Hatton, Witter and Mayweather

[UndisputedUK]

Is it generally accepted that Hatton and Witter are 1 and 2 in the 140lb division now?

They need to fight now don't they?

Is it more likely or less likely to happen if Hatton beats Mayweather?

Also, Witter has enough pop to KO Hatton?

[achillesthegreat]

Hatton is number 1 and everyone else is undecided.

The consensus should dictate that Witter is number 2. Witters has had 3 50-50 fights in his past 5 fights. This has to be respected. N'dou, Corley and Harris were all tipped to beat him.

Witter is a pain in the arse for Hatton. His style is made so Hatton comes forward and gets countered with BIG and HARD shots...

...HOWEVER Junior does not have the stamina to handle Hattons pace. He may stay in shape all year round but his camps aren't comparable to Rickys. Its better to be 110% for 3 months then to go 55% all year round.

Witters head is in the air and I'm sure he is going to get caught with screw uppercuts, right leads and left hooks.

Witters timing and range isn't good enough to rip Hatton up from range. He'll be catching him with speed. His shots are looped and Hattons gonna rip him up on the inside. Watch those uppercuts snap his head back and those body shots bend him over.

Witter will spark some trouble early but Hatton will punctuate his victory down the stretch. Corley, N'dou and Harris have pop so Hatton won't put him away just like that, he may catch him with an accumulation.

This is the pros and 12 rounds is too much for Ricky Hatton not to beat Witter, unless Witter puts him away. Hatton may be put down by speed or power. Witter has that RARE and LETHAL combination like Judah, Jones etc The sort of talent that ends fights momentarily or greatly discourage an opponent. Hatton is durable and has too much heart to not keep ploughing away.

He'll come through in the end. Win or lose Hatton MUST fight Witter after. Witter is his BIGGEST British rival. I will never forgive Ricky. This is boxing, arguments are settled in the ring. Ricky has never won the WBC too.

I head Ricky talking about fighting Witter and I get the impression he knows there is no way he can avoid the fight. The Witter 'isn't on my level' argument is slowly dwindeling. Witter has to keep winning and it'll come.

He should take an optional and then unify against Rees. He can rock Rees world.

[djb2009]

After Hatton Beats Mayweather threre's no need for Hatton to drop down to witters nobody level. FUCK WITTER1!!!!

[stake501]

After Hatton Beats Mayweather threre's no need for Hatton to drop down to witters nobody level. FUCK WITTER1!!!!

bullshit....beating up an old Zoo, looking very shit against Collazo and beating a shot Castillo means f all if as I think will happen, he gets schooled by Mayweather (I hope he wins but it will be a honeyghan type upset if he does)

Witter has been a genuine threat to Hatton for over 10 years.

It WILL be a traversty for british boxing if they dont fight.

[mike464]

I don't buy all this Hatton has great stamina rubbish. Just go and watch the Collazo and Urango fights.

[Betty Swollocks]

exactly, what amazing stamina.
and what's this bollocks about the 'he's not on my level' dwindling argument? It's been clear for years that Witter is top class, Hatton's excuses never fooled me. Sop Witter was not on his level but the likes of Vilches, Pedersen, Steve Smith etc. were? :huh Just absurd.

[Shev]

I don't believe Witter has the power to deter Hatton let alone knock him out. I think Hatton's chin is solid at 140lbs. Hatton also has the power advantage as Witter has approximately 50% of his wins by ko.

Hatton's stamina is sound as he threw 637 power shots out of a total punch count of 741 against Collazo. He also looked the best he's ever looked against Castillo albeit Castillo being shot.

[achillesthegreat]

I don't buy all this Hatton has great stamina rubbish. Just go and watch the Collazo and Urango fights.
Him and Collazo warred for 12 rounds straight and never stopped working. They both threw 50-70 shots a round. Hatton throws about 1 jab a round, its all power shots and wrestling. Collazo has great stamina and can rip 70-100 shots a round for 12 rounds.

Hatton was ill against Urango. I thought it was an excuse but I saw clear footage leading up to the Castillo fight that he was in fact ill.

[Claypole]

What has Witter done to deserve a fight with Hatton? He has looked awful for years, often against less than top level fighters now all of a sudden he has one decent performance and people think he's the dog's bollocks.
Harris offered no kind of challenge and the way Witter waded in with his chin hanging out, it was clearly no secret that Harris was shot. This fight was a simple marketing job, Witter didn't suddenly get that good at 33.
How would Witter deal with the likes of Castillo or Mauser? I think Junior Witter is actually a very good fighter but he has done nothing to convince me he deserves a shot at Hatton.

[mann187]

What has Witter done to deserve a fight with Hatton? He has looked awful for years, often against less than top level fighters now all of a sudden he has one decent performance and people think he's the dog's bollocks.
Harris offered no kind of challenge and the way Witter waded in with his chin hanging out, it was clearly no secret that Harris was shot. This fight was a simple marketing job, Witter didn't suddenly get that good at 33.
How would Witter deal with the likes of Castillo or Mauser? I think Junior Witter is actually a very good fighter but he has done nothing to convince me he deserves a shot at Hatton.

Well Witter is only the WBC champ and was calling out Hatton when Hatton was WBF or WBU champ or some shit. Witter deserves his chance at Hatton he earned it above the countless no names Hatton fought in the past. Witter was on some of Hattons undercards calling him out nearly 5 years ago and now Witter is the No 2 boxer in that division and after Mayweather deserves a shot at Hatton

["TKO"]

This so-called "rivalry" is totally one-sided. For years, Witter has been very jealous of Hatton and, I get the impression, has piggy backed a lot off Hatton's name (i.e. making offers for a "winner takes all" bout when Hatton is signed to face Urango and then Castillo). Which I can understand in a way because at least it gets people talking about him. As we have seen since he won the belt, Witter can't draw flies to his bouts. He needs to concentrate on making himself a big fighter in his own right which, to be fair, he has gone some way towards doing in the last couple of years. He, along with Malignaggi and Torres (oh and Ajose Olusegun of course), are the top contenders at 140.

[Claypole]

If Witter were to take on one or more of the "nobodies" that Hatton faced, and beat them, he might then get a shot, and perhaps people might even pay to watch.
Tszyu, Mausser, Urango, Collazo, and Castillo were quality opponents, and it's because Ricky faced, and beat the likes of them that he now gets a shot at Mayweather, the P4P No1. If Witter wants to operate at this level (He IS good enough), he needs to do better than struggle with the likes of N'Dou, Kotelnik and Lynes.

[dwilson]

If Hatton does what is expected of him and loses against Mayweather which I hope does not happen he should drop back down to 140 and try cleaning up the division. I would give him a win against anyone but the fights against Paulie Maligfaggi and Junior Witter could be great.

[mann187]

If Witter were to take on one or more of the "nobodies" that Hatton faced, and beat them, he might then get a shot, and perhaps people might even pay to watch.
Tszyu, Mausser, Urango, Collazo, and Castillo were quality opponents, and it's because Ricky faced, and beat the likes of them that he now gets a shot at Mayweather, the P4P No1. If Witter wants to operate at this level (He IS good enough), he needs to do better than struggle with the likes of N'Dou, Kotelnik and Lynes.

Yeah because Maussa and Urango were huge names. The only thing Maussa had going was beating Harris and getting the WBA belt. Urango wtf had anybody heard of him.

Im not saying Hatton faced nobodies all his career he fought Tszyu, Castillo, Tackie and Collazo im talking about that bullshit belt he had and was facing the likes of Stewart, Smith, Pendleton etc... He knows he should have fought Witter by now if not for a title just to shut him up. It would be a diffrent story if Witter was still fighting for Euro belts I would agree he dont deserve a shot but he is a world champ.

Now Witter is deserving of a shot he is the WBC champ and No2 so why dosnt he get a shot he beat Harris aswell and more convincingly then Maussa. This is what British fans want and this fight should be made after the Mayweather fight.

[Betty Swollocks]

What has Witter done to deserve a fight with Hatton? He has looked awful for years, often against less than top level fighters now all of a sudden he has one decent performance and people think he's the dog's bollocks.
Harris offered no kind of challenge and the way Witter waded in with his chin hanging out, it was clearly no secret that Harris was shot. This fight was a simple marketing job, Witter didn't suddenly get that good at 33.
How would Witter deal with the likes of Castillo or Mauser? I think Junior Witter is actually a very good fighter but he has done nothing to convince me he deserves a shot at Hatton.

just what the hell are you talking about? Think about it. Witter is the WBC belt holder with some solid wins and no matter how much anyone doesn't like him they cannot deny he's one of the best in the division. I personally think he's the number 1. So he still doesn't 'deserve' a fight with Hatton huh? Laughable comment.
Look who Hatton was fighting all those years with Witter calling him out. The fight made perfect sense for years, only Hatton's ducking meant is hasn't happened.

the belt thing alone...Hatton was eager to fight belt holders like Maussa and Urango...he seems to have gone off the beltholders since Witter got one.
Hatton's excuses have changed, but the underlying truth remains the same...he wants no part of Witter.

[Claypole]

I agree with many of the above points, and if you look at Witter's record then yes, I would concede he does deserve a crack at Hatton. I'm not basing my opinions on statistics though, I'm looking at how he's performed during his career.
All too often he has promised us great things, then looked awful whilst fiddling and spoiling his way past opponents.This has never made him the most marketable of fighters, and if he ends up never getting a shot at Hatton, he only has himself to blame. He had his huge chance against Judah, but bottled it.
I quite like Witter and would like to see him fight Hatton, I just feel he should be doing a bit more. If he took on somebody like Mausser, rather than one of his victims, then maybe some real interest will develop.

["TKO"]

He knows he should have fought Witter by now if not for a title just to shut him up. It would be a diffrent story if Witter was still fighting for Euro belts I would agree he dont deserve a shot but he is a world champ.

Now Witter is deserving of a shot he is the WBC champ and No2 so why dosnt he get a shot he beat Harris aswell and more convincingly then Maussa. This is what British fans want and this fight should be made after the Mayweather fight.

I agree that right now Witter is deserving of a shot at Hatton. However, we can hardly have a pop at him for not fighting Witter next when he's stepping up to 147 to take on the undefeated p4p #1 in his own backyard. If Hatton returns to 140 after the Mayweather fight then Witter, along with Malignaggi and Torres is the best contender out there.

As for fighting just for the sake of shutting him up, boxing don't work like that. Witter, for most of his career, has been two steps behind Hatton (an unknown when Hatton was a prospect, an upcomer when Hatton was a contender, a contender when Hatton was a champ, now he's finally a champ Hatton is in megafights). Along with his ugly style and serious lack of marketability, he brought nothing to the table, simple as. Witter has looked to drum up publicity for himself by parading himself as Hatton's "rival" simply on the British angle (i.e. "we're both British therefore we should fight") and some have bought it. His reason for doing this is because if he had tried to drum himself up as a rival to another big fighter without the British angle (i.e. Cotto, Mayweather, Tszyu) he'd have got laughed the hell out of Dodge, especially after that performance against Judah.

If you want to start demanding a shot and calling out the champ, you have to do something to distinguish yourself, to stand out from the crowd. Witter, until his recent victories over Ndou, Corley and Harris, had not done that. Right now, he has finally shown himself as a stand-out guy at 140 and after Mayweather is one of the few fighters who can legitimately demand a shot at Hatton on merit.

["TKO"]

just what the hell are you talking about? Think about it. Witter is the WBC belt holder with some solid wins and no matter how much anyone doesn't like him they cannot deny he's one of the best in the division. I personally think he's the number 1. So he still doesn't 'deserve' a fight with Hatton huh? Laughable comment.
Look who Hatton was fighting all those years with Witter calling him out. The fight made perfect sense for years, only Hatton's ducking meant is hasn't happened.

the belt thing alone...Hatton was eager to fight belt holders like Maussa and Urango...he seems to have gone off the beltholders since Witter got one.
Hatton's excuses have changed, but the underlying truth remains the same...he wants no part of Witter.

I've no doubt the fight made perfect sense for Witter. A huge payday for a guy who couldn't draw flies off his own back and win, lose or draw he gets his name in the spotlight again when it was mud after the Judah fight. Hatton gains nothing, as per my previous post, Witter has always been two steps behind him and has not been any kind of draw. Until very recently, apart from happening to be born on the same mass of land, Witter has had very little to distinguish him from a number of other fighters in the division. And as I stated, if you want the right to call out a fighter and demand a shot, you have to distinguish yourself. Whilst Hatton was the be all and end all for Witter (simply because he can't draw flies to shit), he was not the same to Hatton.

As for belts, is he not challenging for the WBC 147lb one in his next fight then? I am just having a bit of trouble reconciling this notion that Hatton has apparently "ducked" a fighter who until recently has been pretty irrelevant to face the likes of Tszyu and Mayweather. I mean, if you're ducking someone, you generally do so because you're afraid of losing to them, right? Anyone with half a brain would have said Hatton had more chance of losing to either of those two than he does to Junior Witter, no?

Anyway, enough of this, where's Olu to bring up both Hatton and Witter's shameful ducking of Ajose Olusegun???

[GazOC]

I seem to remember that HBO were interested in making Hatton/ Witter a few years ago and showcased Witter to get people interested. Witter 'fluffed his lines' en route to a boring win and HBO lost interest.

[The Hitman]

I think this is a fight Ricky has to take, win or lose against PBF. If he wins against PBF, then Witter represents arguably his best challenge out there. If he loses then Witter represents a way to become a 140 beltholder again and capture a title that has eluded him. It will also answer the domestic question that has dogged him his whole career.

Go on Ricky, agree to the fight :deal

[GazOC]

Hatton doesnt want Witter,he wants no part of him,he knows the canvas awaits his back if he ever signs to fight Witter

Christ!! Witter beats a half decent opponent in Harris and all of a sudden he's a world beater. Witter fans seem to think that Hatton is going to stand stock still in mid-range and let Witter tee off on him....

If Hatton loses to PBF then Witter or Paulie M would make good comeback fights at 140.

[GazOC]

Witter has always been world class,there are reasons beyond boxing why a lot of people didnt want to recognise him,true fight fans know he is a great guy,even Hatton knows that,he would rather fight a tougher foreigner than Witter because if he loses outside the country he will still be great in Britain,what happens when Witter sends him to the canvas with a loud thud like Homer Simpson

Thats some slant on why Hatton is fighting Mayweather instead of Witter!!:lol:

The money and world wide acclaim of (possibly) beating the P4P #1 might also have something to do with it?

[AREA 53]

Junior does need to consolidate the good impression he has made against Harris with a futher impressive win or two against name opporsition, if Junior does that he may actually get the TV mogals wanting Junior Vs Ricky as well, and once you have them on your side things can happen, " The Hitman Vs The Hitter " it evan has a ready made Tag line,

How Does Junior consolidate ? off his performance against Kendall Holt i think Junior would stand Ricardo Torres on his Head, as a division double champion Junior would force the American fans and TV string pullers to really take notice,

Zab Judah ?, i am sure Zab would want to feel a belt around his waist once more could he be persueded to revisit 140lb to fight a man he has already beaten and would feel confident ofdoing again ? Junior fully prepared in now a different animal then the late sub newcomer that Zab beat, but still struggled look good against, this Mature Whitter might be favoured gain revenge against Zab, again it would be very Noteworthy across the pond, and do Juniors Rep no harm at All,

With Ricky Focused on Mayweather, and depending on how he gets on perhaps the winner or loser of Cotto & Mosley. Junior does not want to stall and slip off the radar, he need to keep his momentum and profile high

I would Favour Ricky over Junior providing he is not damaged/worn down by his welterweight adventures, If Ricky Saves Junior for his Farewell fight, he may not be so motivated and he could fall apart like Paul Hoko Hodkinson against Steve Robinson.

Hopefully it can take place within a year before long carrers start to take a toll, Junior and his performances need to nudge it along just a little bit more i feel
( neither of them really needs Paul Malenoggi (?)

Good Luck to both Ricky and Junior.

[Sheehan]

I don't buy all this Hatton has great stamina rubbish. Just go and watch the Collazo and Urango fights.

why dont you try watching the 40 odd other fights, god how stupid can you be?

[Max Molyneux]

why dont you try watching the 40 odd other fights, god how stupid can you be?
His stamina might not be what It used to be though.

His stamina will drain even faster after all the shots he will take from Floyd and Floyd's leagues better than Callazo.

[Naidah]

Hatton fans hate Witter. They just wish he would go away, because they know he'd be a real threat and would have been a real threat had the fight ever taken place.

I disagree with the people that think Witter cannot hurt Hatton. Yes Ricky has a solid chin, but Magee had him in serious trouble as did Collarzo. I think Witter hits harder than those 2 guys and will like the fact that Hatton is going to him. Witter is an effective counter puncher.

With Hatton having moved up to face Mayweather at 147, Witter is now the best 140 in the world. I doubt Hatton will come back down, because apart from Witter there are no fights there for Ricky. Hatton has already said he does not want to give Witter a pay day, so I cannot see the fight happening.

[grayggr]

Hatton fans hate Witter. They just wish he would go away, because they know he'd be a real threat and would have been a real threat had the fight ever taken place.

I disagree with the people that think Witter cannot hurt Hatton. Yes Ricky has a solid chin, but Magee had him in serious trouble as did Collarzo. I think Witter hits harder than those 2 guys and will like the fact that Hatton is going to him. Witter is an effective counter puncher.

With Hatton having moved up to face Mayweather at 147, Witter is now the best 140 in the world. I doubt Hatton will come back down, because apart from Witter there are no fights there for Ricky. Hatton has already said he does not want to give Witter a pay day, so I cannot see the fight happening.

Magee DID NOT have hatton in SERIOUS trouble. Watch the fight again. Flash knockdown did not = Serious Trouble.

Collazo did have Hatton in serious trouble, at Ricky's first fight at a bigger weight, against a bigger guy, at short notice.

Who has Witter faced save for fringe contenders in the last year or so, and Zab Judah many moons ago, to warrant the sudden overhype.???

He recorded an impressive performance against Vivian Harris and then suddenly he's a Hatton beater....

Hatton's most recent comments on Sky Sports suggest hat he may be willing to face Witter in the future. Although if he does and beats him, then Witter will be shot obv.

[Nemesis]

Magee DID NOT have hatton in SERIOUS trouble. Watch the fight again. Flash knockdown did not = Serious Trouble.

Collazo did have Hatton in serious trouble, at Ricky's first fight at a bigger weight, against a bigger guy, at short notice.

Who has Witter faced save for fringe contenders in the last year or so, and Zab Judah many moons ago, to warrant the sudden overhype.???

He recorded an impressive performance against Vivian Harris and then suddenly he's a Hatton beater....

Hatton's most recent comments on Sky Sports suggest hat he may be willing to face Witter in the future. Although if he does and beats him, then Witter will be shot obv.
he was more hurt in the 2nd round against Magee, not on queer street but still hurt all the same

[Naidah]

he was more hurt in the 2nd round against Magee, not on queer street but still hurt all the same


I am a Hatton fan, but from memory I think you are correct. Hatton got floored in the first round, then was hurt in the 2nd as well. It forced Hatton to change his game plan.

In terms of Witter, he has beaten some decent, credible opposition. He may not have looked great, but the likes of Kotelnik, Lynes and Ndou have all done reasonably ok since losing to Witter, in Ndou's case he picked up a world title, in Lynes a European title and Kotelnik was screwed out of a world title.

Witter's had to do things the hard way, winning the British, Commonwealth, European and then fight world ranked opponents before getting his world title shot. I see no sense in knocking his opposition. He's had a better career than most, and at his absolute best, yeah I can see him giving Hatton problems. Hatton is not Sugar Ray Leonard that I should think otherwise.

[IronBull]

Hatton and Mayweather coming in Manchester on Friday?

[elle]

Hatton and Mayweather coming in Manchester on Friday?



I assume you are more of a Mayweather fan from your avatar.

They will both be appearing at Manchester Town Hall 10.30am Friday 21st September - press conference and fan rally.