A little Willie Pep, a little Joe Frazier...
Such is how Ricky Hatton characterized his victory over Juan Urango last night in a post-fight interview with Larry Merchant (this after he patted down Larry's head with a handful of spit, saying "your 'air's a bit mussed up there Larry" - king of the pub that lad, no doubt). Hatton was one of two marquee names on the card last night - Jose Luis Castillo preceded him to the ring in a very entertaining bout with Herman Ngoudjo of Cameroon. All eyes were on Castillo and Hatton with an eye towards the two of them mixing it up sometime around June in a superbout of junior welters. As for myself, I was very impressed with both of them, particularly Castillo.
That assessment may seem odd if you watched the fights, because Hatton was clearly the more dominant victor, while Castillo probably fought at 75% of his capacity, if that. Castillo won a close split decision while Hatton won unanimously with all three judges cards reading 119-109.
But Castillo's was a much more dangerous opponent. Ngoudjo looked great last night, gorgeous footwork, a long, kinetic jab, with powerful, fast hands when he got inside. It was clear to me that Castillo had underrrated Ngoudjo - the Mexican warrior looked listless, almost bored, in the first few rounds. In a way, however, that's what impressed me. He wasn't in great shape, he wasn't expecting a tough fight, and yet he found himself in a battle and still didn't lose his cool. His corner was panicking in the middle rounds, but not him. He was serene, joking with photographers, telling his seconds it was under control. This is a true veteran of the wars, Chavez's sparring partner - it takes more than an upstart with a jab to get him ruffled. He saw early on that it was going to be a long fight and he paced himself, concentrating his work on Ngoudjo's body while Ngoudjo landed more crowd-pleasing head shots. By the eighth, it was clear that Ngoudjo was out of steam, at which point Castillo upped his work rate. We think of boxing as such an instinctual, savage occupation, but the way Castillo went about his business last night was positively surgical. He wasn't in great condition mentally or physically, but he knew exactly what he needed to do to win that fight, and he did it as if he were following an algorithm. The sweet science, indeed.
As for Hatton, he did a nice job in there against a very strong, if unspectacular opponent. He put on a boxing exhibition in the early rounds (not exactly Willie Pep-like, but hey, what is really?), traded in the middle rounds (again, not quite Smokin Joe material, very far from it actually), and then did a lot of clutching and grabbing late. He knew he wasn't going to hurt Urango, who looked like a freakin middleweight tank in there with that body of his. So Hatton cruised a little, way ahead on points, protected that big Castillo payday. I don't begrudge him that. You have to pick your battles. It wasn't a tremendous showing, but after his debacle with Collazo at 147, it was more than enough to prove that he is still a powerhouse at 140.
Hatton is already hyping the Castillo fight, and taking a swipe at Oscar/Floyd while he's at it. He's quoted today on BBC Sport as saying, "If you want to watch a chess match then De La Hoya versus Mayweather is the one to see. But if you want to see two guys knock the hell out of each other, then come and watch us."
Two guys knocking the hell out of each other, one of them Jose Luis Castillo? Shit, Ricky, I hope you know what you're getting into, because you've got a lot to live up to on that one. I refer you to exhibit A (check out Dan Goosen - "you gotta fuckin get inside on him now"):
That assessment may seem odd if you watched the fights, because Hatton was clearly the more dominant victor, while Castillo probably fought at 75% of his capacity, if that. Castillo won a close split decision while Hatton won unanimously with all three judges cards reading 119-109.
But Castillo's was a much more dangerous opponent. Ngoudjo looked great last night, gorgeous footwork, a long, kinetic jab, with powerful, fast hands when he got inside. It was clear to me that Castillo had underrrated Ngoudjo - the Mexican warrior looked listless, almost bored, in the first few rounds. In a way, however, that's what impressed me. He wasn't in great shape, he wasn't expecting a tough fight, and yet he found himself in a battle and still didn't lose his cool. His corner was panicking in the middle rounds, but not him. He was serene, joking with photographers, telling his seconds it was under control. This is a true veteran of the wars, Chavez's sparring partner - it takes more than an upstart with a jab to get him ruffled. He saw early on that it was going to be a long fight and he paced himself, concentrating his work on Ngoudjo's body while Ngoudjo landed more crowd-pleasing head shots. By the eighth, it was clear that Ngoudjo was out of steam, at which point Castillo upped his work rate. We think of boxing as such an instinctual, savage occupation, but the way Castillo went about his business last night was positively surgical. He wasn't in great condition mentally or physically, but he knew exactly what he needed to do to win that fight, and he did it as if he were following an algorithm. The sweet science, indeed. As for Hatton, he did a nice job in there against a very strong, if unspectacular opponent. He put on a boxing exhibition in the early rounds (not exactly Willie Pep-like, but hey, what is really?), traded in the middle rounds (again, not quite Smokin Joe material, very far from it actually), and then did a lot of clutching and grabbing late. He knew he wasn't going to hurt Urango, who looked like a freakin middleweight tank in there with that body of his. So Hatton cruised a little, way ahead on points, protected that big Castillo payday. I don't begrudge him that. You have to pick your battles. It wasn't a tremendous showing, but after his debacle with Collazo at 147, it was more than enough to prove that he is still a powerhouse at 140.Hatton is already hyping the Castillo fight, and taking a swipe at Oscar/Floyd while he's at it. He's quoted today on BBC Sport as saying, "If you want to watch a chess match then De La Hoya versus Mayweather is the one to see. But if you want to see two guys knock the hell out of each other, then come and watch us."
Two guys knocking the hell out of each other, one of them Jose Luis Castillo? Shit, Ricky, I hope you know what you're getting into, because you've got a lot to live up to on that one. I refer you to exhibit A (check out Dan Goosen - "you gotta fuckin get inside on him now"):
9 Comments:
Ngoudjo alone made the card worthwhile. It'll be interesting to see what direction he heads after a great showing against Castillo.
I'm with you, UM. Dude definitely looks like a potential contender with a little more experience. Probably could have had Castillo if he hadn't shot his wad so early.
Ngoudjo is definitely a tough little fighter. I turned him down as an opponent for both Dmitriy Salita and Jeffrey Resto. Definitely glad that I did. The guy can fight. Any lefty with that kind of speed and perseverance is going to be a tough night for anyone.
Yeah, no shit, Kurt - he took some shots from Castillo and kept coming. Relies a little too much on his left, and doesn't seem like a particularly powerful puncher, but still. Based on that fight, I can't imagine that Salita could handle him.
You can post highlights of JL/Diego every fucking day and you'll never hear me complain. I think I might go home and watch the DVD's
Yeah, it's sort of like the Thrilla that way. Every time you put it on, you're like, "goddamn this was some SHIT."
Same ref as the Hatton fight. I hadn't noticed that.
Yeah, yeah, Tony Weeks. Sounds like a Wu Tang alias.
Are we absolutely sure that Castillo can continue to make weight, even at 140?
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