The Hatton Strategy

BY: Rota Em

The Hitman has seen many brands of fighters in his eleven and a half years in the ring. From the likes of veteran Kostya Tszyu and speedster Paulie Malignaggi, to rugged brawlers like Jose Luis Castillo and Juan Urango, Hatton has undoubtedly cemented his own style as a dominant governor of the junior welterweight division. With an exception to the sole loss, a knockout at the hands of the undaunted slickster Floyd Mayweather Jr. at welterweight, Ricky Hatton (45-1, 32 KOs) has rarely been touched let alone be in danger of defeat in a 140-lb fight. This is an extremely bold statement considering the catch weight has bred many exceptional champions and has seen many more pass through its gates within the last decade. And in those ten plus years, even his decision wins were great in disparity. Simply put, all 12 fights that have gone to the cards have been clear-cut unanimous decision wins in the eyes of the judges. Even his gaudy conqueror, Mayweather Jr., cannot assert this notion about himself.



Strictly from a stature point of view, Ricky is just a tad short of the ideal height for a welterweight but that obviously hasn’t been a problem for him. He looks to be closer to 5’6” (as Wikipedia lists) rather than the 5’7 ½” that boxrec.com boasts. But in all fairness late greats such as “Homicidal Hank” Armstrong, Aaron Pryor, and Barney Ross are all 5’7” or under. His ‘boxy’, square-chinned build hides no secrets as to why he can take a good lickin’. Furthermore, he has excellent maneuverability and a nice pop in his punches.



Floyd Mayweather Sr. is entrusted with the delicate task of taking everything about Richard John Hatton and molding a specimen that can out-duel, out-gun, and out-last the former WBC lightweight champion and reigning pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao. The self-proclaimed ‘shoulder roll’ trendsetter will embark on devising a defense system to neutralize the Pacman’s speed and movement. Much of the required ingredients, however, the Hitman should already have. We often hear that a fighter either has it or he doesn’t. With some things you simply cannot instill when it just doesn’t come naturally. So let’s go over what Hatton needs to do in order to thank (with a win) the hundreds of thousands of fans who have supported him every step of the way.



“There’s only one Ricky Fatton!”



Another poorly-kept secret is the fact that Manchester’s own has been known to balloon to forty pounds above his campaigning weight in between contracts, hence “Fatton”. Ring experts and analysts would credit this non boxer-like peculiarity for his low gas finishes of late. When you’re physically trying to hold your own against naturally bigger guys like Luis Collazo, most certainly depletion becomes a problem by the time the last bell comes. Some fighters utilize plyometrics training to hone strength and energy. With plyometrics, targeted muscles are loaded, contracted, and spent in rapid sequence to stimulate elasticity and innervation to ultimately increase the speed or force of muscular contractions. Some example areas that this training can address are to increase the height of a jump or to maintain speed bursts and fast recovery throughout an entire performance. Hatton wouldn’t necessarily need to follow this specific regiment but the ideal improvement region would surely be stamina and conditioning. He should be consistent in his offensive strategy to ensure that he has gas for the later rounds, should he need them. Normally when advising a prone-to-tire fighter, you wouldn’t suggest that he go after his opponent but in this case I think Pacquiao would have more trouble fighting while backpedaling so it should be mandatory that Mayweather Sr. infuse the ‘always forward’ mentality. You can’t wait for a faster guy to make the first move. Frankly put, come ready and in shape and stay consistent throughout the fight.



‘Float like a butterfly’… counterclockwise.



Hatton has speed. But in this fight with Pacquiao, it’s not about whether he has the quickness or not. It’s whether he can ‘catch up’ to the lighter man that makes the biggest difference. Now remember, Hatton is a ‘box’. He’s a large target compared to Pacquiao so his movement might not necessarily get him out of range all the time. His biggest defense against the lightning fast Filipino is a little dance called ‘jab, jab, body, body, side step.’ It’s crucial that he ends the dance with a ‘side step’. You might even catch the ‘step’ repeated more than once during some intervals. He won’t outrun Manny, but he can make himself harder to be reached. He’ll look like David Diaz if he just stands in front of the Pacman. And Diaz didn’t do it by choice.



‘Sting like a bee’… and add feints.



This key has to do particularly with his movement and timing. He can dance with Pacquiao all night but there’s only one direction that can bear fruits to this labor. The Hitman needs to move to his left, specifically away from Pacman’s left hand. Ever since the annihilating wins over Erik Morales, the implementation of the right hand (once dubbed the Manila Ice) has been central to Pacquiao’s success. This will surely make it harder for any opponent now that there are two fully functional cannons on board. Nevertheless, we all would tend to agree that it’d be a smarter idea to circle away from the naturally stronger hand and allow only fractional contribution. And since that left will partially be out of commission, Pacquiao will look to over-assert it and that’s when Hatton can time and ‘sting’ the daring Filipino.



Live downstairs but sneak upstairs.



Lastly, Ricky needs to go to the body. Aiming for a little guy who has the head and upper body movement of prime Tyson is extremely difficult. De la Hoya’s ill-fated plan to engage Pacquiao in his fight was easily trounced. Hatton should apply body shots to his combinations. In fact, his combos should revolve AROUND working the body. In standing toe-to-toe, Hatton will risk being bruised, bloodied, and cut. The last of the three poses the biggest threat (for both). Pacquiao was cut in his first fight with Morales and you could clearly see the Filipino flustered and bothered. Hint: this was his last loss.



Hatton has the tools to break down any opponent in front of him. Now it’s only a matter of whether he’ll use the right ones at the right time. Mapping the blue-print is a fraction of the equation, executing it is the other 99.99%.Catch the action live on May 2 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.