Chris van Heerden vs. Matthew Hatton

This is in 48 hours, in South Africa on BoxNation.

It's for van Heerden's IBO welterweight title. (2nd defense)

Chris "The Heat" van Heerden is on a 4-0 (0) streak having most recently beaten Kaizer Mabuza close and then Sebastian Lujan wide nine months ago.

Matthew "Magic Matt" Hatton is coming off a first round knockout of former Prizefighter champ and BBBofC British challenger Michael Lomax in October, rebounding from his loss to Kell Brook a year ago.

There isn't any other big televised British or European card during the daytime (for Americans) on Saturday, so this will serve as our lone appetizer for the Bogere vs. Abril & Russell vs. Gusev doubleheader on Showtime later that night.

Hatton tweeted yesterday that ring walks ought to be taking place around 8pm UK/3pm EST.

 

vBookie:

http://www.boxingforum24.com/showthread.php?t=461998

 

I'm interested in and looking forward to both welterweight features, but I don't know how BoxNation is going to fill the 4-hour slot they've penciled in for it. If I can help it I probably won't be trying to watch the entire show. (so ideally Mabuza vs. Hlatshwayo is shortly before the main event)

I've only ever heard of one person on the undercard - Osborne Machimana - and only vaguely remember him for getting absolutely smashed by David Price two years back.

 

I'm almost tempted to give Hlatshwayo vs. Mabuza III its own separate poll. :think

It's at least as interesting as the IBO title match...and maybe the winner could get a crack...(how stringent can the IBO's rules for contention be, really? :!: Magic Matt is after all one outing removed from a loss himself...)

van Heerden vs. Mabuza II, van Heerden vs. Hlatshwayo, Hatton vs. Mabuza and Hatton vs. Hlatshwayo all have similar appeal as C+ WW match-ups.

 

Based on what I've seen, I could imagine Hatton edging it - but...

Shenanigans are a real possibility.

 

Truth. I think he might actually be tougher (if a great deal less talented) than Ricky. That stoppage loss against Keir was on cuts.

Plus, CVH isn't known as much of a puncher. Nor is he far removed enough in class from Hatton as to see him overwhelming and forcing a TKO of the visitor.

 

I'm mildly impressed by a shutout of Sebastian Lujan - who I personally like quite a bit and view as an underrated h2h guy - but Lujan is the sort who can be most easily dealt with using finesse instead of brute force. That is why a Mark Jason Melligen or the faded Jose Luis Castillo were susceptible to getting upset by the determined and ham-handed Lujan, but why he's tailor-made - almost fish in a barrel - for someone like a CVH, or Mike Jones.

Mabuza is nice to have on your resume, too - but they went life and death with Mabuza coming off a devastating KO loss and having lots of tread on his tires, and with van Heerden already having scouted him plenty being a longtime sparring partner.

He also got manhandled and pushed around in his brawl with Nikola Stevanovic, his only loss to date. The Serb is alright, but competing on the Euro circuit is probably where he'll top off.

So I'm hesitant to brand The Heat a major player at welterweight. To my reckoning he occupies the same sub-sub-elite tier as Magic Matt himself. Very evenly matched...

Hatton might be viewing this as last chance hotel, being removed a year and two years respectively almost to the day of his last two major opportunities in which he got cleanly outclassed. He could be the hungrier man, here, looking to both prolong his campaign and improve upon the lately spotty road record of Great Britain.

van Heerden on the other hand will have youth, confidence, and the crowd on his side. Toss in being a southpaw with quite a bit of height on the Mancunian (standing eye to eye with the six foot Stevanovic) and perhaps he is the rightful favorite...

 

In the poll I copped out and went draw. :yep It actually isn't all that far-fetched, IMO.

If Hatton deserves something in the range of 116-112/115-113 on my card and the majority's - which I see as likely - a draw is very plausible.

If Hatton deserves it wide, he might get it close. If it's roughly a draw in most of our estimations, van Heerden should defend successfully. (the IBO is very South Africa centric, with Tommy Oosthuizen and Hekkie Budler enjoying a throttle hold on the super middleweight and strawweight title respectively for some time...giving the country a disproportionate representation of three champions...is the IBO based there? :think)