Sky Sports Friday Fight Night: Matthew Hatton vs. Yuri Nuzhnenko RBR

Round 3

YN now jabbing his way in more patiently instead of wading in with his arms overhead. Hatton is content to have a jabbing contest and tries to line YN up for a 1-2, darting in as he tries to land the right hand and then back out again. YN dips and lunges at the midsection of Hatton. YN eats a Hatton hook on the way in. Slapping right hand from Hatton hits YN on the neck and shoulder. 1-2 lands for Hatton as YN comes forward. Hatton landing lead rights and left hooks off the back foot. YN follows and throws intermittent power punches.

10-9 Hatton

29-27 Nuzhnenko

 

Round 4

They wrestle a bit to start off, separate and wrestle some more. Hatton is holding his arms out defensively and Nuzhnenko is rushing into them. Hatton lands a body hook on Nuzhnenko as he runs in and then grabs him. Hatton with a right hand to the temple. Hatton has a jab shoved aside by the right glove of Nuzhnenko. Hatton is jabbing and flurrying lightly as he circles, and Nuzhnenko is unable to close on him. Nuzhnenko warned for a borderline shot on the beltline. Hatton steps forward and lands a three punch combo while Nuzhnenko is standing still. Nuzhnenko keeps trying to dip low and get the body of Hatton with the left hand, but continues to stray a bit low.

10-9 Hatton

38-37 Nuzhnenko

 

Round 5

Nuzhnenko drives Hatton back into his corner with a sequence of straight snapping punches. Hatton gets back into his circling rhythm and lines Nuzhnenko up with a very stiff right hand. Hatton continues to step forward and flurry with rat-a-tat light fire, and it's enough to keep Nuzhnenko's offense stunted as Hatton easily escapes out the side door after scoring his points. Nuzhnenko tries to slowly cut off the ring and look for opportunities to whack the body of Hatton. Nuzhnenko traps Hatton's left arm with his right and they punch out. Nuzhnenko leads with a right to the body and begins to build combos off of it. Hatton leads with a right of his own to Nuzhnenko's head but has very little on it and has to quickly back away. Hatton then lands a much crisper right, like the one early in the round.

10-9 Hatton

47-47

 

Round 6

There is a delay after the first exchange as Hatton's mouthpiece is replaced.

Nuzhnenko begins to drill Hatton in clockwise circles around the ring with the powerful left hook, on a second wind now. Hatton is mostly blocking and grabbing now as Nuzhnenko keeps him under heavy fire. Hatton tries to bring a sweeping uppercut into Nuzhenko's chest but quickly grabs on. Hatton trying to shoeshine now before initiating the clinches. Nuzhnenko just keeping his head down and plugging Hatton to the body with whichever hand happens to be free. Hatton picks off a Nuzhnenko jab but then eats a hook. Hatton flicks a jab and then brings a right cross to bear on Nuzhnenko's face, and doubles it. Another pair of hard rights actually backs Nuzhnenko up.

Very close round, given the early body success for Nuzhnenko, but Hatton tipped it late with his hard accurate punches. He leads 57-56.

 

Round 7

Nuzhnenko is missing with wild hooks now. Hatton is fighting tall despite being the shorter man, keeping straight up and leaned back, stepping away, jabbing, covering up, and making Nuzhnenko continue to miss. They wrestle a good bit for the middle minute of the round. Hatton walking straight into Nuzhnenko now, putting on earmuffs to block his wide punches and landing short hooks and straight rights on the inside, as Nuzhnenko can't get the headshots off without space. Good right by Hatton.

10-9 Hatton

67-65

 

Round 8

Nuzhnenko continues to try and club his way in behind the left hook. Hatton has got the punch figured out and jerks his elbow up to intercept it as he counter-swarms into Nuzhnenko's advances with flurries to the face. Nuzhnenko tries to land something hard on the inside but simply isn't effective enough to get shots off at short distance, and Hatton is grabbing him before he has time to try and fine-tune on the fly. They pause to fix the tape on Yuriy's left glove. Hatton greets him back in the middle of the ring with a leaping jab and quickly bounces back out of range. Hatton with a lead right and left hook combo. Hatton slips and there's a moment of confusion where the PA announcer begins a ten-count. Hatton holds Nuzhnenko at bay with the jab and turns it into a straight flurry whenever Nuzhnenko starts to walk through it.

10-9 Hatton

77-74 Hatton

 

Round 9

Hatton holds his left arm out stiff in a defensive posture as he backs up, almost as if to impale the charging Nuzhnenko on it. Nuzhnenko catches him momentarily asleep at the wheel with a rushing hook to the body and then opens up with a few more looping power shots with both fists clubbing down from either side. Hatton works his feet into his ideal range and plants a right hand on Nuzhnenko. They tussle in the middle of the ring and fling each other about. Hatton steps in with a MASSIVE right hand that snaps the lumbering Nuzhnenko's head nearly clean off. Hatton then holds Nuzhnenko as the taller man leans on him and taps him on the side of the head. Three punch combo from Hatton. Nuzhnenko trying to find spots on the body for his hook.

10-9 Hatton

87-83 Hatton

 

Round 10

Nuzhnenko pops available space on the head of Hatton with several short hooks as Hatton buries his face in his elbow and thrusts his arm up to defend. Hatton's flurries getting shorter and further between now. Hatton's gloves are re-taped. Nuzhnenko again catches Hatton with a hook to the face as Hatton was leaning to his right. Big right hand lands from Nuzhnenko as Hatton continues to land lightly and back up. Nuzhnenko takes a shoeshine to the face as he presses in.

10-9 Nuzhnenko

96-93 Hatton.

 

Round 11

Hatton chops at Nuzhnenko and glides around him. Nuzhnenko returns to his corner for yet more tape. Nuzhnenko comes out aggressive, swinging one arm at a time and telegraphing, going for power. Hatton is countering with straight combos, and falling in to lean into the chest of Nuzhnenko and negate his finding room to get off. Hatton backs off, and then jumps in with a right hand but gets clubbed before he can grab. Nuzhnenko walks him down and clubs at him overhand on both sides.

10-9 Nuzhnenko

105-103 Hatton

 

Round 12

They immediately tie up and Nuzhnenko lands a short uppercut in the clinch. Arms akimbo, they are separated time and again, with only a dribble of punching in between and little of it clean for either. Nuzhnenko gets very rough, jerking his arms and elbows about in the clinch and catches Hatton with a short right hand. Hatton plugs away underhand to the body of Nuzhnenko. Hatton eats a right hand as he tries to lean his head into Nuzhnenko's chest and go to work downstairs. Hatton misses a 1-2 and Nuzhnenko grabs him and clubs him on the side of the head. Both are stumbling around on their feet out of exhaustion and the action is sloppy but consistent. Three punch combo from Hatton. A right hand sails past Nuzhnenko's head. Nuzhnenko pressures him and takes a few more power shots for his trouble up to the bell.

Hatton 115-112