Sharkie’s Week in Boxing - The Hitman Cometh

By Frank Gonzalez

Hatton (27-0-0-22 KO’s) Vs. Krivolopov (34-2-0-18 KO’s)

Manchester England’s Ricky Hatton (Photo: Tom Casino/Showtime) beat WBC #4 ranked Mikhail Krivolopov Saturday in front of his hometown fans, defending his Commonwealth Light Welterweight title for the fifth time, improving his record to 28-0. Hatton is like a human Pit bull; he’s a tenacious offensive fighter who doesn’t stop attacking. Krivolopov is a decent fighter who showed heart and chin, but proved to be no match for the relentless Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton.

Hatton is a high volume puncher who possesses a sneaky upper cut that he loves using in close. Although he’s known to be a bleeder, he was uncut in his bout Saturday night. From the opening bell, Hatton was all over Krivolopov, effective both inside and outside. Krivolopov was at times able to tag Hatton, showing the chinks in Ricky’s Armour. It was a competitive fight only because Krivolopov wouldn’t quit. In the ninth round, after taking so much punishment, referee Mickey Vann stopped the contest just when it seemed Hatton would knock him out for sure. Though he was courageous and in top condition, Krivolopov didn’t win a single round. Hatton’s high-energy style coupled with a vicious arsenal of punches proved too much for the soft punching, defensive minded Krivolopov to handle.

Hatton, at only 23 years old looks to have much promise in the talent laden welterweight division. Most of his fights have ended with early knockouts, leaving questions about his stamina. Going nine rounds with Krivolopov was a good thing for Ricky, to get more rounds and be able to gage his durability. He passed that test easily. He looked well conditioned and capable of going the distance, even with his high work rate.

During the post fight interview Hatton was asked who he wants to fight next. The name Kostya Tszyu came up. Hatton dispelled the rumors about his being so anxious to take on world champion Tszyu, saying that he’s only 23 and still needs a few more good fights under his belt before attempting to beat Kostya, for whom he has great respect. He said after a few more fights, he hopes to be ready to take on Tszyu by next spring. He hopes his next match will be with Eamonn Magee of Ireland who also successfully defended his title on the under-card Saturday.

Ricky said he wants to fight in the USA and hoped his showing Saturday night was exciting for the American fans that watched him fight on Showtime. I can think of a few fighters I’d like to see him take on, like Antonio Diaz or Mickey Ward, which would be very competitive. If he dispatches those guys, I’d like to see him against Ben Tackie or even Zab Judah before moving up to take on Kostya Tszyu. He will do well in the States, especially if he can tighten up his defense a bit. Just for pure enjoyment, I would love to see him expose Hector Camacho Jr. But we all know that fight would never happen, especially if Camacho ever sees tapes of Hatton’s fights.

Eamonn Magee (22-2-0-17 KO’s) Vs. Jon Thaxton (21-6-0-9 KO’s)

Irish welterweight fighter Eamonn Magee of Belfast improved his record to 23-2 stopping Englishman Jon Thaxton in the sixth round of their 140-pound match up on the under-card of Hatton vs. Krivolopov.

Magee was out-boxed in the first round by the athletic Thaxton but floored him in the third round with a left hook Thaxton walked right into. Between rounds, Jon’s trainer gave him some instructions to take into the next round. His trainer paused and told him to ‘smile.’ I thought that was cool. Thaxton out hustled Magee in the fourth and fifth rounds but was overwhelmed by Eamonn in the sixth round causing the referee to halt the bout when Jon was so dazed he stopped defending himself.

Magee is probably going to be Hatton’s next opponent. Hatton will find Magee a tough customer as Eamonn is a hard-hitting methodic fighter who seems relaxed in the ring. However it works out, it’s a fight I look forward to seeing.

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Other Fights

Featherweight Juan Ruiz improved his record to 9-0 on Friday night against unbeaten John Nolasco, also 8-0 coming into the fight. This was an action packed six rounder. Ruiz played the Bull to Nolasco’s Matador. The Bull got his due this time. It’s a rare thing to see young unbeaten fighters take on anything other than easy opponents as they build their records to 15-0 before taking on even mediocre challengers.

David Bostice (27-5-1-13 KO’s) took on perennial loser Frankie Swindel (37-23-4-28 KO’s) in an extremely boring heavyweight fight that showcased slow, lethargic Bostice in a fight designed to beef up his record. He won over Swindel, who has such short arms that it’s almost comical. Swindel almost made a fight of it tagging Bostice several times, backing him into the ropes. It was too much, too little, too late for Swindel who maintains his losing streak at nine losses in his last nine outings. In spite of winning, Bostice looks like a shot fighter and should consider retiring from Boxing.

D. Williams (24-3-0-16 KO’s) vs. Robert Allen (31-4-0-24 KO’s)

Two-time contender Robert Allen used power, poise and patience to beat the anxious Dwaine Williams who looked too small moving up in weight and facing Allen. The fight went back and forth for a while until the 10th round when the southpaw Allen took over the tempo and dominated Williams to get the win by decision, retaining his NABF Middleweight Title.

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Other News

‘Golden Boy’ Oscar De La Hoya supposedly will retire from Boxing after his scheduled May 4th fight with Fernando Vargas according to his publicist. At age 29, De La Hoya says he wants to retire from Boxing as a champion and with his health in tact. It is said that he has been planning to become a Boxing promoter in his new venture Golden Boy Productions.

Hatton, Magee victorious, headed for all-UK showdown!

Walter C. Donovan, III

10.02 - On Saturday night in Manchester, England, unbeaten WBU junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton used devastating right uppercuts and a punishing body attack to defend his title for the fifth time in stopping WBC #4 ranked Mikhail Krivolapov at 2:31 of the ninth round. Hatton, rated WBO #2 and WBA #6, showed solid offensive skills and excellent conditioning in bringing his undefeated record to 28-0 (23), while the courageous, but thoroughly beaten Krivolapov saw his record slip to 34-3 (18). Up next for Hatton will likely be an all-British showdown with WBC #5 Eamonn Magee, 23-2 (18), who successfully defended his Commonwealth title for the fifth time on the undercard, dropping countryman Jon Thaxton, 21-7 (9), in round three en route to a convincing sixth round technical knockout.

This night belonged to Hatton, who's on the cusp of a world title bout against either WBO champ DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley, or newly crowned WBA champ (not really, but that's the official ruling) knockout artist Randall Bailey. Hatton displayed terrific inside fighting skills, using potent left hooks and lethal, sneaky uppercuts that will make him exciting to watch. But he's nowhere near ready for the likes of undisputed junior welter champ Kostya Tszyu or ex-IBF titlist Zab Judah. Hatton is still hesitant to throw more than one potent punch at a time, and is vulnerable to counter right hands, which the defensive-minded Krivolapov exploited on several occasions. Nevertheless, a showdown with either Mickey Ward or Arturo Gatti would be an explosive confrontation, and a true fight fan's fight.