ricky hatton vs brandon rios

Fair point, Ricky not blending his styles can be seen as a negative. A negative in that against elite fighters who can fight a few different ways, you wont be able to either box or brawl for the full 12 rounds. I mean,a although he had a good boxing brain, he wouldn't get away fighting off the backfoot for all the fight against Rios, but I reckon Hatton still would have been well capable of dealing with any fire he came under on the inside, he was adept in close quarters, especially in his earlier years. If Hatton had to resort to it, he could clinch and maul his way to a win somewhat, offsetting a lot of what Brandon gets done on the inside.

 

I think he contained Tszyu because he usually needed space to find his shots. A mid-range banger rather than an inside fighter. And the old champ' still had a good go!

Rios' shorter punches could well be the difference of Ricky tries to make it a mauling war of attrition. Ricky was a capable in-fighter himself though, I'd favour him to beat Rios and Alvarado.

And on his best day, Timmy as well.

 

Hatton would have beaten Rios up.

Always have said that.

 

Tyszu did in his left rotator cuff too, which if it was still an issue would have stopped him turning over a short left hook inside, well at least that's what it did to me while I could jab all day with it but as soon as it came to moving it across the body it brought a sharp pain.

Either that or he didn't have the short left hook in his arsenal in the first place.

Either way Tyszu was gassed pretty early in there, it was a hell of a pace Ricky set.

 

Hatton would win on points.

 

Hatton of the Tszyu fight takes it... he was fast, strong and brought incredible pressure. He was good at holding one of your hands while working you over with the other. And, back then he was a fearless pitbull...

 

Honestly, Hatton was a big too strong, too fast, and too good.

Rios is a brawler. He throws great punches and selects good shots, but his whole style depends on his power and his endurance. His skills aren't sophisticated, and he has utterly abandoned defense.

Hatton would light him up, and would probably be the boss in the clinch. His faster hands and superior combinations would be the edge here.

Rios is fun to watch, but his skillset is not impressive. He got a gift against Abril, and another loss to Alvarado was forthcoming; He was just soundly outboxed by a guy who prefers to fight in a style similar to Rios.

Love Bam Bam, but Hatton was elite, and Rios probably never will be. To clarify, being a B+ statement is NOT an insult, and he's still better than 95% of fighters with gloves and licenses. I just don't think he's ever been on Hatton's level.

 

Very fair post.

 

Other than matthysse ... Hatton doesn't have much trouble with anyone at 140.

 

Hatton was a clear tier above Rios.

First, a note about Hatton. There's a misconception amongst casual Boxing fans (thankfully there's fewer that browse these pages.) that he was a fighter who could only wrestle and maul his opponents. Admittedly, after he employed that tactic so successfully against Kostya Tszyu (A fighter who's power was in the extension of his punches.) he became far too happy to resort to it.

Hatton had Boxing skills, they were shown wonderfully against Tackie, and re-surfaced when Hatton beat Malignaggi. That would be the key here, add a touch of class to his game plan against Rios. Feints, slip Brandon's jab and then land cleanly.

Hatton's advantages over Rios are plenty in my opinion. I think he'd be physically stronger than Brandon, and he is quite clearly MUCH faster on his feet. Now, Rios likes to stalk his opponents firing his under-rated jab and then going to work once he's in close, creating awkward angles which suit his willingness to throw punches from anywhere. The difference here is that I don't see Hatton allowing Rios to be the one who dictates the angle of the exchanges. The dynamic is under Hatton's control.

If Hatton can slip the jab, and then use his exceptional feet to get inside, before pressing Brandon physically and then pivoting on his feet to expose the ribcage, then Hatton could very well stop Rios. (If Rios has hypothetically had a poor weight cut, then the last thing you want on a traumatized body, is a fighter delivering hooks and uppercuts to it.)

Rios is in with a big shout, if he can cut Hatton early and then feed off of that like a bull, but otherwise, I see Hatton dictating the fight, and using his physical advantages to exploit Rios' bravado.