at the time that Tszyu had motivational problems, and later on he was talking about a return to the ring for years, that never happened. Hatton's legacy is very much based on beating Tszyu, which I think would not have happened 2-3 years earlier in Tszyu's career, so one should not put too much emphasis on that result.

Nevertheless, I believe Hatton is the type of fighter that could make problems for Taylor. Taylor does not seem to take body punches too well, and I believe a pressure fighter boxing on the inside going for the body in the early rounds could wear him down. Both Taylor and Hatton have a good chin, but Taylor seems physically weaker too me. As Hatton seems to be the stronger of the two, I don't think Taylor has the punch to keep Hatton away from him, and win through boxing from distance. Had Hatton managed to put Taylor under pressure and force him to go backwards and fight on close range (which also seemed to give Ramirez some success against Taylor), I think Hatton would have managed to hurt Taylor more than vice versa.Thus, Hatton - had he followed such a game plan - is the kind of boxer that could have slowed down (evening out a bit of Taylor's technical/speed advantage) or even stopped Taylor, as long as he gets to him. I would say it is pretty open between the two, with a fair chance that Taylor could have jabbed himself to a win at range, but it is a TKO win to Hatton for me.

 

Taylor would body Hatton, I have zero doubt.