Hatton vs Tszyu - why did Tszyu quit?

I’m not sure as his Biography stops before the Hatton bout. Tszyu could’ve reasonably won that fight if he closed the show, Ricky was doing everything but boxing that night and maybe he just had enough, Kostya landed a body shot, legally on the waistband that dropped Hatton and it wasn’t counted, had it I feel like he would’ve hung in there.

 

Probably tired and feeling mentally defeated. It was a competitive fight but Hatton was winning. The fight was also in Manchester so it wasn’t like Tszyu was going to get a gift decision, and probably felt too tired/weak to think he could pull a 12th round knockout. Ricky had also hurt Tszyu in the 10th.

Aging and accomplished champions also tend to be more likely to capitulate in tough fights like this than when they’re in their younger, “hungrier” days.

 

I haven't see the fight in a while but from what I recall, Kostya was absolutely spent by the twelfth. I remember going into that fight I was for sure that Koysta would splatter Hatton with a straight right hand but Hatton fought just the perfect fight. He simply forced Koysta into a physical fight on the inside with tons of grappling.

 

He was at the end of his career, and Hatton was banging the hell out of him. Only so much he could have taken.

 

End of the Line, a tough hard fight and apart from maybe hanging in for a hopeful turn around, there was nothing further to gain from it... when it's over, it's over. He was Spent and he knew it and hanging about to potentially get seriously hurt, is not such a willing 'grit it out' thought as we get older, particularly for fighters.

Boxing, training, fighting is equally MIND, especially as age, pace & discipline wains...


it's the Hardest Sport !

 

It was a grueling and brutal fight. The ref was very loose in regulating the fight and allowed dirty tactics from both fighters. The younger man Hatton wanted it so bad and it was his peak performance as a fighter. I believe Ricky could not replicate what he did that night. Hatton's conditioning was top notch and he had to eat massive straight rights to get it done. Kostya just got worn down.

Plus add the fact that Kostya was older. The fight before vs Sharmba Mitchell in 2004 was cancelled twice because of major injuries to Tszyu in training. He fought Mitchell in November 04, in January of that year he suffered a ruptured shoulder tendon and before that two major wrist injuries. All up 22 months inactive. Then he fights Mitchell the second time looks great but fought with a rib injury which had his trainer questioning whether he should retire. All of that plus he fights a young lion in Hatton only 7 months later in June 2005. That has to play with a fighters head and confidence, especially when you are getting pummeled in Manchester in one of the hardest fights he ever had at. Kostya trained in that Soviet era style of training. Huge volume in number of reps. As he got older he didn't alter things that much he expected the same level of intensity and was getting injured a lot the last 3 years and this was just preparing to get in the ring for fights. This is one of his typical weights and conditioning workouts I found.

WARM UP
Touch toes and hold for 10 seconds
Side-to-sides for 1 minute
Swing arms up and down, alternating for 1 minute
Bend knees and touch floor with fingers
PUSH UPS
50 on knuckles
PULL UPS
10 using close grip (30 second break)
SKIPPING
20 minutes at moderate pace (1 minute break)
PULL UPS
4 X 10 (30 second rest after each set)
DUMBBELLS
4 X 1 Minute rounds on alternating dumbbell curls (30 second break after each round then 1 minute break at the end)
BARBELS
4 X 15 curls (same rest rate as above)
BARBELL DISC
3 X 20 Lifts (30 second break after each set then 1 minute break at end)
Pull disc up to your chest with both hands and let it fall back to your thighs
BENCH PRESS
70 reps at 35kg
NECK TWISTS AND ROTATIONS
LEG RAISES
1 minute
LEG RAISES
4 X 1 minute holds
SIT UPS
3 X 50 on floor (30 seconds break after each set)

And in Kostya's own words: "It wasn't my night from the start," he said. "I can't answer why and I can't complain with anything. We worked very hard … I cannot find the answer." "It wasn't really the best feeling," he said. "Usually I can take pain well. It wasn't really a nice feeling to get when you are exhausted already but I'm sure it was an unintentional low blow and I can't really say that Ricky did this on purpose.". https://www.smh.com.au/sport/i-made-the-right-call-claims-defiant-lewis-20050609-gdlhcp.html

 

Hatton was a nightmare with that insane pressure he put... easy to call fights after the result, Tszyu was the favorite going to this fight and was showing his skills just fine in his previous bouts.

He quit because he was frustrated with Hatton's insane pressure and Hatton was hurting him a lot. Ricky Hatton retired Kostya Tszyu.

 

I’m not trying to give KT an out on this but isn’t there some contention as to whether HE himself actually quit or not?

I know corners can sometimes cover their fighters and take the “hit” - but the description I read was that when KT was asked by the ref if he was good to continue - his response was incoherent giving cause for Johnny Lewis to wave it off.

Lewis in fact, later said that KT wouldn’t have quit himself if Lewis didn’t call the fight.

 

It was a mixture of quite a few things.

1) Hatton was red hot. He never fought better and was in his absolute prime.
2) Tszyu was probably a bit past it. He'd had injury concerns for years and not fought regularly. He was at the top of the tree and maybe not quite the hungry, young fighter of years gone.
3) From memory (and this may be blurred) the time difference was a bit of an issue and Tszyu hadn't given his body time to adjust when coming from the other side of the world. This could be wrong but I think he only landed in the UK a week or so before the fight. I am happy to be corrected on this.
4) The referee allowed Hatton to get away with a lot of rough-housing. This is not Hatton's fault as you'll go as far as the official will allow but the officiating certainly helped Hatton and worked against Tszyu. Hatton closed distance and was allowed to do a lot of work in the clinch, the ref refused to separate them at times and this stopped Tszyu from finding his range. Tszyu was a range fighter. If he could get his distance right he was unbeateable and Hatton and his team came up with a very astute plan to counter this, aided by an accommodating official (I am not suggesting that this was anything but a coincidence).
5) I wouldn't hold the way the fight ended against Tszyu at all. He was cooked and gave everything but was just beaten by a better man on the night. He didn't quit. Johnny Lewis called it off.

I'll make two observations here. One, Hatton was an exceptional fighter. Much better than some give him credit for. At his best he was an absolute beast and that is what Tszyu ran into that night. Two, and this is no slight on Hatton but peak Tszyu beats peak Hatton every day of the week but such are the fine margins at the very top level of any sport that Hatton at 100% was able to get the better of a slightly washed Tszyu who was at perhaps 80% that night.

 

KT had not fought in almost 2 years and was past his prime.
The fight was basically a big payday for KT hence why it took place in Hattons home.
As for the fight I saw a boxer past his prime basically get mauled on by a limited boxer who would be lucky to last 5 rounds with a KT in his prime.

 

It is always important to remember, that you never know what is going on inside a fighters head, or inside their body.

You sometimes see fighters get pilloried for quitting, until the true extent of their injuries emerges.

 

Limited yes, no doubt but within those limitations Ricky Hatton was a monster of a fighter.

100% correct that prime vs prime Tszyu destroys him. But I do think Hatton gets some unfair criticism. He was genuinely elite.

 

Tszyu had fought Mitchell a few months earlier after being inactive for almost 2 years.

Tszyu looked so good in taking him apart early that I think it caused a lot of people to downplay the effects of the age & wear-and-tear on him.

I remember going into the fight, some posters saying “Tszyu looked great but don’t forget he’s in his mid 30s and has fought 2 rounds in 2 years”

 

Had he won the fight nobody would say he was past his prime, he maybe was a bit but it gets overblown.
Most people were saying Tszyu was too much for Hatton..