Boy was I wrong! I am man enough to admit when my fight prediction is off the mark, but I know that no one saw this coming. Coming off of two lackluster victories against seemingly inferior competition, Ricky Hatton made Jose Luis Castillo look like a sparring partner.
After winning two of the first three rounds, with an effective yet ugly style filled with short punches and long clinches, Hatton knocked out Castillo with a single left hook to the liver. Shockingly, Castillo sagged to one knee and watched the referee’s count reach ten. On this night Castillo was literally and figuratively "chopped liver." Hatton had the second biggest win of his career and cemented his standing as the world’s best at 140 pounds.
Whether you like Hatton’s unorthodox boxing/grappling style or not, "the Hit Man" somehow finds ways to win his biggest fights – this time against the respected Castillo, and in 2005 against Kotsa Tszyu. Afterwards, he took a verbal shot at Floyd Mayweather, Jr., proclaiming that "you (fans) saw more action and value in these four rounds than you have from Mayweather’s whole career."
I hope that Floyd is listening. Not only would the fight earn him the second largest paycheck of his career, Hatton’s ugly style would make the "Pretty Boy" look gorgeous. Now all we have to do is hope that Floyd "un-retires."
