Ben's BBN mailbag by Ben Carey Dec 5th 2007

Here's the first ever BBN mailbag!  Please post your questions to me at benjcarey@yahoo.co.uk Hope to hear from you soon... Carey, Do you think Ricky Hatton can pull off the upset against Floyd Mayweather? I think it could go either way. If I was pushed I would pick Mayweather, just. But I can see Hatton piling on a lot of power and weight after the weigh in and being big in the fight so he may prove too strong for PBF. Ewen Lewis Swindon Having made Oscar De La Hoya a narrow winner against Mayweather I need little convincing that Ricky can do it, Ewen. As supposedly the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, PBF disappointed against De La Hoya and effectively pickpocketed his way to his decision and Oscar allowed him get away with it. Can you imagine Hatton giving Floyd a moment's peace? Neither can I. Mayweather isn't untouchable as some think – a supreme boxer and a defensive master granted – but he isn't unbeatable and there appears to be something in the persistent rumours about his hand trouble. De La Hoya, Jose Castillo, Zab Judah and DeMarcus Corley all posed Mayweather problems and by maintaining his ferocious work ethic Hatton can do the same. Much was said in the aftermath of Ricky's win over Castillo that the Mexican was shot but for me it showed that Hatton was back to very best after some below-par performances against Juan Urango and Luis Collazo. Hatton's old intensity was back, he looked incredibly strong, showed great variety and impressive footwork. Of course, Mayweather will naturally be a moving target but I don't think Hatton receives enough credit for also being an intelligent fighter. Anyone who expects the ‘Hitman' to hitting fresh air all night has bought too much into the Mayweather hype. Ricky is at his peak and we know from his performances against Kostya Tszyu and Castillo that he can produce his best when it matters. There is the criticism that both Tszyu and Castillo were past their best but when has Mayweather fought someone who was truly in their prime? Maybe Castillo where he looked very uncomfortable, and possibly against a weight-weakened Diego Corrales. Those who predict an easy night's work for PBF based on his wins over Carlos Baldomir and Arturo Gatti need to reconsider. Hatton is leagues above guys like this and will be younger and hungrier when he steps through the ropes to meet Mayweather on Saturday night. I don't believe Mayweather has truly taken Hatton seriously. I'm also prepared to accept Billy Graham's assertion that Ricky simply had an off night against Collazo but if it wasn't Hatton could be outclassed on Saturday – I don concede that. However, Hatton looks supremely focused and didn't allow his weight to balloon as much after Castillo. I think he'll be strong at welterweight and don't think the added bulk will slow him down too much. Referee Joe Cortez should give Ricky a fair crack at the whip and not be on Hatton's case everytime he tries to bully PBF around – thank goodness Jay Nady didn't get the nod. It would be an outstanding victory if Hatton could do it and I think he will, particularly If he nails Mayweather with one of those rib crunching body shots. Hatton will exert enough pressure on Mayweather to force him into his shell to clinch a narrow points win. This could be a famous weekend for upsets. Did you know that a £10 betting accumulator on Earl, Hatton, Craig Watson (whose power could trouble Ali Nuumbembe in Wigan) and Arthur Abraham (who defends his IBF crown against Wayne Elcock) to win their respective fights would return in the region of £300? Don't say I'm not good to you lot. Ben, Graham Earl should be a decent test for Amir Khan on Saturday and I think he may well falter if Earl has anything left. I can't believe that Khan is such an overwhelming favourite to win and believe that he will have to work very hard as Earl will keep coming all night. I don't see why the media and the British public is so obsessed with Khan. I've always thought he was overrated and is another Audley Harrison in a smaller frame. Scott Barclay Salford I don't agree that Khan is another Audley but fear he may ultimately fall short of everyone's expectations. Amir was a tremendous amateur talent and arguably his silver medal accomplishment was more impressive than Audley's gold. For a start, Khan was still a teenager competing against men and he produced some dazzling performances. In contrast, Harrison was in his late twenties and his amateur career was blighted with inconsistency before he managed to string a run together in the Olympics. Only a stubborn band of A-FORCE followers believed he was the heir to the world heavyweight throne and that was even before he stepped through the ropes without his vest and headguard. I digress. I do agree whole-heartedly however that Graham Earl is in with a great chance of snapping Khan's unbeaten record and can't believe he's as long as 11/2 with some bookmakers. Fill your boots, folks. It will take more than a stoppage win over Scott Lawton to convince me to take Khan seriously as a world prospect after his scare against Willie Limond. Nice guy though he is, Lawton is English title level material and a long way short of British title class as highlighted by his challenge to Jon Thaxton. Khan's win, even though he did it in quicker fashion to Thaxton, proved nothing. Let's go back to the Limond fight. Khan was floored and on the verge of being stopped by a light-punching almost career super-featherweight who had been inactive. He did show tremendous championship qualities to come back but his punch resistance is a real concern. When Khan gets caught his legs seem to completely go and the doubts about his chin ever since Craig Watson dropped him in the amateurs seem well founded. Earl is not a monstrous puncher but he punches with respect and harder than Limmond. Graham is also a seasoned lightweight, a former British and Commonwealth champion who holds a points win over the reigning European champ Yuri Romanov. Frank Warren is taking a real gamble with Khan here but, it has to be said, Warren rarely gets it wrong. Much will depend on how much Earl has left following the Michael Katsidis mauling, which was far too one-sided to ever be considered for ‘Fight of the Year'. Throw in 10 months of inactivity and a poor performance against Angel Ramirez prior to that where Earl was fortunate to get the decision and you begin to understand why Team Khan believe the time is right to step him up. Earl's severing of ties with long-term trainer Johnny Eames is also a worrying indication that the Duke of Earl may be coming to the end of the road. I think the Luton man may have one last good performance in him though. Khan will probably make him look stupid for a few rounds, and we know Earl is flat-footed and can be outboxed. But Earl will keep coming and it will be interesting to see how Khan copes when he starts to slow down – Amir was blowing hard after five rounds against Limmond. If Earl can reproduce the intensity he showed when beating Steve Murray and Yuri Romanov he has an excellent chance of upsetting Khan who looks uncomfortable under pressure and makes all manner of defensive mistakes when backed up. At 11/2 I'm having a few quid on Earl to pull this off. Hi Ben, I'm a regular visitor to BBN. I was wondering what your thoughts are on Scottish Boxer Ricky Burns chances of becoming a British champion? I have heard he is in line for another title shot early next year, possibly meeting the winner of Mitchell v Johanesson. Personally I think now that he's training with Billy Nelson he would handle Johanneson far better this time and he would have no problems with Mitchell. What's your thoughts? Cheers Anthony McShane I think Burns will need to raise his game if he is to become British champion, Anthony. I currently view Ricky as a solid contender rather than as a potential champion. I expected more from him when he challenged Carl Johanneson and considered Burns to be a live underdog going in. The reality is that he was barely at the races and soundly beaten by a Johanneson who was distracted by his strained relationship with then manager Rick Manners. Let's see what affect Billy Nelson can have on Burns when he inevitably gets another title shot. He's certainly keeping busy – four fights since the Johanneson setback against the usual suspects and he's scheduled to appear on the undercard of Arthur-Foster Jnr on December 15. Burns would be a logical first defence for Kevin Mitchell, if Mitchell can overcome Johanneson, but I'm sure you'll agree that's hardly a foregone conclusion. If Johanneson manages to retain his British title I think Burns may have to wait for a rematch given the one-sided nature of their first meeting. Burns' future should be at lightweight. At 5'10 it can't be easy for him to make 9st 4lbs and the domestic lightweight scene is red-hot at the moment. Khan, Murray and Thaxton all lie in wait, not to mention a potential all-Scottish clash with Willie Limond. And it's worth remembering that the biggest win of Ricky's career came against a certain Graham Earl, a fighter who will attempt to burst Amir Khan's bubble at the weekend. Dear Ben I feel Joe Calzaghe deserves much more credit in America. I also disagree with all the constant jibes regarding where Joe fights, with everyone saying how he doesn't want to leave home. Does B-hop get these jibes, does PBF, does Taylor? None of them do, but for some reason Joe is singled out, and after B-hop doubled his wage demands at the last minute to fight Joe in 2002, I feel he should be the one who makes the trip to Joe. Joe owes him nothing! What are your opinions on these points? Best Regards, Steve, Cheltenham Steve I think you've got to accept that the Yanks are a fickle bunch when it comes to their assessments of British fighters. Unless Calzaghe beats an elite level American who is in his prime he is unlikely to gain the credit he deserves. Jeff Lacy, though an unbeaten world champion at the time, still had much to prove that he belonged in the pound-for-pound lists and Mikkel Kessler, though a far more complete fighter than Lacy, was largely unknown to US audiences. Some have suggested that beating Bernard Hopkins would finally see Joe earn some Stateside kudos but I'm not convinced. If Joe won it would probably be a forgettable fight and his victory would be further undermined by Hopkins' advancing years and two (controversial) losses to Jermain Taylor. The reality is that Joe has nothing left to prove and I think he should retire having enjoyed a wonderful end to his career. Where do you rate Tony Salam in the domestic light-heavyweight rankings? Malcolm, London I rate Salam at no.6 in the British ratings behind the likes of Clinton Woods, Matthew Barney, Dean Francis, Brian Magee and Tony Oakey. Its been an excellent year for Tony and he's definitely knocking on the door to be challenging for titles in 2008, even though he's only had seven fights. Salam impressively dealt with the awkward Paul David, flooring the Ingle stylist and outpointing him over four. David went on to beat reigning English champion Peter Haymer and former British title challenger Andrew Lowe. Salam then went on to decision former Commonwealth champion Ovill Mckenzie though he had to pick himself off the floor in his sternest test to date. That performance suggested that Salam is still a long way from being the finished article and his handlers (Frank Maloney) should take their time with him. It would appear that they will do so as they dropped Salam down in class when he stopped Carl Wild last Friday. Outscoring McKenzie in your sixth contest is still a fine result though – McKenzie is difficult to look good against and trounced Peter Haymer. I think most were surprised when Dean Francis took McKenzie out in a round when the normally durable Jamaican got caught cold.

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