So why did Hatton start hugging & holding after the Tszyu fight?

Prior to that fight, he was actually an exciting fighter. He was a volume puncher that consistently went to the body. When he fought Kosta Tszyu, I thought the hugging & holding was clearly a brilliant strategic strategy to smother & bully the older fighter. After that fight, thats all he did.

 

My guess would be because he was able to get away with it against Zoo so it was simply something he started to use more and more.

 

I disagree, he actually used a stick and move tactic against Urango.

 

Until Urango caught him with a big body shot and after that he went back to hugging.

 

until the bodyshots

 

He hugs an holds when he is in trouble. Nothing more, nothing less.

When you watch him during his promotional work during fight night, when his fighters are in trouble you can see Hatton ring side giving his fighters instructions to hold.

 

can we not mention that fight please? - one of the most boring nights of my life watching that tedious nonsense. I'm still bitter about losing those few hours i will never get back, i'd rather just forget.

 

Come on now. I like Hatton, but he made hugging and wrestling an integral part of his gameplan. Even more so at the higher weights. It was punch, rush, hold, wrestle..... time and again in the Tzyu, Collazo, Mayweather fights, etc. At times, it was almost an impossible watch.

 

Well, I would point out Hatton didn't do that against Castillo or Malignaggi, but there was no real threat of getting put on ***** street by either one.

 

Agreed. He basically just beat them both up. Didnt need to hold or wrestle much.

 

I think it was because he was such a beast at 140 he felt he could just bully people about and with the success of that during the Tzsyu fight he thought he could beat anyone as Kostya was arguably one of the best 140lbers ever