Maple Leaf
Mentor
The fight is about distance. Hatton needs to be close to win, Mayweather needs room to manoever and keep Hatton at the end of his punches. Reasonable and knowledgeable boxing commentators seem to think that they can predict what Mayweather will do but are unsure about Hatton. I disagree with them. But I must make a prediction, a Caste prediction.
Both fighters have equally prestigious records. Mayweather has wins over De La Hoya and Castillo and he beat Corrales. The rest of his record isn't worth talking about because they are all a bunch of good oponents which Hatton would chop down. Hatton knocked out Castillo with body punches and he knocked out the legendary Tsyzu in a trench war. I have to rate their records equally as I doubt Hatton would beat the much bigger De La Hoya and Mayweather never wanted any part of Tsyzu. Even if one fighter had more more victories against first class opponents it wouldn't make any difference as when they each meet each other in the ring all slates are made equal and both fighters simply have to fight.
A typical comparison of skills between Mayweather and Hatton usually gives Mayweather a significant advantage, though not an overwhelming advantage. But those type of comparisons are not entirely accurate. The type of movements, attacking, and defending which Mayweather uses would not be possible for Hatton anyway even if he had started as a young child, as Mayweather did, in learning that style. I simply do not understand why so many people who have been around boxing for years cannot see that not every technique will work with every body type. Mayweather has longer, slender, thinner limbs which give him an advantage to strike from a distance and a longer stride making distance faster to travel to evade and attack. The disadvanage with that type of frame is it is lighter and, inspite of good technique, it cannot achieve the same striking force that the more compact frame achieve. Hatton's shorter, thicker, denser frame can, and does, achieve greater striking force though he must be in closer range to connect and out of range he simply cannot attack at all whereas his taller opponent can. If Hatton had practiced defending, in the way that Mayweather does, he would not be the man he is now. He would be better at defending but he still wouldn't be a better fighter as his attacking skills would have suffered as he would still have to attack in the same manner as he does now. Simply put, could Hatton glide around the ring jabbing and waiting for counterpunch opportunities from a distance? No.
Could Mayweather hunt down opponents and pound away at them from close range? No. I would say they are both equally skillfull at what they do respectively.
If everything were so equal the fight should end up a draw, correct? Maybe. The fight isn't over yet. It appears from accounts in the media that Mayweather will use the same techniques and strategy he always uses. He seems so obsessed with himself that I do not doubt even Mayweather's word that he will come in and just be himself. Hatton is not like Mayweather. Hatton and his trainer knew that for the shorter, short range fighter to win they were going to have to employ brilliant tactics. They have been analysing Mayweather for a long time. I assume that anything I know or have observed about Mayweather they know better. All I can do is conjecture what their strategy will be.
Mayweather typically leans backwards slightly, throws fast jabs or fast combinations and steps away. When he is tired he backs up, turns to his side to become a narrow target, and slips and blocks punches. Against a better opponent he is forced to back up to the ropes to try and make his opponent tired through frustration. He does not like to throw when his opponent is throwing. When he throws while moving sideways he has no power at all. When he throws while moving backwards his power comes from his opponents forward force. He leads, strikes, and blocks with his left elbow. He almost never fights inside. Like all championship fighters he uses anything to his advantage and holds if he needs to. He fights in short spurts throwing relatively few punches for his weight and he throws to impress the judges and win rounds. At this level he has shown no inclination to fight to win, to fight to win by knockout. He fights for the 10-9 round.
There may be and may have been fighters that can get inside and up close to their opponents like Hatton but I do not know of any. Hatton has spent an entire career getting in on taller men. He has always been the shorter man. Hatton is told frequently to jab more to get in but he doesn't probably because he doesn't like creating a hole for the taller man to counter into. Jabbing or not, Hatton is going to get in on Mayweather. Even in a fight where Hatton looked bad at times (vs. Collazo) he still got in at will. Mayweather lets his opponents in as he stops moving his legs. Hatton doesn't need this advantage to get in but with Mayweather allowing easy access it just means even more opportunities for Hatton. Hatton's instincts of range are so good that he senses danger anytime he finds himself outside. Mayweather is going to have a desperate feeling when he realizes Hatton will not stop breathing all over him. Mayweather is going to be forced to punch at the same time Hatton does in order to fight him off. Against De La Hoya, Mayweather only threw punches simultaneously in the last 20 seconds of the fight! Mayweather does not like this as he will not be able to concentrate on defense and will get hit. I'm sure at close range Hatton would love to trade punches with Mayweather. In the ebb and flow of the fight I'm sure both fighters will have their moments as move is countered with counter move and certain punches and punch combinations will be more effective than others. Mayweather is no Willie Pep. In the end it will be Hatton's relentless stepping in and steps to the side and non-stop punching and clutching that will prevail over Mayweather's two principal weaknesses of letting his opponent in and being forced to punch simultaneously with Hatton at close range. Hatton will batter Mayweather to a Unanimous Decision.
Both fighters have equally prestigious records. Mayweather has wins over De La Hoya and Castillo and he beat Corrales. The rest of his record isn't worth talking about because they are all a bunch of good oponents which Hatton would chop down. Hatton knocked out Castillo with body punches and he knocked out the legendary Tsyzu in a trench war. I have to rate their records equally as I doubt Hatton would beat the much bigger De La Hoya and Mayweather never wanted any part of Tsyzu. Even if one fighter had more more victories against first class opponents it wouldn't make any difference as when they each meet each other in the ring all slates are made equal and both fighters simply have to fight.
A typical comparison of skills between Mayweather and Hatton usually gives Mayweather a significant advantage, though not an overwhelming advantage. But those type of comparisons are not entirely accurate. The type of movements, attacking, and defending which Mayweather uses would not be possible for Hatton anyway even if he had started as a young child, as Mayweather did, in learning that style. I simply do not understand why so many people who have been around boxing for years cannot see that not every technique will work with every body type. Mayweather has longer, slender, thinner limbs which give him an advantage to strike from a distance and a longer stride making distance faster to travel to evade and attack. The disadvanage with that type of frame is it is lighter and, inspite of good technique, it cannot achieve the same striking force that the more compact frame achieve. Hatton's shorter, thicker, denser frame can, and does, achieve greater striking force though he must be in closer range to connect and out of range he simply cannot attack at all whereas his taller opponent can. If Hatton had practiced defending, in the way that Mayweather does, he would not be the man he is now. He would be better at defending but he still wouldn't be a better fighter as his attacking skills would have suffered as he would still have to attack in the same manner as he does now. Simply put, could Hatton glide around the ring jabbing and waiting for counterpunch opportunities from a distance? No.
Could Mayweather hunt down opponents and pound away at them from close range? No. I would say they are both equally skillfull at what they do respectively.
If everything were so equal the fight should end up a draw, correct? Maybe. The fight isn't over yet. It appears from accounts in the media that Mayweather will use the same techniques and strategy he always uses. He seems so obsessed with himself that I do not doubt even Mayweather's word that he will come in and just be himself. Hatton is not like Mayweather. Hatton and his trainer knew that for the shorter, short range fighter to win they were going to have to employ brilliant tactics. They have been analysing Mayweather for a long time. I assume that anything I know or have observed about Mayweather they know better. All I can do is conjecture what their strategy will be.
Mayweather typically leans backwards slightly, throws fast jabs or fast combinations and steps away. When he is tired he backs up, turns to his side to become a narrow target, and slips and blocks punches. Against a better opponent he is forced to back up to the ropes to try and make his opponent tired through frustration. He does not like to throw when his opponent is throwing. When he throws while moving sideways he has no power at all. When he throws while moving backwards his power comes from his opponents forward force. He leads, strikes, and blocks with his left elbow. He almost never fights inside. Like all championship fighters he uses anything to his advantage and holds if he needs to. He fights in short spurts throwing relatively few punches for his weight and he throws to impress the judges and win rounds. At this level he has shown no inclination to fight to win, to fight to win by knockout. He fights for the 10-9 round.
There may be and may have been fighters that can get inside and up close to their opponents like Hatton but I do not know of any. Hatton has spent an entire career getting in on taller men. He has always been the shorter man. Hatton is told frequently to jab more to get in but he doesn't probably because he doesn't like creating a hole for the taller man to counter into. Jabbing or not, Hatton is going to get in on Mayweather. Even in a fight where Hatton looked bad at times (vs. Collazo) he still got in at will. Mayweather lets his opponents in as he stops moving his legs. Hatton doesn't need this advantage to get in but with Mayweather allowing easy access it just means even more opportunities for Hatton. Hatton's instincts of range are so good that he senses danger anytime he finds himself outside. Mayweather is going to have a desperate feeling when he realizes Hatton will not stop breathing all over him. Mayweather is going to be forced to punch at the same time Hatton does in order to fight him off. Against De La Hoya, Mayweather only threw punches simultaneously in the last 20 seconds of the fight! Mayweather does not like this as he will not be able to concentrate on defense and will get hit. I'm sure at close range Hatton would love to trade punches with Mayweather. In the ebb and flow of the fight I'm sure both fighters will have their moments as move is countered with counter move and certain punches and punch combinations will be more effective than others. Mayweather is no Willie Pep. In the end it will be Hatton's relentless stepping in and steps to the side and non-stop punching and clutching that will prevail over Mayweather's two principal weaknesses of letting his opponent in and being forced to punch simultaneously with Hatton at close range. Hatton will batter Mayweather to a Unanimous Decision.
