Hatton Defeats Collazo ... Barely!
Sunday May 14, 2006
Ricky Hatton (41-0) moved up in weight and defeated Luis Collazo (26-2) by unanimous decision to capture the WBA welterweight title. It looked like it might be a short night when Hatton dropped Collazo in the first ten seconds of the bout but Collazo got up and fought Hatton evenly the rest of the way. In a tough fight to score, Hatton applied constant pressure throughout but Collazo - a slick southpaw - was often the sharper and more effective boxer. Hatton was hurt in the 12th round but was never knocked down. After the fight, Hatton's swollen left eye made him look like the beaten fighter but the judges rewarded his aggressiveness and punch output by scores of 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113. Hatton has the heart, chin and conditioning to be competititive against any fighter in the world and he'll have plenty of interesting options at either 140 (Miguel Cotto, Jose Luis Castillo) or 147 (Floyd Mayweather Jr., Oscar De La Hoya, Arturo Gatti, Antonio Margarito). A rematch with Collazo - who many feel did enough to retain his title - is also a possibility.
Comments
This decision is the reason that Boxing can never be taken as seriously as the other major sports. Collazo was clearly robbed, and shown no respect by the judges in this bout! Wasn,t he the Welterweight champion in this bout? How do you take a belt away from a man who fought the way Collazo did in this fight and why doesn,t Collazo as the champion get an automatic rematch after such a close fight?
I agree this fight was what makes boxing a mockery. Callazo clearly dominated the fight at least 8 rounds. Hatton was sloppy and hold punching the entire night, and as a challenger you must go the extra mile to beat the champ. This shows that judges judge on namesake and not talent or facts.