Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton v Vince Phillips

[Neil Thomson]

Great fight so far at a packed M.E.N. Arena. Yeah Hatton's a blue, but tonight he's a Manc v a Yank.

C'mon Hatton, pummel him!

 

[Neil Thomson]

Hatton is such a good fighter to watch, he's battering him. Its on Sky Sports 1 btw.

 

[Neil Thomson]

Phillips is taking some wicked shots, I guess you don't have a career like his without having an iron jaw, it looks like this fight might end by being stopped by the ref rather than Hatton.

 

[Neil Thomson]

10th round now and Phillips can barely stand, he's taking some terrible punishment, my guess is that the fight will be stopped next round.

 

[Neil Thomson]

Last round now and somehow Phillips is hanging on, but I don't think he's won a single round!

 

[Neil Thomson]

Credit to Phillips for surviving that and though it was a one-sided fight, thats all down to Hatton, those body punches are so punishing you can see them draining the energy out of his opponent. He won every round.

I'd just like to thank everyone involved in this thread btw.

 

[Nate]

Well done to the great City fan.

 

[kennyj]

Well done Hatton. I like that he's a good athlete and is a very busy fighter. He's a good fighter, but there are still a few questions about him as he moves up to fight world class fighters. He couldn't put away the outclassed Phillips, so where's his KO punch? He has a good left hook, but his right was not really that impressive. I don't think that Hatton's chin has been adequately tested, and it's disturbing that he tends to cut (although his corner did a great job). Also, he's got to take some fights outside Manchester. He's a great draw, but I don't think that a champion will fight Him there.

The 140-lb. division is pretty tough. I'd like to see Hatton fight Gatti. That would be a good test and a great fight. I know there's pressure on Hatton to fight Witten, but that seems like like something that should take place further down the road. It's not a good fight for Hatton - nothing to gain and a lot to lose. Besides, Witten's only going to run around for the whole fight.

 

[Neil Thomson]

Originally posted by kennyj:
<strong>Well done Hatton. I like that he's a good athlete and is a very busy fighter. He's a good fighter, but there are still a few questions about him as he moves up to fight world class fighters. He couldn't put away the outclassed Phillips, so where's his KO punch? He has a good left hook, but his right was not really that impressive. I don't think that Hatton's chin has been adequately tested, and it's disturbing that he tends to cut (although his corner did a great job). Also, he's got to take some fights outside Manchester. He's a great draw, but I don't think that a champion will fight Him there.

The 140-lb. division is pretty tough. I'd like to see Hatton fight Gatti. That would be a good test and a great fight. I know there's pressure on Hatton to fight Witten, but that seems like like something that should take place further down the road. It's not a good fight for Hatton - nothing to gain and a lot to lose. Besides, Witten's only going to run around for the whole fight.</strong><hr></blockquote>
You're right about Witter, he needs to prove himself some more, he was very disappointing that night. Hatton wants to attract the big fights and I'd think that match has helped him do that. His biggest problem is that he cuts easily and a biased doctor could easily end a match for him, especially outside of Manchester. He can take a punch though, took a strong one from Phillips and stayed on his feet and kept his guard up. If you look at his KO record you'll see that he normally has no problems putting someone down, but you've got to take your hat off to Phillips, he was bludgeoned and hit with a lot of good shots and still stayed up - some folks chins are too strong for their own good. He's a great fighter, very good to watch, so he should crack America I think. Shame he's a blue though.

 

[kennyj]

I like his entrance -really got the crowd pumped. Phillips was a jump in class for him and he performed well. I hope that he does well, because he seems like a good guy and boxing soesn't have too many.

 

[giggzy]

Agreed with Kenny... Hatton looks a good fighter but I am concerned he may not have a knockout punch.. OR Are are we being too harsh? has Phillips ever been knocked out?

Anyway, good luck to him.

 

[Neil Thomson]

Originally posted by giggzy:
<strong>Agreed with Kenny... Hatton looks a good fighter but I am concerned he may not have a knockout punch.. OR Are are we being too harsh? has Phillips ever been knocked out?

Anyway, good luck to him.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I think 2/3 of his victories have come by knockout - Phillips struck me as the sort of fighter who could take anyone's punch. I'd also be interested to know if he's been knocked down before.

 

[kennyj]

Originally posted by Neil Thomson:
<strong>
I'd also be interested to know if he's been knocked down before.</strong><hr></blockquote>

I think I heard the announcer say that he'd either never been down or only down once before.

 

[sidsutton]

Phillips hadn't been stopped for 3 or 4 years. He has been stopped though. Can't remember who by though, maybe Erik Morales.

 

[giggzy]

ahh.. so he was indeed a tough cookie.

 

[kennyj]

Originally posted by giggzy:
<strong>ahh.. so he was indeed a tough cookie.</strong><hr></blockquote>


True. But he's about 40 years old, and he broke training for 5 days two weeks before the fight because he was having passport problems. It was still a good performance by Hatton though.