Hatton can’t afford to slip up now: show preview

By Daniel Heath (December 9, 2004)

Ricky 'Hitman' Hatton

Ricky Hatton - Manchester’s light-welterweight sensation – will make a rare trip away from his hometown fortress this Saturday, when he tackles American Ray Oliveira at London’s Excel Arena. Standing as mandatory challenger for both Kostya Tszyu’s IBF title and Miguel Cotto’s WBO strap, it is an important night for the popular Englishman. There is a lot more than Ricky’s WBU crown on the line.

There is a feeling that the wait for Hatton’s breakthrough may finally be over. His promoter, Frank Warren, is confident of landing the Tszyu showdown next year. At the same time Ricky is showing renewed hunger.

In October doubts were raised by many, myself included, whether Hatton was already on the downward slope. Tepid performances against mediocre opposition such as Dennis Holbaek Pedersen and Carlos Wilfredo Vilches seemed a far cry away from the Mancunian’s destructive displays earlier in his title reign. At the same time Ricky seemed frustrated that the big fights appeared to be passing him by. His IBF eliminator against American tough guy Mike Stewart offered him an opportunity to reassert himself. That he did.

Hatton seemed determined from the opening bell as he swarmed all over his perplexed opponent. Stewart was on the canvas within two minutes, from one of Ricky’s trademark body shots, and a right hook floored him again before the first round elapsed. Hatton was dominant thereafter. The American finally wilted in the fifth. A left hook to the head finishing the contest. It was a superb performance against decent opposition and strengthened Hatton’s credentials as a world-class operator. At 37-0 (27) he is certainly ready for the division’s elite.

However with the big fights so close he cannot afford to overlook the dangerous Oliveira. Although he is beyond the best, the 36 year-old Massachusetts man is still capable of causing problems.

A two-time world title challenger, Ray was flirted around the fringes of world class for a decade. Whilst usually beaten in top-class he holds decision wins over Hatton victim Vince Phillips and, more impressively, current WBA king Vivian Harris. He remains the only man to have beaten the Guyanese star.

Oliveira is renowned for his high workrate. He has held numerous records for the volume of punches thrown in a fight. Ray has a terrific chin and, despite facing a number of excellent foes, he has never been stopped. The New Englander is by no means a knockout artist – his record stands at 47-9-2 (22) – but his punching power deserves an amount of respect. A stocky brawler, the fight should make an interesting spectacle.

However it is a fight Hatton should win. Oliveira’s form has been patchy recently. A loss to Elio Ortiz in May 2003, in what was admittedly a hard fought fight, virtually finished his world title hopes. Since then he has scraped a majority decision against decent Canadian Bryon Mackie and overcome a couple of club fighters.

A bigger issue however could be Ray’s weight. He has not made the 10st light-welterweight limit since 2001. A tall 5’10’’, and well-built to go with it, weight-making could well be a problem. With energy and work such an important aspect of Oliveira’s style, this could be significant.

Ray is tough though. He will put a spirited effort up for the first half of the fight. However Hatton should have too much for him at this stage and I expect the Englishman will be comfortably in control by the closing stages. I would not rule out a late stoppage, but this fight looks like a distance contest.

McDermott and Krence have it all to prove

Chief support sees an intriguing battle between Horndon’s John McDermott and Chesterfield’s Mark Krence for the English heavyweight title.

It looks like sink or swim for McDermott. He has amassed an 18-1 (12) pro log, but it has been a turbulent career. A string of knockout wins early on, over the likes of Gordon Minors and Eamon Glennon, earmarked John as a prospect. However that was all derailed in September 2003, when unbeaten Russian Nicolay Popov not only enforced a stoppage defeat on McDermott, but also a broken leg. This kept him out of the ring for eight months. He has come back with two low key wins, but question marks still remain. His conditioning is still a major worry and, following his injury, his mobility has to be questioned too. McDermott’s chin is also a concern. John does have quick hands however, for a man of his size, and carries a dangerous dig. He will also outweigh his opponent by a fair margin come fight time.

It has been a difficult time for Krence recently too. Following his early career defeat to Olympic hero Audley Harrison, the Debyshire man stacked up nine successive victories. He overcame Luke Simpkin for the Midlands Area title, outpointed decent Lithuanian Mendauga Kulikauskis and stopped Colin Kenna in three rounds. An intelligent boxer, with a strong jab, he was looking like a decent British title contender.

However in September Krence was derailed. After outboxing Ukrainian journeyman Konstantin Prizyuk over five impressive rounds, he was caught by an excellent shot in the last and stopped for the first time in his career. It was a disappointing loss, his slate dropping to 20-2 (6).

It leaves an intriguing contest. Krence is probably the better boxer of the two. If he can assert his jab and overcome the size difference, I favour him to control the fight, frustrate his foe and win on points. However McDermott is capable of hurting Mark. If he can use his physical advantages and outmuscle his opponent John has every chance.

Power thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire

In a hastily re-arranged matchup, Martin Power takes a big step up in class to challenge Joseph Agbeko for the Commonwealth bantamweight title in an excellent pairing. Martin was supposed to be contesting the vacant British crown against Castleford’s Noel Wilders on this date, but when the Yorkshireman officially withdrew on Monday promoters Sports Network quickly turned to Agbeko. Considering that Joseph is currently based at London’s Peacock Gym this was a logical match to make. One has to feel some sympathy for Power though. Having prepared to face a slick moving southpaw, Martin must now face a pressure fighter with a big punch.

The 24-year-old Agbeko, born in Ghana’s notorious fighting city of Accra, will enter the ring with an impressive 22-1 (19) ledger and claimed the vacant Commonwealth title in October with a convincing points victory over Sumaila Badu. Whilst the African’s record is littered with non-entities, Agbeko’s one-round knockout win over Abdul Malik Jabir certainly stands out. Jabir, many will remember, pushed Commonwealth super-featherweight champion Craig Docherty all the way last year before losing on points in a bloody battle. The champion’s solitary defeat came in May when he dropped a majority decision to the highly rated Wladimir Sidorenko (currently 16-0) in Germany.

Power looks up against it here, but the Johnny Eames trained fighter has certainly caught the eye himself in reeling off 15-straight wins (7 ko’s) since turning pro in June 2001. A handful to contain, Power’s crowd-pleasing style sees him launch wave after wave of two-fisted attacks. Martin maintained a brisk pace when recording his career best win when outpointing Jean Marie Codet over eight rounds in May. If he can sustain this over the championship distance this could prove significant. The fact that Power was already in training to fight on Saturday will give him the edge in fitness over Agbeko, but the Ghanaian must be favoured to retain his title. This would be a superb win for Martin though if he was to pull it off.

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