Hatton 'cheated', but Holyfield and Hopkins never did!

Hatton did cheat from start to finnish and got every reffing decision go his way and had for years if you watch his prior fights. Hopkins usually uses occasional cheats that the ref can't really officiate on because they are suttle. Holyfield cheated like a mofo with his headbutts in some fights but they werent quite as blatant as Hatton.

Hatton is just worse than the 2 you mentioned in terms of blatant cheating, Holyfield's headbutts caused more damage to opponents though

BTW Hatton imo may have beat any version of Tyszu and the tactics alone didnt win it for him. The offciating for the Mayweather fight is how all Hatton fights should have been reffed though

 

dude everyone hates hopkins for cheating too, why do you think he is called borenard, snaggle tooth and old man river?

 

A more regular basis? It's a bit early in the day to be drinking....

Hopkins and Holyfield were very skilled and did great work outside of clinching. They used it as an aid no doubt, and its something I don't enjoy because I consider their use of it excessive also, but its a drop in ocean compared to huggy bear "hook and hold" Hatton.

Hatton's entire style is based around getting inside his opponent, holding him, hitting him, generally mauling and outstrengthing them.

 

Shouldn't BHop and Holy be critizied more then? As they were highly skilled, why did they adopt these questionable tactics and spoiling? The way I see it Hatton did a great job of using rough house tactics because he had nothing else to beat anyone who was decent.

 

Why would I criticize them more? They were doing the exact same thing, they deserve a level amount of criticism if anything.

As it is I got a lot more enjoyment out of watching what Holyfield and Hopkins did outside of clinching, whereas Hatton literally does look to hold consistently for 12 rounds so I'd rather watch those guys any day.

 

I've always hated Hattons style. All the casual boxing fans (teenage thugs who watch boxing every now and again) absolutely love him and think he's the best thing since sliced bread because of his bullying tactics. All of us hard-core fans know what that is really called: Being a limited fighter.

 

Holyfields headbutting was more than just an aid, it was his main weapon!

Hopkins reminded me of a premiership footballer in the Calzaghe fight, with his faking pain with low blows. That was a disgrace.


Having said that, I'm still a big fan of Holyfield & Hopkins, they are ATG's, they're just dirty/cheating ATGs (unlike Hatton who is just dirty!)

 

You're deflecting.

Hatton cheated.

Just because Holyfield and Hopkins also cheated doesn't make it okay.

 

All fighters tend to sneak in a few illegal moves here and there, that's normal in boxing. The thing that pisses people off isn't Hatton's cheating all alone, it's how he applied it. Hatton was just cheating in the face over and over the referee was 100% supportive, when Hopkins does his stuff and is caught he's immediately warned, Hatton was given the green light from start to finish and did whatever he wanted to do whenever he wanted to. That's why Hatton gets bashed on hard unlike Hopkins and Holyfield who at least were sneaky with their moves.

 

Start a dirtiest fighters thread and before you get to the end of the first page holyfield and hopkins will be mentioned. There is no double standard here. The main criticism in the Hatton fight is that the ref was all for it and did everything short of hold Tzyu down so Hatton could hit him. Tzyu was warned for hitting low anytime he landed below Hatton's nipples and Hatton was allowed to do whatever he wanted.

 

I know what you are doing, and everybody deserves equal criticism for doing the same things. However, its all about levels as with anything. You would be hard pressed to find a guy that never once cheated in his career. However, there is the Ruiz scale of cheating and then occasional offenders.

Hatton to me seems to aspire to the Ruiz level of cheating, where it is absolute constant and blatant continual holding. He's not quite at Ruiz's level but not at all out of his league.

Hopkins and Holyfield are definitely two of the worse offenders you'll see also, its up to you how you choose who is worse between the three. I think most people have a respect of the other things these men are doing whereas Hatton mostly does the same thing for 12 rounds fight to fight, and incorporated into that is constant holding. It's not an occasional tactic.

Ultimately it comes down to which you enjoy watching the most, as this is entertainment. Hopkins is called "Borenard" often, there is no double standard here, many people hate his style. Just as many choose to rag on Hatton's style. It's all personal preference, if a guy bores you to tears through cheating I think the fans are free to voice that opinion on a forum.

 

What a load of bollocks, from start to finish.