While there
are very few certainties in life, it was quite clear to anybody who knows
anything about boxing that it was inevitable Ricky Hatton was going to lose
this fight. Hatton didn’t lose the fight because senchenko is a better fighter
or even that he is too old to box, but because of his bad boxing habits which
would probably end a less punch resistant fighter's career within ten fights.
Hatton throughout
his career and throughout the Senchenko fight refused to tuck and protect his
chin, which in boxing, leaves you open to a good jab and subsequent
combinations. This is made worse as Hatton has the tendency of leading with his
face which is incredibly stupid for a fighter like Hatton to do against fighter
like Senchenko who has a decent jab and a serious reach and height advantage.
This is why
in later rounds of the fight; Senchenko started picking Hatton off with stiff
jabs and slick combinations when Hatton couldn’t keep up the pace of the
opening rounds. Hatton could have beaten Senchenko if he looked at his
opponent’s weak spots as senchenko, due to his tendency to arch his back when
tucking in his chin, leaves him susceptible to a good hook and uppercuts on the
inside. If Hatton could have got close, the uppercut would have been open to
him all night but Hatton chose to go to the body which Senchenko took notably
in his stride.
You could
tell Senchenko knew was going win as he came into the ring wearing a Manchester
united shirt in venue filled to the brim with Manchester city supporters singing
in unison the club’s ‘Blue Moon’ anthem when
Hatton approached the ring. He took a number of Hatton’s shots with a smile on
his face probably in the knowledge that the fight was going his in the later
rounds, which unfortunately for Hatton turned out to be the case.
Many people
may have made their prediction about Hatton winning this fight by looking at Senchenko
performance against Paul Malignaggi, who outboxed and outwitted the Ukrainian for
nine rounds straight through the slickest use of footwork and hand speed you’ll
ever see in a boxing ring. Malignaggi, like Hatton, gave up a major height and
reach advantage, but unlike Hatton, Malignaggi is tactically conscious using
his speed advantage to earn him a 9th round stoppage to once again become a
world champion.
The smarter
strategy Hatton should have used if he was serious about become a world
champion again would have started with a move outside of the ring by fighting
opponents at light welterweight rather than welterweight, where he made his name.
at this division he would follow the risky strategy of ‘taking one punch to land two’ as
he seemed to able to take a good punch at this level without being ruffled enough
to take him a out of his gameplan of stalking opponents every round and
unloading the most vicious body punches you ever seen thrown.
However this all
changed when he moved to welterweight where fighters at this weight were more
punch resistant and hit harder than light welterweights, which the bouts with Mayweather
and Pacquiao fight proved beyond reasonable doubt, was a combination that was
to Hatton’s detriment.
In sum,
Ricky Hatton contribution to boxing will never be in question as most boxers
would sell their grandmother and throw an aunt into the bargain to achieve what
he has in his spectacular career but as warned in the carnage report article ‘pride comes before the fall'’, pride is the
worst motivations to ever step in the ring.
