Hatton for me. I remember the Tszyu fight like yesterday was an amazing night of boxing. Also remember staying up all night for the Mayweather fight thinking Ricky actually had a decent chance of winning! The hype for the Pacquiao fight was big too. Seeing Hatton get ktfo like that was eye opening...pac DESTROYED him! Hatton gets mad respect for fighting them 2 in there prime.Just always wished he fought Witter. Calzaghe is a legend still.
Hatton, for personal reasons. My late Father in law loved him so although I concede - as most people do, of course - that Calzaghe was by far the better boxer and I am partial to the more stylish fighters, I will always miss watching the big Hatton fights with a man who wasn't only my then partner's Dad but a great friend too.
Calzaghe, because he was faster both in terms of hand speed and reflexes a combo that makes for an exciting career, in this respect Calzaghe was a poor man`s Loma, he does the same stuff Joe did but does it at a higher level skill wise, a fight with Loma vs Floyd when he fought Hatton would have been the ultimate fantasy fight compared to the Hatton fight which started out interesting enough then fizzled out, Loma and Floyd were/are the kings of adaption, it would of been the fastest game of chess ever played!
Exact same experience! I was too young to really appreciate Calzaghe in his pomp. I still remember the Tszyu fight and the build-up to it like it was yesterday.... The perpetual chewing gum 360'ing like a washing machine due to nervous energy - Hatton's battered, sunken features, reddened by sparring in the previous week juxtaposed by his small, dark unflinching eyes. The clips of him jumping over that beam in the Graham gym soaked in sweat, and the almost comedic sight of Billy decked in that body-bag. Well it was funny until you saw and heard the bad intentions behind the shots.. Embarrassing confession time, first and only time I threw punches in unison with a fighter on tv #cringe
I'm a fan of both as fighters, but Hatton was the more entertaining for me, and the more likeable character of the two as well.
Hatton, it felt like an event as well when Hatton was fighting and there was a buzz about him for quite a while in the pubs and stuff even way before the Kostya Tszyu fight. Whereas with Calzaghe, he came to prominence very early in his career when he beat Eubank, and then again late in his career (after he fought Lacy on ITV), but there was a whole middle section where I missed most of his fights, TBF it was one of those periods of my life where I just wasn't following boxing that closely unless it was a big fight, but yeah I'd have to go with Hatton really.
That's a tough call. On the whole both were involved in great scraps, although Calzaghe definitely had the greater amount of stinkers. Still, I'm going to go for Calzaghe, mostly due to the Lacy fight. It's not the greatest result of a British fighter ever, but I'd have it near top as the greatest performance. It was so good it spawned the verb 'to Lacy' someone. What was the fight Calzaghe was down in the second round, got up, got pinned on the ropes and uncorked a beauty of a left hand? I have Byron Mitchell in my head but I'm pretty sure it's not him.
Hatton. Great to watch, brilliant action. He was a cracking little fighter at his best. I'm a 'body puncher' fan so right up my street.
