I've been reading all the posts regarding this fight, journalist predictions, news reports etc etc and I can't quite believe some of the opinions people are making. Maybe I'm a poor judge of fighter or I'm missing things other people are seeing, but I can't believe how many people are actually entertaining the fact that Malinaggi is going to box Hattons head off with some kind of dazzling exhibition of box and move. Quote me if I'm wrong, but Mayweather didn't box Hattons head off, certainly not in the first half of the fight. Mayweather picked Hatton off nicely yes and won the fight comfortably, but it wasn't easy. Mayweather didn't land any combinations whatsover until Hatton tired around the 7th, 8th, so what makes people think Paulie is going to land more than one punch at a time? And let's be honest, Mayweathers counter right hand is razor sharp and was so on the night, and he landed it what? 6, 7 times a round? (Compubox numbers might be different admittedly, I haven't checked) But that's not an alarming number of punches. And Malinaggi is NOWHERE near as sharp as Mayweather, and has nowhere near the defence to effectivley stop Hattons offence like Floyd did. So I don't quite know how he's gonna move in, land combinations, then get out? Floyd didn't do it, yet a very, very, very, very watered down version of Floyd in Malinaggi is capable of doing it? Floyd was literally running backwards for the first 5 rounds, and then countering with the left hook and straight right hand at opportune moments, and the reason they landed? Floyd is THAT good, but Malinaggi, can he do that? IMO... very doubtful. It wasn't as if Floyd was moving around at a comfortable pace doing what he wanted, ala Corrales. And the Cotto fight is a bad comparison IMO, simply because Cotto is slow footed. Hatton is quick and closes the range much faster than Cotto. Is he better than Cotto? No way, but he closes the distance far quicker. The Cotto fight just proved to me that Malinaggi is a tough kid, and I like him, he's good for boxing. I'm just a bit baffled by some of the opinions of some people. Anyway, just my two. SnR
Interesting. I agree that people are putting too much weight on Hattons loss. To be honest I don't see Malinaggi winning by stoppage (who does), and he doesn't have the boxing ability to keep Hatton off him. That said he is a decent boxer, dedicated to his craft and a damn sight better than his recent performances suggest, but Hatton is a bulldog. I think Paulie will have moments but Hatton will win a clear UD.
Uhuh I have to agree with you there, the only chance PM has in my opinion is if RH still hasn't got over the FM fight ala Lacy after JC. Otherwise it's gonna be a tough night for PM.
lets get things straight, Hatton is the favorite and rightly so. That being said, at 9/4, i couldn't resist placing a 20 on Malignaggi. (actually 22.25$ to win 50)
Well Hatton has looked vulnerable in every fight since 2005, and especially in the home straight. I think alot of people are anticipating the Hatton well to run dry in the mid-to-late rounds and this is when Paulie's quick combinations might find a home. I think it will be a close decision for Paulie after a quick start from Hatton. Problem is Hatton can't sustain anything these days.
I agree with bonavena25. It will also depend on how the ref will work the fight, if he's gonna let hatton get inside and hit and hold throughout the fight. That's gonna benefit Hatton in close rounds. I kind of see Paulie winning a decison outworking a tired Hatton ala Mora v. Forrest I.
To apoint yes - but at 140 he seems to have bundles of energy. My doubts over Ricky in this fight are based on Ricky , not Paulie. I felt 2 fights ago that he only had 2 fights left in him, and coupled with the new trainer i thought he could come unstuck - we'll see, i hope not. It could be the perfect tonic for Ricky, new trainer and a new lease of life etc. So - i think we all know what to expect from Paulie, it's the Hatton factor in this foght that will decide what way it goes imo.
I don't really get this obsession with Hatton holding,yeah he did do it against Urango and tried to do it againt Mayweather but it wasn't any worse than I have seen Hopkins do recently especially against Calzaghe.If Hatton is at 90% or higher he will beat this guy pretty comfortably.Even when he hasn't been at his best,at 140 Hatton has pretty much won all his fights easily and thats against world champs and contenders.
The only fight in which Hatton held excessively was Urango. Mayweather did most of the holding in their fight, which allowed him to use his elbows to great effect throughout.
Theres a difference tho,Hatton does the holding and likes to work while doing it.Mayweathers and Hopkins hold to stop the other guy hitting them.Maybe thats why Yanks get hung up on the holding issue,because they do it to stop the punches flowing,like some sort of timeout.
I would agree that it is more about Hatton. If he carries out his good intentions for the full twelve he should have too much for Paulie. However, I think, at this stage of his career, it is a pretty safe bet that Hatton will start to flag and sag like clockwork around round 5 or 6. He even did against Urango at light-welter. Hatton actually fought cleverly against Urango early and Collazo early, as well as against Mayweather. He just couldn't keep it up. I fail to see how Mayweather's training will affect that weakness. The only difference is that Hatton will fight a little bit different and more 'polished' in the early stages.
