Just watched the fight again and Ricky really needs to start bringing his hands up more in defence. Too often his chin is totally exposed when throwing punches. This is even more worrying especially as he is a come forward fighter and any punch he gets caugh with will have extra power as he is moving onto it.
Ricky's defence has been the weakest part of his game for the whole of his pro career, generally at Light Welter he has been able to walk through the punches in order to get his man. Time, and punches however do take their toll, and I agree that Billy Graham really needs to work on Hatton's guard, because the more battle worn he is, the more likely he could get dropped again against an accurate puncher.
this is true, but his defense isnt bad. he just had the same problem as corrales, he was stunned by how quickly mayweather could close the gap and throw a tight hook. The lead hooks he was landing against those two were absolute lightning. hes never fought someone that could close the gap before he could react. He couldnt move his arms, but you could see his face like "oh ****, here it comes." and then contact.
