05.12.07 – By Andrew Wake: British boxing promoter Frank Warren believes that the only way his former fighter Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton can win Saturday’s big welterweight clash with Floyd “Pretty Boy” Mayweather is by taking to the fight to the undefeated American and trying to build up a considerable points lead in the early sessions..
“I hope for the sake of British boxing’s sake that Ricky wins, but he’s really up against it.” Warren said, in his column for tabloid newspaper The Sun. “Unless he jumps on him in the first three or four rounds and really dominates, he’ll find himself being out-boxed and completely out of the fight.”
“This isn’t a contest that Hatton will come into late on – if he isn’t on top by the sixth, he’s in trouble.”
Warren, who fell out with Ricky after a promotional dispute two and a half years ago, also stated that he believes Floyd Mayweather to be the first world class fighter in his prime that “The Hitman” has faced and that his performances since he beat Russian/Aussie legend Kostya Tsyzu – fights that were all for world titles – have been substandard.
“Tszyu was always vulnerable against a fighter who could fight on the inside with a high work rate. He was made for Hatton.” He said. “That was probably Hatton’s last really good showing, Ricky himself said prior to the Castillo fight his performances were well below par as he failed to look the part when he beat Juan Urango, Luis Collazo and Carlos Maussa.”
He added “While everyone is raving about his last win, over former world light-weight champion Jose Luis Castillo, he was a shot fighter. Hatton caught him with a great body shot, but Castillo definitely looked for a way out.”
As a parting shot Warren also commented on Hatton’s motives for taking this weekend’s contest, he said “The real reason he’s stepping up? Because he’s going to get paid big money, the same reason why he was prepared to walk away from promoter Dennis Hobson and allow De La Hoya’s Golden Boy to promote the fight.”