Hatton Wins Convincingly but Leaves Some Questions!
May 24th, Manchester Stadium, Manchester England: Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton won his “Homecoming” fight with “the Hispanic Causing Panic” Juan Lazcano. It was the first time the “Hitman” got back in the ring since his Ko loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. The judges scored the fight 120-108, 120-110 and 118-110 but Hatton controlled the action for most of the fight.
Hatton looked good but not quite as sharp as we are used to seeing him, he boxed well and controlled the distance winning the early rounds but his head was still and he ran into a few good shots.Lazcano kept his right elbow home taking away Hatton’s devastating left hook the body so the “Hitman changed up and landing some heavy right hands downstairs.
Hatton appeared to have Lazcano at the brink several times but could not follow up as the game Mexican did his fair share of grabbing. Hatton pounded the Mexican challeger heavily rounds four thru seven. In round eight round Lazcano landed a clean left hook that had Hatton wobble. The “Hitman” grabbed on and walked Lazcano around finishing the round. Hatton recovered well and went right back on the attack in round nine and into the tenth when without any real head movement Hatton was rocked again by two Lazcano left hooks hook but Hatton grabbed on and when sent to a neutral corner as referee Howard John Foster warned Lazcano for pulling Hatton down Hatton was aware enough to notice his shoe was untied and brought it to referee Fosters attention who now had to call time. Lazcano appear to need the break as much as the “Hitman”. When the action resumed Hatton quickly recovered and went back to the action that won him rounds four thru seven. Hatton did display his great recovery ability just as he did in the last round of the Collazzo fight.
Hatton improved to 44-1,31 Ko’s while Lazcano fell to 37-5-1,27 Ko’s. It wasn’t Hatton’s greatest performance but a good fight returning from a Ko loss. Now is Hatton’s life style catching up to him or will this win bring back his confidence for a big money match with Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Did the “Magic Man” Make a Hatton Fight Disappear?
May 24th, Manchester England: Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi defended his IBF light welterweight title winning a split decision over South African veteran Lovemore the “Black Panther” N'Dou in a mandatory rematch bout of their June 2007 IBF title fight won by the “Magic Man.”
The fight wasn’t as easy as the first but most would say that it was Malignaggi’s own doing. Rumors were flying trainer Buddy McGirt wasn’t happy with Malignaggi’s going to Italy to train and wearing those long hair extensions did show Malignaggi may be more worried about his looks rather than results. The extensions kept flying in his face becoming a distraction until finally cut between rounds eight and nine. They probably cost him the first round.
Malignaggi didn’t show the cagey, slick movement or slippery defensive fighting that makes him the “Magic Man.” N’Dou took advantage landing many single heavy right hands.
Let’s make a list, training in Italy, hair extensions a possible broken right hand Paulie should hope he didn’t lose the chance of a Hatton showdown. The Malignaggi camp made it clear he had probably broken his right hand in the sixth round but that doesn’t account for the absence of his usually sharp jab the second half of the fight. N’Dou was there all night but his lack of hand and foot speed kept him from ever gaining the edge. Hatton is faster and stronger than N’Dou, Malignaggi better train in Brooklyn and settle all his grooming before the weigh-in. It was a sub par outing for the usually entertaining “Magic Man” who held on to claim a 116-112, 116-113, 114-115 split decision.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Magic Man” Calls Out the “Hitman”
(click here for video)
By: Ian Webb
May 23rd: Tommorrow night Paulie Malignaggi takes on Lovemore N’dou on the undercard of the Ricky Hatton vs Juan Lazcano IBO light welterweight championship fight and the “Magic Man” who is never short on words is calling out the “Hitman.” He has boldly stated that Hatton has had to rely on luck to gain his accomplishments he has no chin. Referring to his ko loss to “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather in December.
Malignaggi who put up a gallant fight against Miguel Cotto in June 2006 was down in the second round and took a pretty good beating from the Puerto Rican star all the while on the move.
If there is one difference between Hatton’s fight with Mayweather and the “Magic Man’s” fight with Cotto, Hatton was pressing the action when he went down like N’dou will tomorrow.
Rumors are abound that Malignaggi who holds the IBF world light-welterweight belt will face the “Hitman” at Madison Square Garden around the time Mayweather has his rematch with the “Golden Boy” Oscar DeLaHoya in September. Both are looking for rematches with their nemesis down the road (Malignaggi / Cotto and Hatton / Mayweather) but they both must get past their very legitimite opponents tomorrow or all the hype is for naught. Wow! Think of it fighters fighting their way back to the top no automatic rematch, isn’t that fresh.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
N’Dou Strictly Business for Champ Malignaggi!
SIRACUSA, Sicily (May 1, 2008) – IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi has shifted training camp from Vero Beach (Florida) to Sicily in preparation for his May 24 rematch with Lovemore N’dou on the Ricky Hatton-Juan Lazcano card in Manchester, England.
Malignaggi (24-1, 5 KOs) captured the IBF title last June by defeating champion N’dou (46-9-1, 31 KOs) by unanimous 12-found decision. Paulie successfully defended his belt this past January with a 12-round decision against No. 1 contender Herman Ngoudjo (16-1).
Fighting an opponent he thoroughly outclassed (120-106, 120-106, 118-108) less than a year ago, flooring him in the process, has all the makings of a potential trap fight for Malignaggi, especially with a potential mega-deal on the table to fight Ricky Hatton this fall in New York City, pending wins May 24 by both fighters.
“I’m just working on getting the job done May 24th,” Malignaggi explained. “I’m focused on doing my job on this card, not looking any deeper than I have to. I’m training in Sicily to get acclimated to the time change (like England, 6 hours difference from the East Coast of the U.S.). I have connections here and everything was set-up for me, including my sparring partners. I trained two weeks in Vero Beach with Buddy (McGirt, head trainer) and he’ll catch up with us in Sicily.
“N’dou is a pressure fighter who fights at a high pace. I just have to stay consistent and fight like I did our first fight. I’ll force him into making adjustments. He has to try and get to me, come to me, not stay on the outside. He’s been the same fighter for a long time and I don’t expect anything much different this fight.” Malignaggi was born in Brooklyn but his Italian immigrant parents moved back to Siracuse, Sicily when Paulie was only a few months old. Six years later, the family decided to move back to the United States, but Paulie’s professional soccer playing father, Nello, stayed only a few weeks before returning to live in Siracuse.
McGirt predicts Malignaggi will be ready for N’dou once again. “N’dou brought in Boza Edwards to train him and I know they’ll be concentrating more on a body attack,” Buddy said. “They’ll judge Paulie off of his last fight (against Ngoudjo) and try to do a couple of things differently. Once things don’t go his way, hopefully, N’dou will go back to fighting the way he always does.
“Paulie won’t be looking ahead to Hatton. He never mentioned Hatton’s name in the two weeks he trained here (Vero Beach). Paulie learned a tough lesson against Ngoudjo, looking ahead to talks about fighting Hatton. There’s no Hatton fight unless he wins this fight. Paulie will be ready.”
CONTACT:Bob TriegerFull Court Press 978.664.4482 978.590.0470 mailto:bobtfcp@hotmail.com
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hatton-Malignaggi on the Horizon?
NEW YORK (March 16, 2008) – IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi hopes to ink a pact early next week to confirm his dream deal: a two-fight arrangement culminating with a showdown against the world’s recognized No. 1 junior welterweight, Ricky Hatton, The Ring magazine and IBO title-holder.
“I’ve got to admit that, after the Cotto fight,” Malignaggi said, “I never thought that I’d get the chance to fight another great champion again. I believed in myself, but it was almost like I proved too much to everyone, that I had skills, but most of all, that I’m as tough as anyone who ever laced on gloves. I’m really grateful that Team Hatton looks like they’ll give me the opportunity to fight on Ricky’s big card in Manchester in May and then against him in the Fall in the United States.
“Ricky and I have a lot in common. Both our fathers were soccer players – his in England and mine in Italy – and we’ve both paid our dues and earned the respect of the fans and other fighters. The only marks on our records came against two great fighters, Mayweather and Cotto. What makes it so exciting is the big difference in our fighting styles. Ricky is rough and tough; an all-action fighter who takes advantage of everything he can to get the win. You’re never going to see a Hatton fight that doesn’t keep you on the edge of your seat. Most of my fights have been boxing matches. The excitement was dictated by how aggressive the other guy wanted to be. If they brought it, they got it back times 10. I know I’m at the top of my game right now and that’s what it takes to have a chance against a great champion like Ricky Hatton.”
Malignaggi (24-1, 5 KOs) captured the IBF title last June, defeating champion Lovemore N’dou (45-8-1) by 12-found decision, and Paulie successfully defended his belt in January with a 12-round decision against No. 1 contender Herman Ngoudjo (16-1).
“Everyone was blown away when they heard Ricky was going to fight at City of Manchester Stadium,” Paulie continued. “It’s going to be crazy over there! They’ve had a lot of quality fighters in Great Britain - Joe Calzaghe, David Haye, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank. They also had Lennox Lewis, but nothing like what Ricky means to them. Vegas was crazy last December and I know we can bring that atmosphere back when we go at it in the Fall. This won’t be a Friendly, more like a World Cup match, wherever we fight.
“My goal has always been to make the biggest and best fights, just like my great friend, Floyd Mayweather, has told me to do. A match-up between me and Ricky will be a Super Fight, one talked about for as long as there is boxing. No other fight at 140 matters. And before the fight, well, everyone knows that I talk a lot of smack, so Ricky’s not going to get any breaks there, either. Like with Floyd, me and Ricky can save seeing if we’re cool until once we’ve earned each other’s respect at the only place it counts – in the ring. There is no one, I repeat, no one I want to fight more than the No. 1 guy in the division - Ricky Hatton. Forget the money, forget the titles, this is about being the best. I know that if I get in the ring with Ricky Hatton, I’ll show him and everyone else what I’m made of, that I am the best 140-pound fighter in the world.
“I want to thank Ricky, his father, Ray, his lawyer, Gareth, who I met in Vegas, my team and everyone at Golden Boy and DBE for working so hard on this. I know I’m not always the easiest guy to deal with because I get so emotional over stupid stuff and open my mouth. I want to hype things up and get my chance to prove to everyone that I can walk the walk with the best. I’m ready to sign on the dotted line and prove to the Hattons and everyone else that Paulie Malignaggi is ready and up for the task of making this the biggest and best promotion that it can be. The best versus the best! If Ricky Hatton can beat me, then he can close the book on the 140-pound division. But no one’s beating the ‘Magic Man’ ever again. Me and Ricky are both professionals and know we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We both know that if we don’t win in May, our fight can never happen. Let everyone know that Paulie Malignaggi will do his part to make this happen and I’m counting on Ricky to do the same.”
CONTACT:Bob TriegerFull Court Press978.664.4482978.590.0470 (mobile)mailto:bobtfcp@hotmail.com
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Golden Boy is a Hit with Hatton!
March 7, 2008, Word out of Los Angeles is that Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton 43-1, 31 KO’s has signed with Golden Boy Promotions. Golden Boy Promotions boxing’s leading promotion company was built by six weight division world champion Oscar DeLaHoya (president) and Richard Schaefer, a one-time Swiss bank executive (chief executive officer). Golden Boy Promotions has added world champions “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and Marco Antonio Barrera to the management team which has promoted the biggest boxing attraction of all time DeLaHoya \ Mayweather “Super Fight” May 5, 2007 and the Hatton \ Mayweather bout December 8th both at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hatton a two division champion who has crossed the atlantic and built a tremendous English and US fan base due to his attacking style and legendary training regime. He is tentatively scheduled to meet Golden Boy’s Juan “Hispanic Causing Panic” Lazcano May, 24th in the United Kingdom. Hatton who has beaten named competition like Ben Tackie, Carlos Maussa, Juan Urango, Jose Luis Castillo winning titles against Kostya Tszyu and Luis Collazo has only one defeat his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Assuming a victory is earned against Lazcano the Golden Boy connection should facilitate some interesting match-ups in the near future. A rematch with Mayweather or even a DeLaHoya fight in Wembly Stadium is a possibility or even a showdown with England’s Junior Witter also promoted by Golden Boy. Golden Boy also promotes several other named light welterweights Demetrius Hopkins, Danny Garcia, Lucas Matthyse and Jose Armando Santa Cruz.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hatton Sets His Eyes on a Mayweather Rematch! 
March 27, Empire Casino in London, England: Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather have agreed in principal to a rematch at Wembley Stadium next year. Assuming Hatton is successful in the defense of his IBO light welterweight title against Juan Lazcano on Saturday May 24th at Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England and Mayweather gets by the “Golden Boy” in September the two are ready for a rematch. On the may 24th card Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi will meet Lovemore Ndou in a rematch for the IBF junior welterweight title. Hatton could meet Malignaggi in the interim if the Paulie can pull off his “magic” again. The two could collide in the interim when Mayweather meets DeLahoya in September. Should Oscar pull of an upset of Mayweather, a Hatton / DeLaHoya bout at an agreed weight would be a monster sell at what would be over 100,00 seat Wembley Stadium set for boxing. “The Hitman’s” brother Matthew will take on Commonwealth welterweight champion Craig Watson also on the undercard May 24th. The May 24th show will be co-promoted by Golden Boy, Frank Maloney and Ray Hatton of Punch Promotions.
