The Hatton / Tszyu night

Ramshall1 · Sep 18, 2007

it was a bit of a sloppy fight but still entertaining. At least neither guy ran like Andre Dirrell.

ron u.k. · Sep 18, 2007

what's amazing to me throughout all of this nonsense from the whingers who consistently diss hatton for his tactics on their poor defenceless little boy,is the way they completely seem to giive tszyu an easy ride for being quite happy to quit on his stool.hatton gets all of the **** and the golden boy kosta gets off scott free,incredible.

pipe wrenched · Sep 18, 2007

I'll be honest here, I borderline hate Hatton. Having said that I never think it's fair to see people discredit him for the Tszyu win. Tszyu did NOT fight like he was shot, both fighters fought like hell and Hatton came out on top. My complaint with Tszyu in that bout was his constantly going straight back when Hatton charged him. I feel if he had done more side to side type evasion he would have faired better. Much as it hurts "IT WAS A GOOD WIN FOR HATTON."

Sedona · Sep 18, 2007

gatorage said:

Tszyu wasn't the same fighter that stepped into the ring against Mitchell in the rematch for mine. For mine it's a fight that Tszyu maybe could have won but shows two fighters at two very different places in their careers.

Tszyu had come off one of his highest profile wins in the Mitchell rematch, started talking retirement and big money only fights. His trainer tells him to retire. Instead Tszyu signs a further two fight deal. He's thinking a tune-up and mentions De La Hoya and Gatti. Moneytime.

Hatton's camp realises this is the chance of a lifetime. Temp an aging champ whose motivation is a big paycheque to sign a fight 1) in manchester 2) at a strange time 3) with a local ref who is clearly on Hatton's side

I take nothing away from Hatton here, Tszyu signed up but seemed happy to have every condition against him. Tszyu was over-confident and I'm sure his promoter was telling him he'll knock out the guy in four rounds and they'll be talking with Oscar about venues.

Tszyu has a reasonable training camp, but needs to wear a sweatsuit for the week before the fight cause of weight issues, fails to make weight on the first attempt, worrying for a fitness fanatic, and looks unfocused in comparison to his last few fights.

First three rounds Hatton nearly pulls Tszyu's right arm off, leads with his head (best 'punch' of the fight is a Hatton headbutt that knocks Tszyu back into the ropes), clinches, rabbit punches, wrestles and a decidely worrying point for Tszyu is Hatton nodding at times to the ref when he wants to break up a clinch. Tszyu is up against it.

For his part, Tszyu fights dumb. He is happy to try and fight on the inside with Hatton thinking he will beat the guy at his own game. His corner tells him to create some distance, keep Hatton off with a stiff jab and throw the right more. Tszyu doesn't. His ego has got the better of him.

End of round four Tszyu suddenly realises he's getting tired. Actually think that Tszyu also knocked Hatton down from a bodypunch although it was ruled low. Hatton certainly doesn't act like it was low. Round five he starts trying to get some distance and round six lands the jab better. Probably his best two rounds of the fight, but he's breathing heavily from an open mouth and his straight right has barely been sighted. I felt at this stage of the fight, Tszyu has had a realisation that Hatton is really here to fight.

Tszyu has expended way too much energy at the start of the fight, isn't throwing the right, and looks absolutely exhausted. He's competitive but as the rounds go on Hatton looks like he's getting stronger while Tszyu continues to fade. I'll get hammered here for this comment but for mine you can see that Tszyu is the better and more accurate boxer but his stamina is just not there and he can't keep Hatton off him.

The low-blow in the ninth, one of the hardest I can recall seeing, pretty much seals the deal for Hatton. Anyone who says it was just Hatton paying Tszyu back is biased. It was clearly a blow from a fighter who knows the ref isn't going to take away a point. Home town advantage.

The corner asks Tszyu at the end of the tenth whether he wants to stop. Tszyu doesn't say anything. He looks dazed and exhausted. Gets beat up in round eleven, trainer Lewis stops the fight, Tszyu doesn't protest.

Tszyu says he was beaten by the better fighter. His trainer Lewis says 'We were an old fighter in the ring tonight. It's time to retire.'

Tszyu retires.

Hatton's camp says 'We got Tszyu at the right time' (an admittance they knew the guy was at the end of his career) and then say 'There will be no rematch.'

It was an ugly fight that favoured Hatton and I personally would have liked to have seen it held in America but at the end of the day it was Tszyu's choice as much as Hatton's. He knew what he was doing and props to him for showing absolute class in losing. I don't think I've seen such a graceful person in defeat. If anyone could have used some excuses Tszyu had them in handfuls and could have yelled for a rematch.

Harris should take a leaf out of Tszyu's book.

Anyway, I've written too much.
Click to expand...

This is the best synopsis of said fight I have read.
Kostya had 5.4 million reasons to take this fight, and I can only assume that his camp knew what he was getting into. I remember a Hatton fan said, BEFORE the fight, that he couldn't believe the Tszyu camp allowed Parris to ref this contest. As of several months ago, Kostya still hadn't watched the fight...he looks forward...not backwards. I admire the Hatton fans who say that, yes, Hatton had things his way that night, but that's boxing. I admire the truth. The reason this topic keeps arising is simple...facts are stubborn.

GazOC · Sep 18, 2007

You mean the truth as you see it and the facts as you interpret them?

JAM Killer · Sep 18, 2007

This is Hatton's biggest win to date, but his fight with Floyd is his biggest fight. The Hatton/Tszyu fight was ugly, Hatton held on alot, fought extremely dirty, but he bullied Tszyu, and Tszyu was not that far past his prime, he was coming off a good win against Shambra Mitchell.

With all of that, I did become a fan of Hatton, and I was already a Tszyu fan, and I was disappointed that Tszyu quit.

the_what · Sep 18, 2007

I thought Tzyue was going to embarrass Hatton in front of his home crowd. ******* came through in a big way. Tzyue did not look old at all. Hatton smothered his attack and didnt allow him to get of any of his huge right hands. Smart gameplan by Ricky Hatton.

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The Hatton / Tszyu night

Ramshall1 Boxing Addict Full Member

ron u.k. Boxing Addict banned

pipe wrenched ESB ELITE SQUAD Full Member

Sedona Active Member Full Member

GazOC Guest Star for Team Taff Full Member

JAM Killer Coming Through. Full Member

the_what Bolo Punch KO Full Member

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The Hatton / Tszyu night

Ramshall1 Boxing Addict Full Member

ron u.k. Boxing Addict banned

pipe wrenched ESB ELITE SQUAD Full Member

Sedona Active Member Full Member

GazOC Guest Star for Team Taff Full Member

JAM Killer Coming Through. Full Member

the_what Bolo Punch KO Full Member