Hatton does use dirty tactics. He does so as frequently, albeit less discretely, than Hopkins did in his heyday. Both are dirtty fighters. Hopkins is a great fighter. Hatton can be if he continues to win.
Floyd throws lowblows, headbutts, and a hell of alot more elbows than Hatton, and clinching is part of boxing, its ment to be a little rough. Speed, good boxing skills, good movement, stamina, and decent power are all great. I don't think anybody considers that "rubbish" What people consider rubbish about Floyd is his total ignorance, insistance that he is the greatest ever, and refusal to discuss any matchup against a competitive fighter.
Yes. Most guys bend the rules and fight a little dirty. I tend to not hold it against fighters unless it's really extreme. Refs should do more to prevent excessive clinching, however.
Pretty dirty in the sense that he used his head and shoulders alot to tire out his opponent, he also holds alot especially on the opposite side of the ref, and he is not afraid to throw a low blow if he thinks he will get away with it. Being a dirty fighter is a good attribute if you know how to get away with it.
Dirty no......the little ******* means well and respects his comp Ugly yes.......that combo grab routine is not eye pleasing at all :smoke
He's definitely a dirty fighter. All that wrestling, hitting whilst in a clinch, pushing a guy a back then hitting him immediately, and the occasional low blows are dirty and rough tactics. No one can honestly claim Hatton is a clean fighter. It's not necessarily a BAD thing though. I'm much more bothered by people who throw headbutts, hit behind the head, or follow through on a hook with an elbow smash to the face.
Of course he is but so is Ali, Foreman, Hopkins and most other fighters. Hatton mauls, he hits and holds, he goes low, hell I've seen him try dirty moves on the body belt and not even joking sometimes. He's a strong guy and uses dirty tricks that work for him.
To me it's not so much hugging Ruiz-style; I'd classify it as smothering. Ruiz was jab and grab: Hatton is hit and smother, hit and tie up, hit and frustrate, with constant movement inside seeking for punches. He tries to make it hard for the other guy to hit him, but to keep the freedom to wrangle out and score his inside shots. It's very Ali-like, as people have said, and it's better classified as ugly, or brawling, than dirty. In professional boxing (not amateur) the ref should break the fighters when they won't break apart themselves, but leave them if they can work their way out. Hatton smothers the guy but moves in and out whilst doing it, and doesn't truly lock up with the other fighter, so refs are right to let him do it. It's not everyone's favourite style, but it's effective, and his opponents shouldn't look so much to the ref as people here suggest, but should find a way to stop him, like jabbing him as he moves in, or getting the better of him on the inside. It can be done, and has been done against others with his style. PBF or Cotto would have to train to combat it.