Hatton vs Tszyu - why did Tszyu quit?

scartissue · Nov 14, 2023

The Cryptkeeper said: ↑

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.
Click to expand...

Crypt, I like your points on the fight. This was my score and what I wrote on the fight the last time I watched it:

Ricky Hatton v Kostya Tszyu

Round 1: 10-9 Hatton
Round 2: 10-9 Hatton
Round 3: 10-9 Hatton
Round 4: 10-9 KT
Round 5: 10-9 Hatton
Round 6: 10-9 KT
Round 7: 10-10 Even
Round 8: 10-9 KT
Round 9: 10-9 Hatton
Round 10: 10-9 Hatton
Round 11: 10-9 Hatton
Tszyu was retired after the 11th round

Total (through 11 completed rounds): 107-103 for Hatton

I'll just say Hatton got away with a lot there and won it on his physicality. That referee Dave Parris reminded me a lot of the WBA's house referee Stanley Christodolou. Caution, caution and caution but never take a point away. Actual scores were 107-102, 106-103 and 105-104 all for Hatton.

Clinton · Nov 15, 2023

He probably got sick of Ricky's filth and Dave Parriss allowing Rickster's getting away with it.

Seamus · Nov 15, 2023

Horrible referee job allowed Kostya to get hurt with dirty tactics. As far as him quitting, he had bruising/bleeding on the brain. He probably knew something was up.

Log in or Sign up

Hatton vs Tszyu - why did Tszyu quit?

scartissue Boxing Junkie Full Member

Clinton Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

Seamus Proud Kulak banned Full Member