How would prime Ricky Hatton do in today's era?

That's why I like that fight so much at 140. At 147, I think Cotto would be a horrible match up for Hatton.

Stevenson and Davis wilt too. Hatton had a minute when he was mega overrated but nowadays people are super and unfairly down on him IMO.

 

Jesus...

Lopez on a good day would be competitive - and it'd make a good fight.


The idea that cowardly punks like Tank or Stevenson would beat Hatton is for the birds...

These guys don't even have the stones or the confidence in their own ability to try and prove they're the best of a weak era and we're supposed to believe they beat Hatton who was competitive in a much stronger era and would fight anyone? Seriously?

 

He had a lot of problems with Mayweather (although I guess he did well early), but I think he has problems with Stevenson. Hatton did run through Paulie M, who I don't think is as good as Stevenson. Both guys don't punch hard so maybe Hatton walks Stevenson down. I guess we'll need to see more of Shakur, I personally think he wins a decision against Hatton, even now.

I have a personal bias against Hatton and might rate him unfairly. He came up short against the two best fighters of his generation, no shame in that. But he also struggled against Collazo and was saved against Lazcano IMO. I think he was a good fighter but not a guy who would rule 140 pounds pretty much any time in history.

 

I don't think Stevenson has the power to deter him like you said. Lots of very good fighters struggled in fights that on paper they shouldn't have. I'm a big Toney fan - in the ring at least - and he scraped by in a number of fights he should have won at an absolute canter. Didn't make him less of a champion in my eyes.

 

Size? He's half an inch taller than Hatton according to Boxrec. Hatton was not small at the weight either, he was heavier than Collazo remember at 147. A reason Hatton was so effective with his mauling style at 140 was because he probably outweighed most guys at 140. Matais will need to be hydrating up to 160 or above to have a significant weight advantage over Hatton.

Considering he lost to Ananyan I do think you are overrating him as Ananyan isn't that good either having losses to guys who couldn't carry Hatton's jock strap. Matias' footwork is terrible, Hatton's in and out movement would have him missing and falling forwards. Matias' is also so open to the uppercut as he falls over his front foot all the time and Hatton had a sharp uppercut. Hatton's style would see him tie up Matias as well, so forget about Matias' work rate it won't be a factor, which means Matias will just get beaten to the punch, then tied up so he can't fire back, rinse and repeat. Yes it's basic but it's also effective against a fighter like Matias who doesn't have the speed to beat Hatton to the punch or the movement or defence to make Hatton miss. Hatton likely grinds him down and stops him inside 10 rounds.

I'd also question Matias' chin, Ananyan had him hurt and down and Ananyan isn't a puncher. I also don't think Matias is really a big one punch hitter, he's more of an accumulative puncher, at least at this higher level he's been operating at, he wears guys down rather than blasting them out with one shot.

 

Tszyu would have beaten Hatton prime for prime. Tszyu would have absolutely levelled any 140 guy around today.

The fact that Hatton was able to graft a victory against even that version of Tszyu tells you that he’s a level above Lopez, Haney, etc.

I’ll say it again, if Lopez couldn’t cope with Kambosos being in his face then he’d get killed by Hatton who is not dissimilar in style to Kambosos but comes with even more pressure, strength and durability.

 

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And 140 i think it's a winnable fight for Hatton Cotto was chinny at 140 he almost got stopped by Corley and was in a life and death struggle vs Torres.

Cotto's punch resistance seemed to significantly improve when he moved up to 147.

 

Tszyu mopped the floor with Sharmba Mitchell in his previous fight. Had him down 4 times in 3 rounds and put a knot on his head. Hatton was a beast the night he beat Tszyu, Mitchell was a solid contender when Tszyu destroyed him.

 

Yeah this idea he was shot or way over the hill really only became a narrative after the loss to Hatton. At 35 he probably wasn't at his peak but he wasn't a shadow of his former self either. The win over Mitchell which was more dominant than the display he put on Mitchell when he was 31 suggests he clearly wasn't that far off from his best, otherwise he'd have done worse in the Mitchell rematch. Plus he hadn't fought in almost 2 years going into that 2nd Mitchell fight so you could argue he was rusty and still destroyed Mitchell.

 

Yep, this is true.

Look, Hatton made it an ugly scrap and was allowed to get away with a bit but you’ll get away with whatever the referee will allow so there’s no sour grapes from me, even as a massive Tszyu fan.

Tszyu was past his best but as you say, it’s not like he was washed. He was still a fine fighter when he fought Hatton.

I do think the best version of Tszyu stops the best version of Hatton but that’s not a slight on Hatton. Hatton was a brutal warrior and a wonderful boxer.

Tszyu and Hatton would be one and two at 140 these days. Daylight is number three.

 

Tank would stop Hatton like Pacquiao did.

 

I really rate Tank, think he's going to spank Martin and I wouldn't rule Tank beating Hatton as his counter punching and power might indeed walk Hatton into a bomb, like Pac did, in fact I favour that outcome.

But right now Tank really needs to step up or he'll simply be hated on for never stepping up and most will favour Hatton in a hypothetical matchup because Tank never proved he could compete at the level Hatton did. It's really hard to defend Tank given how his career has played out.

 

I wouldnt even pick Hatton to beat Micky Ward.

Hes the most overrated fighter of all time.

Him being inducted into the HOF is the final nail in the coffin of that institutions credibility.

At this rate they gonna induct Jake Paul in the future cause of his popularity too and to sell tickets.

Its a joke.

 

Only fight Id disagree is Sabriel Matias...that would be a barn burner and I cant call it