When Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Ricky Hitman Hatton meet on Saturday night for the Ring Magazine welterweight championship, the two will most likely be partaking in the biggest fight of the year. However, I am not sure the excitement in the ring will match the excitement leading up to the fight. Based on Mayweather’s defensive style and Hatton’s aggressive, yet often ugly, grappling style, this matchup may turn up sour.
Mayweather has advantages in boxing ability, defense, foot speed, hand speed, and reach. Hatton has advantages in physical strength and punching power. On paper, this appears to be the proverbial bull (Hatton) versus matador (Mayweather) confrontation, right? Well, I do not see it exactly playing out that way.
In a fight that even the Pretty Boy won’t be able to prevent from getting ugly, he will still be able to use his reach, speed, and underrated in-fighting abilities to beat an onrushing Hatton to the punch over twelve brisk rounds of action. Although Floyd’s stamina will be tested by the controlled aggression of Hatton during the fight, anyone who has watched Mayweather’s nocturnal training habits on the reality series Mayweather-Hatton 24×7 knows that it is unlikely that he will peter out.
In a fight that will resemble Mayweather’s win against Carlos Tata Baldomir for the welterweight title a little over a year ago, look for the Pretty Boy to win an uncomfortable, yet unanimous decision this Saturday night over a game Ricky Hatton.
hatton by tko in the 7th or 8th round. i think hatton is too much of pressure fighter and mayweather doesn’t do well with pressure fighters. mayweather will win the first 3 rounds and get caught in rounds 4 or 5 and lose in the 7th or 8th. jalil….i want my props for this one too!!!
I was feeling you a little..all the way up to the point where you compared Ricky to Baldomir.Lol!! That shows me where your head and knowlege is on this fight game stuff.People seem very delusional with their logic and reasoning.All i can say, is that i am undefeated on fight predictions this year..and my last prediction for the year is Hatton winning the fight.Trust me, Floyd will lose and blame it on on his hands..watch and see! (my logic?)i am well aware that syles make fights,but Hatton will apply tripple the pressure De-La Hoya did(in a close scored split decison).Hatton WILL NOT tire out! He is the hungrier more determined fighter with a combination of speed, power,endurance and intelligent aggression.These are tools for beating Floyd.I also since that Floyd(as well as the general public) is under estimating Hatton.But this is just an opinion from a knowledgable fight fan that is UNDEFEATED in predictions.But on a side note,ppl kill me for not liking Floyd for being Cocky and Flashy.Thats stupid as hell.Ppl wanna get all overly moralistic..this is the sport of boxing for christ sake!! He aint runnin for office.America is the most greediest cockiest,flashiest,immoral country in the world! and y’all wanna single Floyd out.He works hard and dedicates himself to his craft,stays in shape year round.im not mad at that.He loves to make money and he performs for the love of the game and money! just like most other athletes,Floyd is just not scared to admit it.Also, it’s fair game if you can talk shit and back it up(undefeated).So make your fight predictions based on who has the skills to win a fight, nothing more or less.(not on meaningless out of the ring crap that means nothing).So on that note,If Floyd wins,i will bow down and give him his full respects as p4p and one of the best ever to do it. But for now my money is on Hatton!!Peace!
Don’t sleep on my Baldomir analogy my man. Sure, Hatton is definitely a better fighter than him, and also fights rougher on the inside. But Baldy is a natural 147-lber and has a similar, head-first style. We’ll see what happens.
I tend to agree with the second part of your discourse about Floyd and his over-the-top ways. My biggest problem with it is that it gets tired fast and simply fuels folks and their shortsighted stereotypes about urban athletes. But I guess, Floyd doesn’t care – so in some ways, he’s at least being who he is or wants to appear to be.
Saquan, you have done moderately well with the predictions, but you are really pushing it here. If you get this correct, I want you to be a guest “predictor” on my blog for the next big one!
Hatton isn’t superior in ring intelligence, he may be aggressive, and have some hand speed, but he isn’t as negotiable on his feet, and cannot pivot out of punches. Mayweather has speed, agility, the ability to roll, vast experience in huge fights, better endurance, and a very good chin.
I don’t see Hatton KO’ing Mayweather, therefore this fight goes the distance, and in a points-battle, Hatton cannot beat Mayweather. He may grab, hold, punch and smother, and he may give us some excitement, more than anyone that has faced Mayweather, but he doesn’t have the complete skill set to defeat Mayweather. If he had an amazing KO punch at 147, I’d give him a shot, but the Callazo fight showed that he doesn’t have that.
Mayweather by lopsided points.
KentuckyCelt,
I tend to agree with you; i think folks are looking Mayweather’s dancing with the stars “break in training” as an Achilles heal in this fight. Man, even after eating a year’s supply of carrots, i still can’t see it.
I completely disagree with Sa and Gee’s prediction. I see the fight playing out much like KC’s analysis: Mayweather will mezmorize Hatton with his speed, both hand and foot, and will lead and counter his way to a unanimous decision. This may seem difficult to some simply because there may not be a lot of space for Floyd to operate, but he is the master of space and once he earns Hatton’s respect and Hatton becomes apprehensive, it’s easy picking for Floyd. I think we can all agree that De la Hoya was and probably still is a more difficult target, and Floyd picked him apart. Add the fact that Floyd is the bigger man and it all adds up to an easy points victory, maybe even a late stoppage.
I think Hatton is probably the closest challenger that can beat Mayweather. However speed can make or break you…and no one hasn’t really come close to breaking Mayweather speed. This is going to be a great fight, can’t wait.
The dvd on Hatton is inspirational as well. there’s a clip to get you pumped up. http://www.rickyhattondvd.com
I don’t think Hatton needs any amazing boxing qualities to defeat Mayweather. Just pressure like De La Hoya and avoid losing stamina. I think Hatton can knockout Floyd, his chins never been tested, plus check out what Oscar and Hopkins predicted, Hatton over Floyd, but that was maybe done to promote the fight.
Hatton TKO on 10
Sniferneal I dunno about Floyd being KO’d – Hatton has never shown that kinda power, i.e. against a fighter of Floyd’s caliber. But I do agree that the “pressure-filled” blueprint is obvious, but, that’s been obvious to all of Floyd’s opponents until they run into a few blistering counter-punches early on (the plan usually changes a tad). I just hope it’s a good one.
finflam, yes, speed kills…and i think that, and floyd’s surprising strength and durability will shock hatton…but they are both in great shape, so a KO is unlikely in my opinion. i still see floyd winning by UD.
I’m changing my prediction: Floyd by 9th round TKO. I’m flabbergasted by some of the predictions, with many here predicting a Hatton victory. I’ve tried looking at this from numerous angles/perspectives, and under none can I see Hatton winning this fight.
Well, Ja Dawson your right on how Floyd’s opponents change their strategy after being countered, but thats where Hatton needs to prove himself or fall like all the other boxers and be mesmerized by Floyd’s speed.
Sniferneal…”everybody has a plan until they get hit.” 🙂
The same applies for Mayweather 🙂
We shall…please comment afterwords. ha ha
Aw Damn! I was going back and forth between the 9th and 10th in my prediction and I settled on the 9th! Close enough but maybe now you guys will see, there is no competition for this guy. He’s in a class all by himself so needless to say I was shocked that some here thought Hatton could win this fight. Who’s next … Cotto perhaps? He has no shot either.
Wow, i didnt expect a TKO by Floyd, its scary actually, i dont think theres anyone out there that can beat Floyd. Cotto’s chin is weak and
well Cintron or Williams arnt a real challenge, Margarito is another Hatton, so my hat off to Mayweather.
Orlando, excellent pick UNLIKE Saquan (yeah, Sa’ I’m calling you out! 🙂 And yes, he’s the best – he finally put it all together for the first time since his destruction of (the late) Corrales. By that, I mean he finally had a transcendent performance against another top-10 pound for pound fighter at or near his prime. Props to Floyd. I think Williams or Margarito could trouble him but would likely lose via solid decisions, respectively.
Sniferneal thanks for replying back. I actually think Margarito’s style (and height/reach) as well as Williams same assets could trouble Floyd. Enough to beat him? No. But they are REAL big welterweights, and those are the only kind that would give this wunderkind any REAL problems. That being said, if he caps of his career with a resounding win against Cotto, he’s legacy is crazy-glued. lol
Your right, I would love to see a cotto vs mayweather fight, Cotto is a great fighter, but his chin seems to be very weak, judging from past fights such as Judah and Mosley.
Sniff, I actually think Cotto’s chin has looked serviceable at 147 pounds…sure Zab rocked him, but Zab can crack (i.e. early in a fight). Shane backed him up a bit, but never actually hurt him they way I thought he would. That being said, I agree with you that Cotto would lose similarly to how Cotto lost. He does punch harder than Hatton at 147, but I think he actually may be slower than Hatton, which does not serve you well against the Pretty Boy.