Hatton is Juan helluva fighter

May 25 2008 By Garry McConnachie

Ricky Hatton retained his IBO light-welterweight title via unanimous points decision over Juan Lazcano despite some scares at the City of Manchester Stadium last night.

Hatton's aggression won him 120-110, 118-110, 112-108 verdicts on the three judges' cards but brave Lazcano gave him plenty to think about and came close to flooring the champion in rounds eight and 10.

Hatton showed he hadn't learned the lessons of his defeat to Floyd Mayweather in December as he got careless and had to ride the storm.

And this win over Lazcano - a 140lbs contender who came out of retirement to take the fight - leaves his dream of enticing Mayweather into a rematch a long way off.

Hatton's trainer Billy Graham admitted he would not know how the knockout to Mayweather would affect him until the first bell sounded, there were enough imponderables for the sell-out home crowd to savour.

Hatton, who entered the ring wearing a padded robe in a jibe to the critics who deride his habit of ballooning in weight between fights, made a confident start.
Hatton got into his stride from the first bell, throwing a right hook and a straight left, although he left himself open to a good right by Lazcano which reddened his nose.

Lazcano's accurate counters, aiming for Hatton's body, were good enough to remind the favourite he was in a proper contest.

Hatton hit the deck in the opening seconds of round three but it was clearly a slip and referee Howard Foster judged it so.

Hatton looked like he was softening up his opponent when he unloaded from either hand in the early stages of round four. But his attack brought a superb response from Lazcano, who scored with a straight left.

While the home fighter was dominant, his eagerness to finish the job wasn't helping, with the Mexican firing back through the onslaught as the fight approached the halfway stage.

The heavy weapons were employed again in round five, a series of left uppercuts seemingly setting up a dramatic finish only for Lazcano to again come through it and respond with a right uppercut.

And the first half of the fight ended with Lazcano on the attack, the Mexican landing a flurry of left and right hands with his back against the ropes.

Hatton survived his first real scare in the eighth when he walked into a left hook from Lazcano and a left to the body had the home favourite temporarily stunned.

The Mancunian sought desperately to cling onto the challenger while his head cleared but typically he stormed back, battering Lazcano across the ring with three right hooks before the bell ended a frantic round.

Hatton, clearly wilting down the home straight, was rocked again by a big left in round 10, but was given valuable respite when the laces on his boots came undone.

Hatton continued to come forward and land, and had clearly won all but perhaps two of the completed rounds, but entering the 11th Lazcano was showing no signs of giving the 'Hitman' an early night.

Both men touched gloves at the start of the final round and Hatton pursued the challenger until the final seconds before the bell sounded to end a fine contest for which both men deserved credit.

Whether it will prove enough to take Hatton back to the super-fights that he craves deserves to be seen. Next up is expected to be an Autumn showdown against Paulie Malignaggi in New York.

Following the verdict, Hatton admitted he was more nervous about tonight's fight than he had been before any of his previous 44.

He said: "The hardest one's out the way, coming back from Floyd Mayweather.

"I've never been more nervous before about a boxing match in my life. I felt great in the gym but it's different once you get in there.

He added: "All those demons are in your mind: 'can I come back as strong?'."

Hatton praised Lazcano's courage, saying: "There were three or four times in the fight when I thought I had him.

"If I wanted to box my way to a points victory, I could have come through a lot more comfortably."

Hatton believes tonight's win proved he is the light-welterweight king and he confirmed he would like his next fight to be against Malignaggi, who won an unconvincing victory on the undercard tonight.

Hatton finished by thanking his fans, describing them as "pound-for-pound best fans in the world".