Never rated Taylor that highly myself, Hatton would of been undisputed if he'd had been fighting in such a weak era at 140. Taylor wouldn't beat the version of Tszyu that Hatton fought. So Hatton would be my pick, faster, more skilled, more tested and no chance Taylor gets a dodgy decision with Ricky being the draw.
Ricky barely made it past a faded Kostya even with his hideous hometown foul fest. Hatton is one of the more overrated fighters of the past few decades, perhaps second only to Joe Calzaghe. The big difference between the two is that Hatton stepped up and went to the US to take his medicine against prime fighters. "Super" Joe got knocked down by legends in their 40's for his "big wins". Hatton has a fraction of the skills and athleticism of Taylor. Taylor lost close to Catterall, but his body of work cannot be ignored. Taylor has already surpassed Hatton in resume and is miles ahead of him in ability.
Finally a decent thread........... following............ I pick Taylor to outbox him and work through the ugliness, however Hatton would have unified this 140 also.
Taylor, though Hattons bodypunching might be the key to victory for Ricky I reckon if TTT could stay disciplined he's got enough for the W.
Personally I think both Prograis and Taylor would have beaten Hatton. Obviously Taylor's stock dropped a lot with the Catterall fight, but I think a lot of folks are still underestimating how sneaky and tricky El Gato is and also how obviously out of sorts Taylor was. Will have to see how TTT fares next up - whether he is up againts Zepeda or actually does a Catteral rematch; I'd rather see the former but think Taylor NEEDS to rematch Catterall to regain his cred
Taylor for me. Hatton always looked poor against southpaws and Taylor has the strength, stamina and short punching to match Hatton in close, which many of Ricky's opponents didn't. I also think Taylor is the better boxer at mid range despite the kicking he's been getting since the Catterall fight. Taylor by decision.
Is he fk, hardly anyone I see overrates him on here.. in fact Id say underrated a bit.. but most generally just acknowledge what he was, one of the best LWWs of the 00s.. which he WAS.. beat JLC, Tszyu, Urango, Phillips, Malignaggi, Tackie, Magee, Maussa etc.. not the greatest boxer but full of heart & value for money.. simple as.. hes probably HOF bound at some point too .. ***** & moan about the manner of his wins all u want he still made Tszyu quit & had the balls to step up to Mayweather at 147.. Id like to see these ***s today try that & step up & fight each other .. bunch of fannies hiding behind a '0' or a promotional outfit.. Hatton was a great little fighter , had the balls to travel & fight ANYONE.. & Calzaghe (like Benn) slapped America silly for a decade .. get over it
Love Hatton but Taylor is a big 140lber & had dimensions to his game.. he struggled with southpaw Magee so this one probably would be a bad style match up for him but it would be a hell of a fight ..
Prime Hatton is quite possibly one of the most underrated fighters of the last 30 years. I love Josh Taylor but I think Hatton stops him in 8-9 rds.
Taylor is kind of a fraud, but Hatton is an even bigger fraud. Both bums who fought weak opponents for their belts. Taylor by KO
Still I thought Collazo was a level above Raylor and only reason he looked poor vs that southpaw. I think Urango and or Lazcano were southpaw and he looked decent in those fights.
I honestly think it was the cagey style of Collazo and McGee that Hatton struggled with, as a Hatton fan I even think he'd have firs vs. Catterall but Taylor is Taylor made for Hatton the way he comes forward.
