Ricky Hatton fought his first main event fight in the United States and the 2005 Fighter of the Year took part in an action-packed brawl that will make Americans want to see more of Ricky Hatton. Luis Collazo put his WBA Welterweight Title on the line against The Hitman and things started out poorly for the champion. Ten seconds into the fight, Hatton caught Collazo with a left hook as Collazo was retreating and sent the Brooklyn native to the canvas.
In the post-fight interview, Ricky Hatton mentioned that the early knockdown may have been an advantage for Collazo. It served as a wake-up call for the champion and caused him to press the action more than Hatton would have liked him to. Collazo recovered well from the knockdown and began winning rounds. Hatton isn’t the most skilled boxer, but he probably has the best stamina of any fighter in any weight class. He fights with an intensity that usually wears other boxers down by the fourth round. Hatton somehow keeps up the intensity for 12 rounds. Hatton would not give up and kept coming forward on Collazo. That is until the 12th round when Collazo rocked Hatton and had the challenger on wobbly legs. The fight was extremely close at this point and a knockdown either way could turn the fight completely around. Hatton was able to survive the final round and clinched his way to the final bell.
The scorecards came in 115-112, 115-112, and 114-113 all in favor of Ricky Hatton. After the fight, Hatton admitted he is better suited for the 140 lb light welterweight division. Unfortunately for Ricky, all the money is at 147 where he can fight Mayweather, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, etc. Hatton is a beast at 140 and would probably be best served to stay away from 147. Although the prospect of a bout with Arturo Gatti is very appealing.
Floyd Patterson 1935-2006
Floyd Patterson passed away last Thursday at the age of 71. Patterson was the first boxer to become a two-time Heavyweight Champion. He also won a gold medal in the 1952 Olympics as a middleweight, although he would fight professionally as a heavyweight. Patterson was a fan favorite and this quote from the man himself best sums up his appeal to the people:
“They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most, but I also got up the most.”
Patterson was small for a Heavyweight. Patterson weighed in at 182 pounds when he defeated Archie Moore to become World Heavyweight Champion in 1956. By today’s standards, Patterson would have been almost two weight classes below the heavyweight division. Patterson went on to defend the title successfully four times, stopping all of his opponents before the final round. In 1959, Patterson made his fifth title defense. Ingemar Johansson was his opponent and the two battled in Yankee Stadium. Johansson knocked Patterson down seven times and won the title via 3rd round TKO.
Johansson and Patterson had a rematch one year later and Patterson knocked the champ out in the 5th round to become the first man to ever regain the Heavyweight title. A third fight between the two men followed a year later and Patterson won again by knockout, despite going down twice himself in the first round.
Patterson had one more successful title defense before losing the title to Sonny Liston in 1962 in a fight that almost didn’t happen. Sonny Liston was villianized by the media and linked to the mob. Patterson looked past all that and gave the fight to Liston because he was the most deserving challenger. As Patterson told President John F Kennedy before the fight, “The title is not worth anything if the best fighters can’t have a shot at it. And Liston deserves a shot.”
Liston outweighed Patterson by 25 pounds and knocked him out in the first round. In fact, Floyd Patterson was the smaller man in every World Heavyweight Title bout he was in. This includes Muhammad Ali, who infamously taunted Patterson by saying “What’s my name?” while he repeatedly jabbed the helpless fighter. Patterson had refused to call Ali by his new name and only referred to him as Cassius Clay. Patterson later apologized and the two remained good friends.
Patterson had one last epic performance when he defeated George Chuvalo in 1965. It was Ring Magazine’s Fight of the Year. Patterson kept fighting until his last bout in 1972, another loss to Muhammad Ali. Patterson’s final record was 55(40 KOs)-8-1.
Prince of the Penitentiary
Fans of the charismatic Prince Naseem Hamed will have to wait at least 15 more months to see the flamboyant featherweight back in the ring. Hamed hasn’t fought since 2002 but rumors of his return to the ring seem to pop up every year. Hamed was sentenced to 15 months in prison after admitting to dangerous driving that left another man seriously injured. Reportedly, Hamed was trying to show off his Mercedes to a businessman when he crashed into a Volkswagen as he was trying to pass it at speeds near 90 mph.
Results From Last Week
– Jesse Brinkley, one of the more popular fighters from The Contender, lost via 11th round TKO to Joe Spina. Brinkley was ahead on all the scorecards but was hurt by a *ahem* Body Blow and never recovered. The referee stopped the fight when Brinkley could no longer defend himself from Spina’s punches.
– Featherweight prospect Jason Litzau remained undefeated with a 2nd round knockout of Debind Thapa.
– Larry Mosley fought to a draw against the greatest name in boxing, Golden Johnson. Mr. Johnson acquired the nickname 14-Karat but something tells me that if he really had a Golden 14-Karat Johnson, he wouldn’t be a boxer.
– Vincente Mosquera captured the WBA Super Featherweight Title with a 12-round split decision over Jose Pablo Estrella.
– Edner Cherry handed Monty Meza Clay his first professional loss with an 11th round TKO on ESPN Friday Night Fights.
– Clinton Woods retained his IBF Light Heavyweight Title with a 6th round TKO of Jason DeLisle.
– Markus Beyer’s WBC Super Middleweight Title defense against Sakio Bika was ruled a technical draw in the fourth round when the fight was stopped due to an accidental headbutt. The headbutt caused a cut under Beyer’s eye and he could no longer continue.
– Arthur Abraham successfully defended his IBF Middleweight Title with a unanimous decision over Kofi Jantuah.
– Vlademir Pereira lost the IBF Featherweight Title to Eric Aiken when he was disqualified in the 8th round for repeated low blows. That, my friends, is not cool.
Jockscraps – The Stories They Won’t Tell
A Trip To The Kentucky Derby
The 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby took place last weekend and I was on location for the event. Often billed as the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports, the annual horse race brings many A-list celebrities, as well as Stephen Baldwin. While the stars sip mint juleps in luxury boxes, the real action goes down in the infield. Drunk college kids come from all over the state of Kentucky just to say that they vomited in the grass of Churchill Downs. The following are transcripts of conversations I had with fellow infield patrons:
Me: “Hello, are you enjoying your afternoon so far?”
Him: “Wooooooooooooooo!”
Me: “Excellent. So who do you think is going to win the Derby?”
Him: “Am I gonna be on TV? Woooooooo!”
Me: “I doubt it, but I’ll put it on the Internet. So who is going to win later today?”
Him: “I am! Wooooooooooooo!”
The guy was unable to finish the conversation as a trip to the cooler beneath him was too much for him to handle. He was face-first in dirt and in no hurry to get up. Another fan proved to be more insightful, though not by much:
Me: “How did Barbaro look in the race?”
Other Guy: “Pretty damn good. He’s undefeated you know?”
Me: “Yes, we all know.”
Other Guy: “If I was Barbaro, I’d hold out for more money at the Preakness. They don’t have a race if they don’t have the Derby winner.”
Me: “If you were Barbaro, you would be a horse.”
Other Guy: “HA HA! I’m tighter than a 12 year-old virgin!”
Me: “What?”
Other Guy: “Huh?”
Spit Bucket
Keep sending any feedback/jokes about my last name to buddhabean316@yahoo.com. While you’re at it, let these people know what you think about them:
Reverend Sick runs down the UFC Heavyweight Roster as well as the Lightweight Roster.
Eugene Tierney busts out the in-depth MLB Power Rankings. Somehow, the Dodgers are 5th in these rankings despite being in 4th place in the NL West. Perhaps that #1 farm system needs to be called up sooner rather than later.
Tom Gubitosi is the man when it comes to recapping the week of sports. He even broadens his column by giving us his top 10 Tool songs.
For a more detailed look at Tool’s latest album, check out gloomchen’s review.
