Hatton Interview

[NAB]

Interesting. Is he really that silly to say how he is planning to fight, or is he trying to bluff?

[QueenCity]

I'm still kinda shocked at Showtime Interveiw Hatton did. He was way over weight and was bitching about the fight starting at 2 AM. Along with that article Hatton is been doing some bizzare stuff going into his first really big fight-- I truely expect Tszyu to run over the kid.

[Konstantin]

Im just wondering, how true is this statement?: "I don’t think he is a very good inside fighter"

And to counter that, how good is Hatton at inside fighting?

[butatista]

any chance of posting the text of that article chief? damn firewall.

[NAB]

Here you go!! from *********.com

Pt 1
Ricky- you must be delighted that you have finally inked a fight with Kostya Tszyu in your hometown of Manchester?
Yes-this is always what I have dreamed of and I must give credit to Frank Warren for delivering such a big fight for Ricky Hatton and my huge army of fans. Last year 2004 was a frustrating year of highs and lows with fights against Sharmba Mitchell, Kelson Pinto and Vivian Harris all seeming to fall through. However with positive performances against Mike Stewart and Ray Olivera the year ended on a high note for me. I became the first fighter to stop both these experienced fighters and kept myself up in the top of the rankings and knew eventually that a big fight would come up for me. Stopping Mike Stewart in an official eliminator meant at some point I was going to get a shot at the well recognised IBF belt. Frank Warren and I took a lot of stick during 2004 and people were questioning whether we just wanted easy paydays but ultimately Frank delivered the biggest fight of my career and one of the biggest nights that British Boxing has seen in recent years. It will be a huge night for the city of Manchester and the UK boxing fans to see such a major fight.

Were you surprised that the 22,000 tickets for the MEN Arena sold out in just two and a half hours?
I knew that the tickets would sell but in 2 hours and 30 minutes was amazing- some of the pop stars that have appeared at the Arena have not sold tickets so fast- indeed Destiny’s Child are playing the week after the fight and they did not sell out so fast. It is not like the fight is at 9pm but in the early hours of the Sunday morning. It clearly shows both how loyal the fans are and also how excited they are at seeing two of the best fighters in the world. If I was a paying fan I too would be intrigued at watching Ricky Hatton fight Kostya Tszyu over twelve rounds. Overall it Is full credit to my fans-they know it is the biggest fight of my career and they are fully committed to supporting my cause.

Are you adapting your training programme to the 2am start time planned for the fight?
At the moment my schedule is as it has always been and training at 12 noon until 3pm like today. When I get 5-6 weeks from the fight however we will be changing the training time to start at one or two in the morning so my body can acclimatise. I know it will be hard and I know it will be difficult but I would fight Kostya Tszyu at any time day or night. Be assured I will be there fully fit and to the best of my ability on the night. Whatever I have got to do I will do and this is such a big opportunity that it is not a major issue other than adapting my training routine accordingly. It doesn’t worry me in the slightest.

What do you see as Kostya Tszyu’s biggest strengths?
He is very good at dictating the pace of the fight and I recently watched a DVD of his training routine and he plans meticulously but almost to the extent that the pace is not too intense. My sessions are like today with 2 hours of intensive and explosive training to match my style in the ring. With Kostya Tszyu the pace is very similar and perhaps people are mesmerised by the big right hand. They are watching him to see when and where it is coming from and this seems to slow the pace down. This actually works for Tszyu as when they drop the pace and watch and wait for the big right hand it actually gives him more time to place it at the right speed in just the right area. This is why he has a big win ratio and it appears that he is always in control. He is very clever in this respect in what he does. He is a thinking fighter but I do not think his style is that awkward to read it is just he is very good at it.

Have you identified any weaknesses in Kostya Tszyu as yet?
It is very difficult to spot any huge weaknesses that are so obvious and so glaring- my main belief is that I aim to put the pressure on him and change the pace at which he is used to fighting. I will not be mesmerised by the potential of this big right hand landing but fighting at my own fast pace. I only remember one fighter that really took it to him and that was Ben Tackie but no disrespect to him in that he rumbles forward and even though he put the pressure on him in spurts Tszyu just leaned back and Tackie was not effective. My view is to adopt the same strategy on moving forward to Tszyu but doing it quickly so I am able to be on top of him and do it at speed. In this way he will not have the leverage to launch the big right hand as I will be close up in his face throwing my own combinations and body shots. Tackie was not quick enough to carry out what is the right game plan whereas I think I have that speed and youth to be effective. My plan is to have good defense and good movement- his stance is quite wide with not a lot of foot movement. He tends to lean back whereas with my speed I will be on him much faster than anyone has done before. He is still very dangerous but even Jessie James Leija had some success but you got the feeling he was not able to maintain it for the full twelve rounds where my style is to maintain a high work rate with speed for the full distance. I am accurate and a more hurtful puncher and feel I can carry on where fighters like Tackie and Leija had some limited success. When people have the bottle to take it too him then they do have some success. My aim is to set the pace and put pressure on Tszyu but without being too reckless.

[NAB]

Pt2.

Have you and trainer Billy Graham identified your game plan for defeating Tszyu?
It may sound ****** but the plan to beat Kostya Tszyu is pretty obvious as I have described. A high work rate and speed backed by a volume of punches and good defense is the basic plan. The game plan is almost set and he will stand tough with the right hand ****ed and it will be upto me to put on concerted and effective pressure for a long period of time. I just think as strong as he is, he is not an exceptional in-fighter. Against Sharmba Mitchell and Zab Judah he just pushed and shoved but because he is so physically strong he can get away with it. I will be throwing volumes of combinations to head and body and he will not be able to push me around. I don’t think he is a very good inside fighter and so if I move in quick and throw volumes of punches I will have some definite success. My danger zone is going to be where Tszyu is in the range to explode one of his big right hands. I anticipate for the early rounds making sure my movement is good enough so I avoid his big right hand. I have the respect for him that I will not decide to see how strong his right is- I have seen the impact on many videos. My plan is to avoid it totally and if I am up close and in his face he will not have the leverage to land with power effectively. I feel my on-fighting is superior and couple with speed and movement I have all the skills to defeat him.

In a recent interview Kostya Tszyu felt the big difference that will matter in this fight is the relative level of opposition both fighters have faced. Do you see this as a deciding factor?
I suppose that is a fair comment but to balance that I have youth and this should not be under-estimated either. I have the speed, energy and determination in a level that perhaps some of his opponents have not shown. It is always a balance. Experience is a plus. Youth is a plus. I have had 38 fights but in all honesty I am as fresh as a daisy. When I have had to move up in the experience level as with Vince Phillips and Ben Tackie I barely lost a round rather than struggle to cope with the more experienced fighters. Against Ray Olivera and Mike Stewart they are experienced fighters but I was the fighter who became the first one to stop both of them in 2004. This is directly related to key issues on my side- speed and youth and the ability to throw high volumes of punches round after round. This is a balance and what Tszyu has in experience advantage I have the advantage in youth, desire and speed. I am 120% ready for Kostya Tszyu. I think he will struggle with my work rate and my intensity. In his only loss to Vince Phiilips he did struggle when Phillips put the foot on the pace went up and Tszyu looked out of sorts and struggled. I will be setting a fast pace from round one. Honestly I believe I have the skills and desire to beat him. In the last 4 years he has not had a close and intense fight at the pace I will be fighting. He just has the experience in recent years of fighting at his own slower pace. I know I am the underdog but I have total faith in my ability and I think it will be a long fight with Tszyu going after me early when his pace and speed will be at his best. After that I will come into my own.

How do you think the crowd will impact the fight on the night?
Tszyu has fought in front of many big crowds across the globe in Sydney and the US but I bet they have not been a quarter of the noise as the crowds that fill the MEN arena in Manchester to watch me. He will find the atmosphere intimidating whilst I will find it a huge lift. 22,000 fans is worth a couple of rounds at least and fair play to Kostya Tszyu for coming to Manchester. Although he will arrive two weeks prior to the fight he still needs to recover from the jet lag but hats off to him and his team and I know this in reality will have zero impact on the result and thus I am not relying on anything other than my boxing skills. What will be fantastic is me being able to show my loyal fans I can win at the highest level in world boxing.

In the Junior-Welterweight division do you see Kostya Tszyu as the best fighter?
I still rate Tszyu as the division’s best fighter and his last performance against Sharmba Mitchell was impressive. He is in most people’s mind the holder of the best fighter at 140 pounds. That is why my challenge is motivating me so highly. The other fighter I really rate is Miguel Cotto and although I am not thinking beyond the Tszyu he would be an ideal first defense in a IBF/WBO unification match.

[davico]

Hatton sounds like he a weel composed young man with good confidenc e going into the biggest fight of his life. Ithink that maybe he should watch the KT Mitchell fight again to see if KT can fight on the inside. KT is very good at tying up opponents when they try to get inside and then using th uppercut and hook to wear down and hurt the other man. As Hatton said KT is very strong and if he can do what he did to Mitchell in the clinch, Hatton is going to find it hard to trhow volume and combo's on the inside. IMO

[Hurlex]

hatton sound like he is winging it...crap...KT is gonna kill him,hatton better be on his **** it would be a slap in the face to his people if he gets ko'd 1-2rounds....but i dont care KT is gonna ko him before the 6th round anyway

[!!Captain]

Somehow I don't think that all that fan hype is gona help Hatton, I think it might work against him. He will be too distracted and KT will be clinching his fists, going "come on, let's do this". This will be another Jack London's "The Mexican" (one of my favorite stories) or Spinks vs. Judah. Just MHO

[DLT]

You guys are wrong. Hatton is a totaly different fighter then Mitchell. Phillips fought Zoo on the inside and dominated him. Thats the fight that Hatton is looking at and he will try to do the same. Mitchell was on the inside but it was still more in a boxing way. Hatton will try to take it to Zoo because he thinks Zoo is a good boxer that knows how to land big shots from the outside. He will get inside and it will be man to man combat and Zoo is solid at this but Hatton is damn good at this also