What did you think of Hatton vs Tszyu?

Yeah Tszyu had only fought 9 rounds in 3 years going into this. Tszyu actually looked rusty against Jesse James Leija a few years earlier (an injury stoppage in a fight where Tszyu looked ordinary) which was papered over a bit by him catching Sharmba Mitchell early and stopping him in impressive fashion.
In hindsight Hatton beating him isn’t that big a surprise but as stated he got away with murder in the ring that night.

 

I do agree that Tszyu was past it and that Hatton definitely did his fair share of rough stuff that he might not have gotten away with if there was a different ref. But one thing that impressed me with Hatton was his physical strength on the inside. Tszyu's physical strength was legendary and the fact that he could not use his strength to create space was truly the difference. Yes Hatton certainly did his share of holding but if you rewatch the fight you will see how effective he was with his hands free with uppercuts and how ineffective Tszyu was on the inside.

I think history will remember Tszyu as the greater/more versatile fighter between the two but on that night it all came together for Hatton including the fact that Tszyu wasn't 100%.

Hatton too me is a prototypical swarmer that was destined to have a short career due to his style which is a style that does not age well not to mention it's a style that spells disaster against counter punchers like Mayweather and Pacquiao.

 

God there is some crying on this thread.
Hatton didn't give Kosta room to breathe that was why he won that, and for some reason, despite getting hit bang on the button with Kosta's right hand Hatton kept coming forward and Ricky landed some big shots of his own. Some of the uppercuts on the ropes were brutal near the end.

The body shot KD that was never called always struck me as really odd. Hatton went down but was up straight away didn't look hurt or anything the ref didn't make a call. He should have scored it as KD or as a low blow he didn't do either.

Hatton then goes waaaaaaaaaay low and hard with it and probably turned the fight. I saw an interview that said he knew he wouldn't get a serious penalty so that's why he did it. Can't blame him to be honest. He couldn't match Kosta for skill but he set a fast ugly, grueling pace and both were guilty of fouling away. It was Hatton's best night in the ring. In a way it was also his down fall because all his footwork, even his body attack became less of a thing as he carried on at world level.

Kosta always struggled with guys who put him against the ropes and could set the pace, Kosta wanted time and range. Hatton played to his strengths and Kostas weaknesses it was a classic styles make fights situation. Kosta was slightly past his best and Hatton probably at his peak + home advantage.

 

Prime Kostya stops any version of Hatton. Except of course if parriss is the ref.

 

I didn't mind the dirty tactics as such. Kostya was a powerful hitter and very experienced and knew what he was getting into.
But the truth is he looked pretty much shot from the start.

 

Regarding the commentary, which broadcast were you watching?

 

I'm not against roughhouse tactics either. You do what you need to do, to get the edge. It's fighting. The other guy and his corner need to deal with it. The house fighter will always get the rub of the green. You go into the lion's den expecting that.
I'm not defending Hatton-I'm not even a fan-but we've seen this type of scenario play out hundreds of times before.

 

But the fact remains that Ricky's fans go BALLISTIC every time Joe Cortez is mentioned. And I do mean BALLISTIC. Any time there is a worst ref ever thread, Ricky's fans bombard it with Cortez, but are completely ok with parriss. Complete bias and double standard.