Hatton victorious on American soil; What's Next?
 By Benny Henderson Jr. (May 14, 2006)
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Photo © Mr.Will/HoganPhotos.com
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Undefeated Englishman Ricky Hatton 41-0 (30) kept his unblemished record intact tonight by smothering out an ugly win over New York based southpaw Luis Collazo 26-2 (12) to take the W as well as Collazo’s WBA welterweight strap live on HBO from the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, MA.
It has been five years and twenty fights ago since ‘The Hitman’ last fought on American soil but in his first throwdown at welterweight the twenty-seven year old faired well, dropping the American born fighter in the opening seconds with a left hook in what possibly could have been the winning ingredient in this fight.
Hatton fought his usual pressure filled fight, smothering his opponent style throughout this championship bout. A clash of heads left a small abrasion on the top of Callazo’s head, but it had no ill affect on the duration of the fight or the outcome. It was all Hatton until the fifth round when Callazo came into his own, landing a good left hand and firing off pop shots to scoring well in spurts with the two trading off shots.
Hatton’s left eye begin to swell visibly in the ninth round and Collazo took control with the more decisive, cleaner blows, but lost his grip in the eleventh with Hatton continuing with his in-your-face, unrelenting assault. Hatton showcased the strength of his beard eating clean shots throughout the night but was finally shaken up and stunned in the last round when Collazo landed a handful of hurtful left and right hands but the tough Mancunian stayed on his feet to end the fight with a good left hook. In the end the judges saw the fight in Hatton’s favor by the scores of 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113, giving ‘The Hitman’ the unanimous decision victory.
It was a close quartered bout that had its moments but for the most part it was an ugly fight. Collazo was more game than what most fight fans expected and much respect goes out to the New Yorker, who stated after the fight that he felt he had the win and that Hatton should have done more to win the fight.
Hatton said that this bout was a good test for him at this weight, and although he said Collazo’s power was surprising he didn’t feel he was truly hurt during the match.
What’s next for Hatton? Only time will tell!
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