HATTON ? MALIGNAGGI OUTCOME UNPREDICTABLE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 22 Nov 2008
While Filipino fight fans would probably be far more interested in finding out whether WBO No.1 ranked super bantamweight Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista has recovered from the trauma of his devastating first round knockout by then WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce De Leon when he battles tough Heriberto ?Cuate? Ruiz of Mexico, the Ricky ?Hitman? Hatton ? Paul Malugnaggi light welterweight showdown surely merits attention.
By all indications the outcome is unpredictable and anybody?s guess because of the many imponderables that come into play.
In some respects HBO is correct when it says this is the last chance for both fighters.
From a Filipino?s point of view a win by Hatton will fuel the talk and the possibility of a future clash between Britain?s ?Hitman? and the Filipino ring icon. In an interview with www.insidesports.ph some months ago the father of Hatton and his sometime trainer Ray Hatton told us that they were eager to fight Pacquiao and were looking for a date around May or June next year.
Hatton told us it would be an explosive fight between what he claimed were the best and most exciting fighters in the world today ? a claim that indeed has some merit. But that was before Joe Calzaghe did a job on Roy Jones Jr.
So from a national perspective a Hatton win would be preferable if not desirable. But of course how Pacquiao performs against Oscar De La Hoya on December 6 at the same venue will impact on a future Hatton-Pacquiao showdown.
But first things first. Can Hatton overcome Malignaggi especially in the light of his tendency to booze in-between fights and to put on weight in an uncontrolled fashion?
We?ve got to concede that when Hatton trains, he trains hard and with the masterful Floyd Mayweather Jr handling Hatton?s preparation for this fight we are bound to see a sharper, better fighter than in his last fight against Juan Lazcano which Hatton won but not in particularly impressive fashion. In fact, Lazcano wobbled ?The Hitman? a couple of times in the fight.
Malignaggi, ?The Magic Man? will surely have to pull some tricks out of his bag if he hopes to win and look ahead at bigger fights including a possible clash with Pacquiao.
The flashy Brooklyn fighter with an Italian heritage has always had trouble with his right hand which he broke when he outpointed Lovemore N?dou in their rematch last May. It was the third time that Malignaggi?s hand gave up on him which raises doubts about how effectively and often he could use the right against a strong Hatton who likes to come forward and wear his opponent down, often throwing punches and grabbing so his opponent cannot counter-punch which is one of the strengths of Malignaggi.
The 27 year old is known for a superb left jab but it?s clear that he can?t beat a fighter like Hatton with one hand.atto
Besides, Hatton does have some sort of jab of his own and while he comes forward he will sometimes come from different angles which could trouble Malignaggi as the fight wears on.
The record of Malignaggi shows only 5 knockouts which sends the clear message that he can?t punch with any real power primarily because of his battered right hand. That should give Hatton the confidence to be the aggressor and when he does it could create a whole lot of problems for the Brooklyn kid.
What will probably determine the end result is just how much better a fighter Hatton is after his team-up with Mayweather. Both men have publicly stated that everything has gone perfectly.
That may well be true in the gym in training. But in the ring in an actual fight, things could well be different and ?The Magic Man? may yet pull something out of his hat.
Fight fans can find out by watching the coverage over the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN which will telecast the fights beginning at 10:00 a.m. over its premier channel, Channel 2.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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