Hatton defeats Tszyu
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inked1
huh?
http://www.sportinglife.com/boxing/news/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=boxing/05/06/05/BOXING_Hatton.html
Ricky Hatton v Kostya Tszyu
Ricky Hatton received a thunderous reception from the 22,000 sell-out MEN Arena crowd as he entered the ring for his night of destiny against IBF light-welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu.
Fight and film stars including Frank Bruno and actor Russell Crowe were ringside to see Hatton enter the ring to his familiar 'Blue Moon' anthem before Tszyu followed to the predictable chorus of boos.
Hatton looked determined and focused as the crowd roared their approval and MC Jimmy Lennon jnr began his pre-fight introductions for the biggest fight seen in Britain in over a decade.
Hatton immediately attempted to get in close and swung a wide left hook which just missed its intended target.
Hatton's confidence was evident as he sought to slug it out with the fierce-punching champion and tasted his famous right hands to little effect for the first time.
In fact, the most telling early blow came from Hatton's left hand which bounced off the side of Tszyu's head and had the capacity crowd in uproar.
Hatton seemed oblivious to the danger of diving in behind his left jab and giving Tszyu the chance to tee off with sharp counter-punches but the tactic had done him no harm when the first round ended.
The champion landed a big left hook at the beginning of the second round but Hatton was unmoved and responded with a fine right hand which seemed to surprise Tszyu. Hatton followed up with a relentless assault on the ropes which forced the champion to cover up.
Hatton was doing a fine job of narrowing the gap at every available opportunity and three excellent right-uppercuts jolted back the champion's head.
The danger lay each time Tszyu manoeuvred back to arm's length and caught the challenger with sharp hooks from both hands - but Hatton looked to have done enough to shade the first two rounds.
Tszyu found his ideal range at the beginning of the third landing one of his superb right hands to leave Hatton in trouble for the first time. Another right followed as Tszyu tried to shrug off Hatton and press home his advantage.
But the brave Briton continued to bull forward and fling home shots of his own which if nothing else served to knock his opponent out of his rhythm.
And a fine left hook towards the end of the round gave Hatton's fans cause for optimism.
Hatton felt the force of yet another booming right as the pair returned to begin the fourth round with Tszyu's accuracy with both hands beginning to tell.
Hatton's tactic of leaping in with his furious assaults was not appearing to pay off against Tszyu although when he did get in close for more than a few fleeting seconds he enjoyed more success.
Tszyu's right landed in customary fashion at the start of the fifth and followed this time by an accurate left hook it made an impression.
Hatton may have been being caught but he was relentless in his attempts to take the fight to Tszyu, whose stamina he hoped to test by dragging the fight into the later rounds.
It was Hatton's turn to start the sixth in sensational style, steering Tszyu backwards and unleashing a ferocious left which sent the champion into the ropes.
There was no doubt Hatton was gaining in confidence all the time having stood up well to most of the early power which Tszyu had to offer.
Hatton worked better at close quarters in the seventh as the furious pace showed no signs of slacking as the pair entered the second half of the fight.
But the warning signs remained whenever he strayed to arm's length and two more big right hands landed with unerring accuracy before referee Dave Parris temporarily stopped the action to warn the champion over a low blow.
Hatton knew he was reaching a point where he hoped his gruelling training regime would start to pay off against a champion who had fought just three rounds in the previous 29 months.
Neglecting his usual body attacks, he clubbed forward but two clean right hands were shrugged off by the champion who continued to counter-punch with some style although Hatton worked well to arguably shade round nine.
After a break for a warning to Tszyu, Hatton launched straight back in with a shocking left-hand low blow which required Tszyu almost a minute in order to recover.
There was evidence to suggest Tszyu was tiring going into the 10th with Hatton starting to regain some rhythm and the champion relying on fighting on the retreat.
Hatton stepped up his assault towards the end of the round, pushing Tszyu back into his own corner and clattering away as the champion covered up and the crowd roared its appreciation.
Hatton took another right hand in the 11th and more shots followed from Tszyu but the challenger emphatically answered questions over his chin by riding the storm and firing back with a big right hand himself before finishing the round on top.
Then just as the crowd rose to its feet to applaud the beginning of the final round, Tszyu's corner beckoned referee Dave Parris and the referee sensationally declared the contest over.
INTRO:
Ricky Hatton pounded Kostya Tszyu into submission to claim the IBF light-welterweight title in amazing fashion at the MEN Arena in Manchester.
Champion Tszyu quit on his stool at the end of the 11th round of a blistering contest, sending the sell-out 22,000 crowd wild with delight.
Hatton, who had given Tszyu more trouble than anybody else in his glittering career, notched a win to rank alongside the greatest of all British sporting upsets.
Ricky Hatton v Kostya Tszyu
Ricky Hatton received a thunderous reception from the 22,000 sell-out MEN Arena crowd as he entered the ring for his night of destiny against IBF light-welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu.
Fight and film stars including Frank Bruno and actor Russell Crowe were ringside to see Hatton enter the ring to his familiar 'Blue Moon' anthem before Tszyu followed to the predictable chorus of boos.
Hatton looked determined and focused as the crowd roared their approval and MC Jimmy Lennon jnr began his pre-fight introductions for the biggest fight seen in Britain in over a decade.
Hatton immediately attempted to get in close and swung a wide left hook which just missed its intended target.
Hatton's confidence was evident as he sought to slug it out with the fierce-punching champion and tasted his famous right hands to little effect for the first time.
In fact, the most telling early blow came from Hatton's left hand which bounced off the side of Tszyu's head and had the capacity crowd in uproar.
Hatton seemed oblivious to the danger of diving in behind his left jab and giving Tszyu the chance to tee off with sharp counter-punches but the tactic had done him no harm when the first round ended.
The champion landed a big left hook at the beginning of the second round but Hatton was unmoved and responded with a fine right hand which seemed to surprise Tszyu. Hatton followed up with a relentless assault on the ropes which forced the champion to cover up.
Hatton was doing a fine job of narrowing the gap at every available opportunity and three excellent right-uppercuts jolted back the champion's head.
The danger lay each time Tszyu manoeuvred back to arm's length and caught the challenger with sharp hooks from both hands - but Hatton looked to have done enough to shade the first two rounds.
Tszyu found his ideal range at the beginning of the third landing one of his superb right hands to leave Hatton in trouble for the first time. Another right followed as Tszyu tried to shrug off Hatton and press home his advantage.
But the brave Briton continued to bull forward and fling home shots of his own which if nothing else served to knock his opponent out of his rhythm.
And a fine left hook towards the end of the round gave Hatton's fans cause for optimism.
Hatton felt the force of yet another booming right as the pair returned to begin the fourth round with Tszyu's accuracy with both hands beginning to tell.
Hatton's tactic of leaping in with his furious assaults was not appearing to pay off against Tszyu although when he did get in close for more than a few fleeting seconds he enjoyed more success.
Tszyu's right landed in customary fashion at the start of the fifth and followed this time by an accurate left hook it made an impression.
Hatton may have been being caught but he was relentless in his attempts to take the fight to Tszyu, whose stamina he hoped to test by dragging the fight into the later rounds.
It was Hatton's turn to start the sixth in sensational style, steering Tszyu backwards and unleashing a ferocious left which sent the champion into the ropes.
There was no doubt Hatton was gaining in confidence all the time having stood up well to most of the early power which Tszyu had to offer.
Hatton worked better at close quarters in the seventh as the furious pace showed no signs of slacking as the pair entered the second half of the fight.
But the warning signs remained whenever he strayed to arm's length and two more big right hands landed with unerring accuracy before referee Dave Parris temporarily stopped the action to warn the champion over a low blow.
Hatton knew he was reaching a point where he hoped his gruelling training regime would start to pay off against a champion who had fought just three rounds in the previous 29 months.
Neglecting his usual body attacks, he clubbed forward but two clean right hands were shrugged off by the champion who continued to counter-punch with some style although Hatton worked well to arguably shade round nine.
After a break for a warning to Tszyu, Hatton launched straight back in with a shocking left-hand low blow which required Tszyu almost a minute in order to recover.
There was evidence to suggest Tszyu was tiring going into the 10th with Hatton starting to regain some rhythm and the champion relying on fighting on the retreat.
Hatton stepped up his assault towards the end of the round, pushing Tszyu back into his own corner and clattering away as the champion covered up and the crowd roared its appreciation.
Hatton took another right hand in the 11th and more shots followed from Tszyu but the challenger emphatically answered questions over his chin by riding the storm and firing back with a big right hand himself before finishing the round on top.
Then just as the crowd rose to its feet to applaud the beginning of the final round, Tszyu's corner beckoned referee Dave Parris and the referee sensationally declared the contest over.
INTRO:
Ricky Hatton pounded Kostya Tszyu into submission to claim the IBF light-welterweight title in amazing fashion at the MEN Arena in Manchester.
Champion Tszyu quit on his stool at the end of the 11th round of a blistering contest, sending the sell-out 22,000 crowd wild with delight.
Hatton, who had given Tszyu more trouble than anybody else in his glittering career, notched a win to rank alongside the greatest of all British sporting upsets.
Slick Arrado
Yeah, I'll mow your lawn.
Hatton surprised me. I also didn't think Tszyu would quit, but his face was swollen.
