Just seen this on YouTube and I think it is worth looking at again, as part of the ongoing evaluation of Ricky Hatton's chances against Floyd Mayweather. [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdaLrZd4xWE[/yt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdaLrZd4xWE This fight took place in December 2004, 2 and a half years ago. Ray Oliveira was 36, and at that point in his career essentially a journeyman. About 3 or 4 years previously he'd been a legitimate contender in the 140lbs division, but after losing, bravely, to Ben Tackie never really regained his position as a top-flight contender. As a fighter his strengths were always his ring-smarts, high punch output and iron chin. He was also vastly experienced, with 58 fights on his professional record. He was not expected to beat Hatton, but everyone here who knows boxing knows that Ray Oliveira was always good value for money. You cannot take him lightly, and with his wealth of experience was always expected to give anyone in the 140lbs and 147lbs weight divisions a competitive night, much like fellow world-class journeymen such as Emmanuel Augustus, Teddy Reid, Micky Ward and Vince Phillips. Ricky Hatton was 25 at the time of the fight and his star was in the ascendency. He had obliterated the overmatched Mike Stewart in 5 rounds to become the No.1 contender for the IBF title held by Kostya Tszyu. Since his victories over Eamonn Magee, Vince Philips and Ben Tackie he had already established himself as the hottest prospect in the 10 stone division. Although the victories over these names had won him respect and pushed him high into the light-welterweight rankings, many people were still doubtful that Hatton had what it takes to get right to the top. Although those victories were impressive, they werent enough evidence for many that Ricky Hatton could go on to beat Kostya Tszyu. Vince Philips was savagely beaten, but was approaching 40 and was a journeyman well past his prime. Eamonn Magee was an exceptionally talented fighter, a natural counter-puncher with an iron chin and a tricky southpaw stance, but was never considered more than fringe world class. I see Eamonn Magee as a bit of a wasted talent, he put Hatton on his arse and had him hanging on for dear life in the early part of their fight. But so it goes. Ben Tackie was a very good fighter, but had been beaten conclusively by Sharmba Mitchell and Kostya Tszyu before facing Hatton. In adddition to this, Hatton had also faced several overmatched opponents in "biding time" fights where he failed to impressed, inparticular Dennis Holbek Petersen, Joe Hutchinson and Carlos Vilches. These fights, coming after big victories, seemed to damage Ricky's momentum. It also led to speculation on how serious Hatton and Frank Warren were about their world title ambitions. In short, Ricky Hatton still had a question mark next to his name. I mention this because, even though Ray Oliveira was not as a stern a test for Hatton as maybe Tackie or Philips were, it is the point at which I had my own personal questions answered and cynicism banished. I had always liked Hatton, who doesn't, but I was skeptical about his chances at world level. Before this I believed his chances of beating Kostya Tszyu were very slim indeed. I thought that someone as intelligent and skilled as Tsyzu would be able to catch Hatton on the way in, as Magee had done, and take him out. I thought Hatton would hear the roar of the crowd in his ears, tear into Tszyu like a bull-terrier and get caught flush with a perfectly timed Kostya Tsyzu right-hand, leaving him twitching prostrate on the canvas. But this fight showed me something and I would like to see if you lot, being the expertise, would agree. The first thing that stands out for me is that Hatton is showing Ray, a serious veteran, absolutely no respect whatsoever. Hatton is 11 years younger than this guy but is going right for him trying to hurt him from the opening bell. No feeling out period, no weighing it up, just straight into it. Most fighters would be making a real mistake here, because Oliveira loves a good toe-to-toe brawl and is no stranger to throwing many punches himself. He also isn't going to be caught cold and stunned by the aggression, as man of his experience would not panic in the face of that. Neither is he a likely candidate to be knocked out, having never been knocked out before in his long career. Tactically he's playing Oliveira's game, but beating him at it too! There were two opportunities in this opening exchange for them to touch gloves, but Hatton is having none of it. Inside the ring he's an evil man. People these days complain about Hatton's style being dull, but back then Hatton was very aggressive and a joy to watch. I can see why people say that these days, especially after the Juan Urango fight, but this first round is pure action! There is holding there, and referee Mickey Vann lets Hatton get away with a bit too much, but nothing like the sort we've come to see recently. There was too much holding against Castillo too, but Castillo is a type of fighter who likes to get inside and grapple, stylistically that was inevitable and I dont hold Hatton wholly responsible for it at all. But in this fight the holding was at a minimum, whereas the action was at a high. I hope some of the Americans here who have not seen this fight understand why we over here in England regard Hatton as an all-action fighter, because back then he truly was. What else is noticeable is the amount of variation and good technique Hatton possesses. Those who have him down as a crude, one-dimensional mauler should play close attention. Watch how he makes very quick, darting lateral movements to create angles and get inside. He has excellent footwork. He's got short arms and stature but manages to get inside on a naturally bigger, and more experienced fighter. I put this down to him being a very good football (soccer, if you insist) player as a lad. He bounces around all the time, full of energy, shifting his balance constantly. He's very agile and in close gets himself into great positions to unleash his flurries of punches. He uses great head movement too, something that was lakcing dreadfully against Luis Collazo. He bounces around and his head bobs about, giving him a better defence than people think. His punch variation is great. Notice that he doesn't just go straight up close and rely on the left to the body, but he's doubling-up on the jab, hitting Oliveira with uppercuts and overhand rights. At one point he lands a straight right lead flush onto Ray's chin. He's a bit reckless, but he's constantly throwing shots, applying pressure, and its very hard for anyone, even someone as experienced as Ray Oliveira, to anticipate what Hatton's going to do next. The barrage is too much for even the best fighters to handle. Finally I cant help but notice the power. I dont care if Ray Oliveira is 90, he has an iron chin, end of. To get knocked down in the first round by an overhand right is a rare thing for him to experience. Only someone who has knockout power can do that to Ray Oliveira. People often talk about how Hatton's power comes through accumulation, but he's scored plenty of one punch KO's in his time. Carlos Maussa and Jose Luis Castillo spring to mind. The early knockdown of Luiz Collazo was quite impressive too. Its not so much who Hatton beat at this stage in his career, but the manner in which he beat them. I've never seen anyone brutalize Ray Oliveira like that. What he did to Vince Philips was sadistic. Ben Tackie was a closer fight, but Ben Tackie has an iron chin he still got beat. If he'd have beaten Oliveira over 12 reasonably close rounds, then big deal, I would not have been convinced. But to stop Ray Oliveira after outclassing him mercilessly for 10 painful rounds showed me all I needed to see. I would use the same argument with the Jose Luis Castillo fight too. It was not a great surprise to me that Hatton won, but to take out one of the toughest mexican warriors of our era with a single bodyshot in just 4 rounds is actually quite an astonishing achievement. So what bearing will this have on the Floyd Mayweather fight? Well, Floyd will not be able to outbox him so easily if he fights like that. Hatton is not lazy and old like De La Hoya, he keeps on coming and coming. Floyd likes to stay in control during fights, even when he's on the ropes taking punches he's still safe and he knows it. But Hatton is not someone who can be controlled very easily. Just stepping off and countering, then bobbing and weaving on the ropes, will not work against Hatton, because Hatton can move his feet very well and will get himself into positions to throw punches. Against the ropes Hatton will have a field day with Floyd, he'll be all over him like a rash and he'll really hurt him to the body. Pot-shotting will not work because Hatton has a good chin and a massive punch output. It worked against De La Hoya because De La Hoya only fights one minute of every round, whereas Hatton fights every second of the fight. Hatton's punch output is high and even if he's missing he'll get the rounds in the bag unless Floyd matches it. I think Floyd has to win Hatton's respect and get into some exchanges with him if he wants to win, because just countering will not be enough. He will have to dig deep. Floyd, when he wants to be, is a devastatingly effective offensive fighter. He puts together punches beautifully, he has big power and lightnin fast hands. He can trade with Hatton, beat him to the punch, then back off if he wants too. But he has to trade with him at some point, because backpedallng and pot-shotting will not win him this fight. I still favour Floyd, obviously, but I think Hatton will push him harder than anyone since Castillo.
any reason why that video wont come up? Spent ****ing ages typing that, feels like a bit of a waste of time now. [yt][./yt] without the . or am I doing something wrong like a n00b
