For Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton, the greatest moment of his boxing career was the night it all started 19 years ago this week – his 2005 fight against Kostya Tszyu.
As Hatton, 45, looks back on his career prior to his induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (June 6-9) in Canastota, Recent York, he rates the significance of beating Tszyu for his first world title as the highlight of his career .
Hatton was a figure of constant movement, darting in and out of range, landing merciless shots to Tszyu’s body at the Manchester Arena in England. At the end of the 11th round, trainer Johnny Lewis pulled the Australian-based Russian from the fight while he was sitting on a stool. Hatton was the IBF junior welterweight world champion, and his career was taken to another level with six of his next nine fights in the United States.
Despite entering the fight against Tszyu as an underdog in front of 22,000 hometown fans, Hatton dominated the more experienced Tszyu, who was ranked third in the pound-for-pound rankings at the time, behind Floyd Mayweather and Bernard Hopkins.
“People said if I beat Tszyu it would be one of the best wins ever by a British boxer,” Hatton told ESPN. “Looking back, I think it was my biggest victory and it opened the door for me to fight in the States. He was renowned all over the world, but I think people in America were saying who was that fat kid from Manchester who just kept Kostya Tszyu in his seat?
Living up to the expectations of his fans and in a fight that captured the imagination of more than just boxing fans in the UK – Tszyu was also a huge star in Australia at the time – Hatton put in a tireless and brilliant performance.
“When I came through, I had the WBU title, which wasn’t one of the top belts, and my defense was a little tender, so I was getting injured regularly,” Hatton said. “And that’s why a lot of people thought Tszyu would win.
“But it was self-belief. I didn’t stop believing and even when I fought Kostia Tszyu, Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather, I always believed that I would win.
After being stopped in two rounds by Pacquiao in May 2009, Hatton did not fight for three years, struggling with depression and drug and alcohol addiction.
Hatton also counts his losses to Mayweather (2007) and Pacquiao among his best moments, in part because they were two of the best fighters in the world.
“Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather were the most critical fighters, although I finished second, but they were the best in the business at the time,” Hatton said. “Then I struggled with those failures, but now I’m in a content place and I’m content to talk about them now.”
Fighting at home in Manchester is also critical to Hatton, and representing his hometown was one of his goals. Hatton particularly remembers three fights that had everything.
“Fight at the City of Manchester Stadium [against Juan Lazcano in 2008] he was up there. Fight with Paulie Malignaggi [2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas]and Noel and Liam Gallagher [of the band Oasis] wearing belts to the ring was also a large deal. I always wanted to be a world champion, support Manchester City and liked Oasis, and in my boxing career I fulfilled all these requirements.
“Stopping [Jose Luis] Castillo, a Mexican known for his body shots, with a body shot [in Round 4, in Las Vegas] was another good one. I beat him at his own game.”
Hatton will also be remembered as an extremely popular boxer on both sides of the Atlantic. His self-deprecating humor was the opposite of the vulgar bragging and trash-talking typical of pre-fight preparations. Before the Malignaggi fight, Hatton even entered the ring wearing a massive suit and a robe with the word “Fatman” written on the top of the hood, as a joke about his weight, which had been increasing between fights.
Hatton was an invigorating pressure fighter who produced several stunning KO victories. Against Carlos Maus in Sheffield, England in November 2005, Hatton found himself in a treacherous situation – a title unification fight with cuts on both eyes.
“I won the fight, but people started to worry about the cuts,” Hatton told ESPN. “My feet actually left the floor when I hit him with a left hook to finish [in Round 9, by KO]. If he had stood up after that shot, I would have fled the ring.
Hatton (45-3, 32 KO) ended his career with a knockout loss to Vyacheslav Senchenko in November 2012, returning three years after being stopped by Pacquiao.
Although Hatton won belts at junior welterweight and welterweight, perhaps his greatest achievement was his popularity and connection with his fans. When Hatton fought Mayweather, almost 20,000 fans traveled from the UK to Las Vegas.
“You dream of fighting in Las Vegas, but you don’t think it will ever come true,” Hatton said. “Well, in my case, yes. When I first laced up gloves, I grew up watching artists like Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali on video.
“I never would have thought that one day my name would be next to them in the Boxing Hall of Fame, never. Honestly, I can’t believe it. There aren’t many British players in the Hall of Fame, so to get inducted is just amazing.”
Hatton said he considered taking his own life amid alcohol and drug addiction after losing Pacquiao in 2009 and before his comeback in 2012, and that treatment had improved his mental health. Currently, he manages players and gives motivational speeches.
“I’m glad I didn’t take my own life when I was struggling because I would have missed out on a lot,” Hatton said.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis now has an official date and location for her second fight of the year.
The No. 8-ranked pound-for-pound fighter will defend his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach Jr., who is moving up in weight. Their 12-round fight will be the main attraction of the PBC gala, which will take place on December 14 in the Prime Video Pay-Per-View program at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
The incident was confirmed by PBC on Sunday evening.
Davis (30-0, 28 knockout) will make his second attempt to defend the full version of the WBA lightweight world title. The undefeated Baltimore native previously held the “Regular” version of the belt before being promoted last year following the departure of Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KO; 1 No-Contest) from the division.
Before securing this fight, Davis and his team were looking for a unification fight against reigning IBF lightweight champion Vasily Lomachenko. Such a fight was planned for November, but Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KO) refused and decided to wait out the rest of the year.
Ultimately, a path was created for Roach (25-1-1, 10 knockouts) to enter the equation. The WBA 130-pound world champion was previously summoned at the beginning of the summer for another fight against interim world champion Albert Batyrgaziev. However, a one-time exception was granted to challenge Davis at a higher weight instead.
After the victory, Roach will have to decide whether he will stay at lightweight or return to 130. A loss will force him to face Batyrgaziev (12-0, 8 KO) within 120 days of the Davis fight.
Both Davis and Roach earned eighth-round knockout victories within two weeks of each other against undefeated opponents.
Davis’ moment came against Frank Martin at the PBC Summit on June 15 at Prime PPV in Las Vegas. The fight was fierce until it wasn’t. Davis finally caught up to Martin and knocked him out for the fourth straight time.
On June 28 in Washington, Roach defeated undefeated Feargal McCrory (16-1, 8 KO) in his eighth fight. That night was the first home match in nearly seven years for Roach, the fourth-ranked junior lightweight on The Ring from Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Before that came his first championship title. Roach scored a dramatic knockout in the 12th round, thanks to which he overtook and eliminated the WBA 130-pound world champion, Hector Luis Garcia (16-2, 10 KO). Overall, Roach won six in a row. His lone loss came by decision in November 2019 to then-WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring in Fresno, California.
Lamont Roach is a good player. He is technically sound; he is a championship-level player.
However, when it comes to Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ opponents in the pay-per-view event, I would prefer to see someone who has put in an explosive top-notch performance or at least has a polarizing personality.
Davis is a true pay-per-view star. Whether or not you agree that so many of his fights should be on pay-per-view – and I disagreed with most of them – he has been an established presence on pay-per-view for some time. It lacks the appropriate opposition necessary to charge these types of fees.
Roach is a solid fighter. But he hasn’t reached the top and I don’t think his character can compensate for that. He had success in the super featherweight division, but it took some time. Had he defended the title multiple times, the fight between him and Davis might have made more sense, but he took it – against Feargal McCrory.
We’ve seen Davis in this type of fight before – for example against Hector Luis Garcia, who has only lost a split decision to Roach since Davis’ stoppage. But over time it became a pay-per-view model – once a fighter achieves that status, he or she remains on pay-per-view regardless of the opponent.
Frank Martin, Davis’ former opponent, is also a solid fighter and, unlike Roach, fights at lightweight. He was on track to fight Shakur Stevenson and had put in some good performances, which meant he had the highest level of curiosity around him. There is no doubt that Davis is at the highest level and that is why carefully selecting his opponents is frustrating.
It’s also essential that Roach – who is highly talked about by those who know him – is not the biggest fighter in the super featherweight division, where he still seems capable of defending his WBA title, and Davis is such a powerful lightweight fighter. If Davis is the biggest star in the division and Stevenson is his biggest rival, then I feel the same way about this fight as I did when Stevenson fought Joe Cordina. This looks more like a fight that would be acceptable if Davis faced Stevenson and then Stevenson had to withdraw due to injury and be replaced; If we were certain that Davis-Stevenson would be next, it would make a lot more sense, but it doesn’t even seem close.
Davis should be considered a massive favorite. As for Roach, if he won, it would be the event of the year, and a match that could be the disappointment of the year should not be aired on pay-per-view.
The lightweight fight I’m more positive about is the William Zepeda-Tevin Farmer fight. Farmer introduces Zepeda to a different style as he rises to the next level; Farmer is a former world champion and a very crafty southpaw, and fighting him strengthens his hopes of fighting Davis or Stevenson in the future.
Southpaws dominate the lightweight division, making Farmer a very suitable opponent who can show us where Zepeda, who has been impressive so far, is at. Farmer may be past his best form, but Zepeda is not defending his world title, and their fight is a shadow of the fight between Chris Billam-Smith and Gilberto Ramirez. I anticipate moments when Farmer will come out on top and test Zepeda, even though I expect Zepeda to both learn from him and win.
As a side note, when Stevenson-Cordina was announced, we were also told we could expect Stevenson-Zepeda and then Stevenson-Davis in 2025. Stevenson’s presence on Matchroom and DAZN – Zepeda’s broadcaster continues to fight, albeit under Golden Boy Promotions – means a fight between the two wouldn’t be a surprise.
However, I see no reason to believe that Stevenson-Davis will be successful after this. Matchroom has nothing to say about Davis’ moves. I am elated to say publicly that I do not think a Stevenson-Davis event will occur in 2025, and while I expect a Stevenson-Zepeda event to occur, it will happen at the end of the year, not at the beginning as we anticipate” I was also told.
Shawn Porter believes Artur Beterbiev is too fight-weary to defeat a less-exhausted Dmitry Bivol this Saturday in their undisputed featherlight heavyweight championship on October 12 in Riyad.
Former welterweight champion Porter says the youth of 33-year-old Bivol (23-0, 12 KO) also counts in his favor against 39-year-old Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO) in a 12-round fight. main event at Kingdom Arena.
WBA 175-pound champion Bivol had a habit of avoiding the most grueling fights possible, which is why he has fewer knockouts than Beterbiev. The downside to this safety-first approach to his career is that Bivol is less popular than IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev and isn’t talked about much.
“I can’t pick him right now, but if Bivol stands there and lands, then good night, Vienna,” coach Joe Gallagher said to Boxing newschoosing Dmitry Bivol instead of Artur Beterbiev.
“I choose Beterbiev, but only because I was in Vegas and talked to someone who sparred with him. He said, “Oh man, that guy. To spar four rounds with him is to fight 20 rounds. He’s like a monster,” said Regis Prograis. “He paired him and Bivol. He said: “Beterbiev is a killer, an absolute monster.” So I would lean towards Beterbiev.
Beterbiev’s power makes him a nightmare for anyone to spar with unless he can handle them easily. He is not the type of player who behaves lightly during sparring sessions, because then he gets nothing from them.
“I don’t see Beterbiev’s past, but Bivol’s quality is really good. Technically he’s really good,” said Paul Smith. “I think I saw Beterbiev up close a few times. I think I’m on Beterbiev’s side. I think he’ll get there eventually, but it’s by no means certain.”
“I think one thing in Bivol’s favor is that Beterbiev has had a few injuries and has just had a sedate injury that he’s coming back from. This could play a bit in Bivol’s favor,” said Otto Wallin.
“Bivol wins this fight. I think he has youth on his side,” Shawn Porter said. “The Beterbiev was a Mack truck running into smaller trucks and other gigantic trucks. These types of collisions will catch up with you at some point.
The only fights in which Beterbiev was booked were between Marcus Browne and Anthony Yard. He took a few shots in both fights, especially against heavy-handed Browne, but he still wore them down to get the knockout.
“Bivol’s course is simply different than Beterbiev’s. I think Bivol will win. We’ll see. Bivol can be touched, but is Beterbiev speedy enough?
The mileage Porter is talking about may not prevent Beterbiev from winning the fight because his power is just as deadly as it would be if he had less mileage, and he hasn’t shown any problems with his chin. If Bivol is going to take advantage of Beterbiev’s age and ring wear, he will have to fight him. Doing this will be risky.
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