Collazo vs. Hatton: One if by land…
By Julian Kasdin, (May 12, 2006)
Photo © HBO
The British are coming, and for the second time in American history Massachusetts is being invaded by the British. Undisputed junior welterweight champion Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton, 40-0 (30), puts his perfect record on the line when he takes on WBA welterweight titlist Luis Collazo, 26-1 (12). Hatton, as most fans know, is skilled pressure fighter who throws a high volume of punches from the first round to the last, he has an often underrated defense, and heavy hands to boot. This is Hatton’s first fight at 147 so it will be interesting to see how he handles the added weight. Collazo is a tall southpaw with good reach and an ability to employ footwork when necessary. That said Collazo sometimes like to stand in the pocket and trade, which could make for a very exciting fight.

Collazo is the lesser known of the two combatants he suffered an early career setback in a third round stoppage loss to Edward Cassiani, but since then has regrouped and recently stepped up his level of opposition. Last year he scored the two biggest wins of his career with a decision win over Jose Antonio Rivera and a stoppage victory over Miguel Angel Gonzalez. In order for Collazo to make the most of this opportunity and pull off the win he has to keep distance on Hatton, and use his jab to try and disturb Hatton’s rhythm. Collazo also has to try and out muscle Hatton in clinches he is the larger man and he should try and use that size to his advantage. Collazo has to remember that he is best when sticking and moving and he should not try to engage in a Gatti vs. Ward type battle, which only favors the shorter busier Hatton. Luis must realize that the most important thing for him in this fight is distance, creating and keeping it is his key to victory.

Hatton, the Mexican from Manchester, has fought solid competition for the last few years. He capped it all off last year with stoppage wins of Kostya Tszyu for the undisputed 140 pound title, and Carlos Maussa for the WBA strap at 140. Against Collazo, Hatton has to go to the body early in order to take away Luis’ ability to move around the ring. Hatton knows that it is in his interest to bang to the body often, and follow those shots up with short hard hooks and uppercuts to Collazo’s head. This will be Hatton’s first fight at 147 so he might want to see how strong he is by trying to out muscle Collazo on the inside early. Hatton wants Luis to fight on the inside so he will do everything in his power to cut off the ring and draw Collazo into a firefight. If he can effectively limit Collazo’s movement, and come in under his jab with hooks and uppercuts to the body he can make this a very long night for Luis.

This fight will probably start relatively fast with Hatton trying to counter Collazo’s jabs early with hooks and uppercuts to the body. Eventually Hatton will follow those up with straights down the pipe. Collazo will either try and keep distance between him and the Mancunian, or he will fall into Hatton’s trap and try to brawl. I have a sneaking suspicion that Hatton will be able to cut off the ring and pressure Collazo effectively so that Luis will end up engaging in a near brawl. It is here that Hatton will have the advantage as he is much better at inside fighting, and as seen against Maussa is much harder to hit than people usually think. I see this fight being a lot like the Maussa fight, and eventually Hatton’s relentless pressure and power will be enough to overwhelm Collazo leading to a stoppage win for Hatton somewhere between rounds nine and eleven.

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