Preview - Floyd Mayweather v Ricky Hatton by Kevin Roberts Dec 7th 2007

Picture the scene. It's 8pm, Saturday 8th December. Struggling for something to do? Mates all gone out for the night? Wife away for the weekend? (Chance would be a fine thing.) Here's a tip - strap yourself to your favourite armchair for 12 hours, fill the fridge full of lager because if big fights are your bag then you better bloody believe it this is the night to end all nights! Its like a who's who in British Boxing, hot on the heels of King Joe Calzaghe and Prince David Haye, Admiral Ricky Hatton attempts to dip his toe into the pool of superstardom when he challenges pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather over 12 rounds for Mayweather's WBC 147lb belt. This really is a golden period in the sport for ol' blighty, should Ricky pull this off a certain sports personality of the year contest will be a shoo in. What about Lewis Hamilton you cry? Don't get me started on that one! Anyway, as all boxing fans will know and now almost every non-boxing fan in the country Saturday night sees one of the most eagerly anticipated fights involving a British fighter for a long, long time. Two undefeated champions, both at their peak, Hatton and Mayweather promises to be an event to remember. Hatton, a pro now for 10 years, meets by far and away his biggest test in self-proclaimed 'Pretty Boy' Floyd Mayweather. Ricky will be hoping his all-action, busy body punching can outwit Mayweather's dazzling defence and boxing skills, Mayweather on the other hand will be looking to back up his boasts that Ricky is no more than a glorified wrestler. It's a great mix of styles, which makes for a fascinating fight. We all know what Ricky brings to the party – relentless work rate, stamina, great body punching and underrated boxing skills make Hatton Mayweather's biggest threat to date. Can Ricky get close enough to Floyd and turn this into the kind of phone-box style brawl he feels is his biggest chance or can Mayweather make Hatton look silly with superior boxing skills and defence, in and out, in and out, in and out? It's only when analysing this fight closely that you get the true magnitude of what faces Ricky in Vegas on Saturday. Mayweather, unbeaten in 38 fights, has won world titles at five weights stretching from 130-154 lbs and has beaten some great fighters on the way. De La Hoya, Corrales, Castillo twice (a long time before Hatton did), Gatti, Manfredy - the list is long and impressive. A defensive genius, Floyd has never really looked like losing and Castillo I aside (where some thought Mayweather a little fortunate) he has motored his way through the weight divisions on his way to greatness. Mayweather is not the most popular or even exciting fighter in the world, however he is undeniably the best and many may be best served to remember this before lumping on Ricky. So what will Mayweather look to do come Saturday? Well, it stands to reason that Floyd will box, cover up and look to pick Ricky off with scathing punches, if it aint broken don't fix it. It is very possible that Hatton is stopped on cuts, such is the accuracy of the man from Grand Rapids. Hatton, will look to bully, pressurise, not stop for 12 hard rounds and look to walk through anything Mayweather has to offer in the hope of either forcing a late stoppage or points decision. Seems simple doesn't it – well it is and it isn't. Whilst this is the likely blueprint for both men I believe a number of important things have been overlooked which could have a bigger bearing on the result than first thought. Firstly, don't assume Mayweather has no dig; Floyd hits hard enough to gain respect and Ricky may find out the painful way whilst boaring forward. However, on the other hand don't assume Hatton is a one trick pony. We have seen glimpses especially against Ben Tackie that Hatton can box with no little skill. I have looked at this fight over and over again and it throws up more questions every time. Will Mayweather's brittle hands hold up? If they don't, he is in trouble against a relentless man who will just coming and coming. Will Hatton's skin stand the test? We have seen Hatton cut before and Floyd is just the man to exploit any weakness in this area. One of the thoughts doing the rounds is that Mayweather has underestimated Hatton. Absolute tosh, if anything in the last fortnight many people especially on this side of the pond have underestimated Mayweather. Make no mistake, Floyd Mayweather is an outstanding fighter, an all time great and for me this key. Hatton is very good, very good and beats 99% of fighters out there, not Mayweather. For me, Ricky will start well, have success early in the fight but by halfway Floyd will have solved the puzzle, almost like Calzaghe did so against Kessler. Over the second half of the fight Mayweather does more than enough to clinch a unanimous decision with both fighters having enhanced their standing in the sport for years to come.

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The UK are underestimating Mayweather.... totally agree Dec 7th 2007, 14:25:31 by robz8701 All I here is about calculated pressure and how Floyd can't hit. Floyd is pure and utter class, he can fight any kind of fight you want him to fight. They talk about Castillo should have got the decision against Floyd. What about Collazo against Ricky... that was a shocker and where was Hatton's pressure that night. Floyd hits precisely and he does hit hard. Ricky will come forward and if he keeps getting picked off he will eventually slow down. Does anybody honestly think Ricky is fitter than Floyd. Come on.. do me a favour. I think Hatton will be stopped. I see nobody has made a big deal of the nice jokey, family guy Ricky Hatton doing the cut-throat symbol. Whose the bad guy there? Floyd is arguably the greatest fighter that has ever lived. Yes he talks too much and is major arrogant but how many people detested Ali. PBF will be better thought of when he was gone. Just give credit to an absolute master at work. Floyd all the way.