|
 Hatton invades Vegas, reclaims title!
Castillo wins controversially over Ngoudjo
Ringside by Chris Bronte & Albert Howell
Photos by Chris Cozzone
- FightWireImages.com
Unbeaten Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton (42-0, 30 KOs) captured the IBF/IBO junior welterweight championship for a second time with a twelve-round unanimous decision victory over defending champion Juan Urango (17-1, 13 KOs) Saturday night at the Paris Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas.
 Hatton originally won the IBF/IBO 140 pound title back in 2005 when he knocked out then title holder Kostya Tszyu, but he vacated it last year to campaign at 147 pounds which he did successfully for one fight before returning to the junior welterweight ranks to fight Urango, who was making his first title defense.
From the outset, Hatton displayed superior footwork and technical skill as he moved about the ring, working his angles to land sharp uppercuts to the head of Urango with solid hooks both upstairs and downstairs. More impressive, though, may have been Hatton's defense. For most of the early rounds Hatton successfully blocked many of Urango's punches and, those he did not block, he avoided with his superior head and foot movement.
 A compact left uppercut by Hatton landed flush on the chin of Urango in round one. Next, Hatton dug to the body of his opponent with a crushing right hook. Hatton continued to press the action, belting Hatton belted Urango with a right and left uppercut to the head. Hatton's body attack was equally effective.
Hatton continued his domination in rounds three and four, making his opponent look slow. The faster Hatton neutralized Urango's attack through most of the first four rounds as he continually beat his adversary to the punch, connecting with well-placed combinations that stunned Urango at least once.
Boxing brilliantly, Hatton was able to get in and out with the least amount of risk hitting his opponent, without absorbing a lot of punishment himself. Hatton looked like the complete package as he was totally outclassing his less experienced opponent.
 But just when it looked like Hatton would cruise to an easy victory, Urango hurt Hatton with a series of murderous body punches in round five. Although Hatton was able to weather the storm, the fight would take on a different tone the last seven rounds. After dropping the fifth Hatton was back on his toes determined to make the necessary adjustments to take back control of the fight. Although successful in regaining the momentum of the bout in the sixth, Hatton did prove more cautious, pressing the action less as the fight wore on. Whereas Hatton won the first four rounds going away he settled for doing just enough to eke out each of the last seven rounds.
To his credit, Urango's defense seemed to improve as the fight wore on covering more to avoid Hatton's power shots. The bombs Hatton did land the second half of the fight did little to dissuade Urango from coming forward. In round nine Urango landed a strong combination, nailing Hatton to the body. But just when it looked as though Urango might steal the momentum one more time, as he did in the fifth, Hatton was back on his toes outboxing his opponent.
The tenth round may have been the most exciting round of the fight as both men engaged each other willing to exchange power shots to the delight of the crowd. Hatton capped off a hard fought-tenth with a compact right hook that smashed the head of Urango. Hatton's superior work-rate and connect percentage kept him winning rounds. Recognizing that Urango still posed a real threat, Hatton displayed caution during the championship rounds doing more clinching at the end of the fight.
Hatton was declared the victor by unanimous decision by scores of 119-109 on all cards. Next up for 'The Hitman' of Manchester, England will be a June showdown against the Mexican Jose Luis Castillo at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
 Castillo wins controversial split decision over Ngoudjo
In the chief supporting bout, Mexican Jose Luis Castillo (55-7-1, 47 KOs) won a much harder than expected split decision over Cameroon’s Herman Ngoudjo (15-1, 9 KOs).
A relative novice compared to the seasoned veteran Castillo, Ngoujdo pushed Castillo all the way and was noticeably stronger over the last quarter of the fight.
One might have thought that with the extra poundage allowance, Castillo would have been both stronger and more durable, and indeed he was in the early and mid rounds, but around the ninth round, he began to look noticeably weary.
 Coming out of relative obscurity, Ngoudjo had been saying all week that this was his coming out party, and it very nearly was.
Over the first two stanzas, Ngoudjo seemed tentative; however, as the second round drew to a close, he woke up and began to trade with the Mexican, much to the delight of the crowd.
The third round was a good one for the African who’s faster hands were catching Castillo to the head and body, but Castillo ended the round with two terrific uppercuts which sent the Cameroonian’s head snapping back.
Castillo began the fourth with a sustained attack to the body and was allowed to push the African around, who was seemingly taking a breather after the previous round’s efforts.
The fifth was much of the same, as Castillo continued his assault to Ngoudjo’s body. This sustained body work led to a few shots straying below the belt, which drew a warning from referee Robert Byrd. Although Ngoudjo wasn’t doing too much, he would occasionally flurry and land some crisp combinations to Castillo’s head, but this was not winning him the rounds.
 Castillo came out for the sixth looking a little less sharp while by contrast the African was displaying some nice flashy combinations. However, Castillo’s body work was superlative and probably snatched him the round.
In the seventh, Ngoudjo switched tactics and decided to try and smother Castillo. This worked well for him, as he was able to stop Castillo from getting off, but it was obviously taking a tremendous effort on Ngoudjo’s part.
Perhaps paying for the previous round’s exertions, Ngoudjo backpedaled his way through most of the eighth and let the round get away. Although Castillo wasn’t terribly effective he did enough work to the body and landed enough cuffing shots.
Again in the ninth, Castillo looked listless but Ngoudjo refused to exploit this and again was outworked by the Mexican who marched forward cuffing shots to the body and head.
Finally in the tenth stanza, Ngoudjo began to outwork Castillo, who by now was looking pretty uncomfortable, although all his experience demanded that he keep doggedly working.
The championship rounds were very hard to score. Both men were tired, but the chiseled African seemed just a little fresher of the two warriors and was lighter on his feet.
As the final bell sounded, the fans had evidently chosen their winner and were siding with the African underdog, who raised his arms in triumph.
There was some anticipation as the scores were read. Judge Chuck Giampa saw it 115-113 for Ngoudjo, but he was overruled by Glenn Trowbridge and Mike Ross who saw it 115-113 for Castillo. With this win, Castillo looks set to fight Ricky Hatton in June here in Las Vegas. -- Chris Bronte
 'Magic' Hatton too much for Hougtaling
Starting off the evening’s show was the younger Hatton, Matthew, who was taking on Albany’s Frank Houghtaling for the IBF International Welterweight title.
Fighting for the first time in Las Vegas, Hatton was, no doubt, eager to impress, and this he did by pitching a shutout on all three judges scorecards en-route to a seven-round demolition of his durable yet limited opponent, ending when Houghtaling’s corner throwing in the towel.
Round one began with a very focused Hatton looking a little tight, fighting through a high guard. Houghtaling was the fighter pressing the action, although he was really only landing some digs to the body.
However, toward the round’s end, Hatton began to let his hands go and was successful with a few right hands.
By round two, it was evident that Hatton had loosened up, although he still maintained a look of fierce concentration on his face. He was now finding a home for his right hand and stunned his foe midway through the round with a lovely right cross.
The third round saw Hatton continue to stamp his authority on the fight, but to his credit, Houghtaling continued to march forward taking shots and occasionally landing a body shot.
Hatton, his confidence building with every passing minute, now began to let the right hand go with more frequency and finally landed a text book right cross which dropped his opponent hard on his behind.
Houghtaling got up and showed great fighting spirit and came back swinging for the fences and the two traded for the remainder of the round.
The fifth stanza was again all Hatton who just couldn’t miss with the right hand and was really beginning to administer a beating to his brave opponent. This one-sided beating continued for the next two rounds and with it Houghtaling’s offense decreased.
By now, it was obvious that Houghtaling was never going to make an impression on Hatton who still looked fresh and sharp. So with this, his corner mercifully retired their fighter at the end of the seventh.
With the win, Hatton moves to 30-3-1, 12 KOs, while Houghtaling slips to 19-13-5, 4 KOs. The referee was Toby Gibson. -- Chris Bronte
Undercard results
--Albert Howell
Ibbotson Earns First Round TKO Victory!
In a six-round super middleweight contest, Jonathan Ibbotson (8-0-1, 4 KOs) blasted his opponent, previously unbeaten Shannon Anderson (3-1, 1 KO), inside of one round. A straight right to the body of Anderson landed for Ibbotson to begin the first round, followed by a left hook upstairs that stunned his foe and another crushing left hook. Ibbotson unleashed a flurry of punches capped off by a third left hook that put down his opponent. Anderson rose from the early knockdown but never regained his composure. Ibbotson attacked Anderson, unleashing a brutal combination. A straight left by Ibbotson landed on top of the head of Anderson and sent him reeling backwards, then crumbling to the canvas. Referee Jay Nady waived off the bout immediately. Ibbotson emerged the victor by TKO with the official time of 1:35 of round one. Winning in impressive fashion Ibbotson the hard hitting prospect from Sheffield, England remains undefeated.
Smedley Impressive in Exhibition Bout!
Nicky Smedley (8-0-0, 2 KOs) of Sheffield, England looked impressive in his three-round junior welterweight exhibition bout against Juan Pablo Montes de Oca (9-10-2, 6 KO's) of Las Vegas, Nevada. In round one, Smedley showed he is a very active fighter as he demonstrated his superior foot movement. Smedley displayed his left jab and left hook to the the body from the outset. Relying on his footwork to keep him out of trouble, Smedley kept his hands down below his waist for much of the fight. Montes de Oca did not possess the speed to match up with Smedley who was able to move in and out hitting his foe without being hit through most of the bout.
Smedley landed a couple of clean left hooks to the body of Montes de Oca in the second round. A Montes de Oca right hook connected to the chin of Smedley. A left jab by Smedley snapped back the head of Montes de Oca. In addition to possessing the superior boxing ability, the slick Smedley seemed to possess the heavier hands. Smedley showed his willingness to exchange with his opponent as the exhibition wore on and, in the third round, a smashing left hook by Smedley connected to the head of his foe. There were no knockdowns in this exhibition bout.
Abril Earns Second Round TKO Victory!
In a lightweight bout Richar Abril (7-0-1, 3 KOs) disposed of his foe Marcus Luck (7-13-1, 3 KOs) inside of two rounds. In the first round a body shot by Abril forced Luck to one knee. Luck argued that the punch hit him on the hip, prompting referee Kenny Bayless to summon the ring doctor to the corner of Luck. After checking Luck, the ring doctor allowed the fight to continue. Still visibly bothered by the hip shot Luck retreated for the rest of round one to avoid Abril's power shots. Luck was back on his bicycle to begin the second round. Abril took target practice as he found his range landing punches upstairs and downstairs. Luck was clearly outgunned; abody shot by Abril put Luck on the canvas and referee Kenny Bayless waived off the bout. Abril was declared the victor by TKO at 0:55 of round two.
 Post-fight: Hatton vs. Castillo is on!
Having recaptured the IBF Junior Welterweight belt, Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton and his camp entertained the assembled press at the post fight press conference.
Ever the class act, Hatton was gracious in victory and had nothing but good things to say about his vanquished foe, although he did say “Urango pissed me off with those shots he kept hitting me with.” He continued by saying that it was a tough fight and that “it was frustrating, as I was hitting him so much, and it were doing fuck-all!”
At this point both fighters embraced and laughed.
For their part Urango’s camp took the defeat well and didn’t dispute it, saying that Juan obviously lacks experience, but by the same token has all the heart and ability in the world and that he will undoubtedly become world champion again.
Hatton’s trainer, Billy Graham, concurred and said that as early as the fifth round he advised his charge to leave something in reserve for the home stretch, as he was sure that Urango couldn’t be budged.
As expected, Bob Arum and his fighter, Jose Luis Castillo, were on hand to announce with Hatton’s promoter, Dennis Hobson, that an agreement had been reached for the two fighters to face each other some time in June at the Thomas and Mack Center here in Las Vegas.
Hatton said he looks forwards to the fight and that “it will be an honor to share the ring with a fighter like Castillo who has been in so many great fights.” He added “this ain’t going to be a tickling contest…and if you want to watch a chess match tune in to the Floyd May weather - De La Hoya fight. But if you want to watch two blokes knock the shit out of each other watch me and Castillo.”
Arum concluded the press conference by expressing that he wanted to place a side bet with Hatton’s promoters. The bet: that more Mexicans will turn up than Brits for the fight. To this Hobson replied “Yeah to support Ricky, the white Mexican."-- Chris Bronte
|
