CBCSports.ca’s Chris Iorfida pulls no punches on the action inside the squared circle and in the world of pro boxing.
Homecoming for Hatton
Thursday, May 22, 2008 | 05:08 PM ET
Ricky Hatton will try and bounce back from the only loss of his pro boxing career Saturday in Manchester Stadium.
Hatton (43-1, 30 KOs) returns to his roots, fighting for the first time in England since late 2005, and the first fight in his hometown since his stirring title win over Kostya Tsyzu in June of that year.
After a razor-close win over Luis Collazo and a 10th-round stoppage loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr., it's been clearly shown that Hatton is no welterweight.
He will be back down at the 140-pound limit, taking on Mexican-born, Texas-based Juan Lazcano 37-4-1 (27 KOs).
The aggressive Lazcano should give Hatton rounds as he hasn't been stopped in nearly a decade, but at 32 is on the other side of his prime.
Still, Lazcano's reputable trainer thinks it's Hatton who's going to suffer due to years of ballooning up in weight between fights on a diet of Guinness and healthy British fare.
"I think his lifestyle has finally caught up with him," said Ronnie Shields, Lazcano's trainer.
"The Ricky in the Mayweather fight wasn't the Ricky you saw against Kostya Tszyu or the other guys he's beaten," he added.
Should Hatton win, there's a strong chance he'll fight flashy Brooklynite Paulie Malignaggi later in the year, possibly in Madison Square Garden.
Canadian fight fans watched Malignaggi struggle to a debatable decision over Montreal's Herman Ngoudjo, a fight CBC Sports carried earlier this year.
Hatton-Malignaggi has the potential to be one ugly fight, stylistically.
As for Ngoudjo, he's fighting June 6 in Montreal against one-time titlist Souleymayne M'Baye.
Battered Old Byrd
In case you missed it, Chris Byrd's debut fight at light heavyweight after shedding 40 pounds went as badly as it could.
As Angelo Dundee said when Muhammad Ali came in at a svelte 217 for his fight with Larry Holmes: "Light ain't right."
The first sign was a couple of days before his fight with Shaun George, when a picture made the rounds of boxing websites. Byrd appeared to have the perfect body of one of those late night infomercials and the gaunt face and neck of one of the Hamsterdam denizens in The Wire.
Byrd was beaten soundly over nine rounds by George in the 175-pound bout. More disturbingly, the knockdowns he suffered were delayed reactions; after decades in the ring it seemed like the signals from his brain weren't reaching the rest of his body instantly.
It's incomprehensible that referee Jay Nady was actually issuing a count on the second knockdown in the ninth round. Byrd himself was insisting Nady to stop the bout. The fighter had to be hospitalized afterwards, but was soon released.
I always thought Byrd got short shrift because Vitaly Klitschko quit on his stool in their 2000 fight. For the last four of the nine rounds of that fight, Byrd was befuddling Klitschko, who had a 35-pound advantage.
He was a one-of-a-kind fighter and perhaps this foray into light heavy could have been successful had he tried it three of four years ago. Hopefully if we see Byrd near a ring it's only because the gregarious Las Vegas native is doing commentary.
Gamboa no typical 10-bout fighter
Russ Anber, the man responsible for the only boxing show in Canada and CBC's Olympic boxing commentator, said on his show he felt Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa has been overly criticized in the wake of his decision win over Darling Jimenez last week, during which he was dropped.
Anber's line of reasoning was that Gamboa is just 26 and that the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones, Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya hadn't even fought such sturdy opposition in their 10th pro fights.
A couple minor quibbles. Gamboa is 26 and had a 400-fight amateur fight career. Given Gamboa's maturity and some past fudging with Cuban boxers' ages, it wouldn't be surprising if Gamboa is 26 like Miguel Tejada of the Houston Astros was 31.
While I understand what he was getting at to a point, Anber picked the wrong fighters to make a comparison. The quartet of fighters mentioned were all considerably younger than 26 when in their 10th fight and by the age of 26 had all established themselves as stars, winning titles in multiple divisions.
Also, Oscar fought 23-2-2 Jeff Mayweather in just his fifth bout, the same record as Jimenez.
For the record, I saw a little too much "Camacho" in Gamboa's game. It wouldn't be a surprise if he wins a title or two, but I also wouldn't be shocked if he gets starched in a division full of guys who can bang. I'm not sure if he'll have the power and elusiveness against the best contenders to reach the pinnacle.
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About the Author
Chris Iorfida has been writing about professional and amateur sports since joining CBC Sports in 2002. Previously he worked as a producer for the Team Sports Radio Network and has also written for national publications Strategy, Chart and Exclaim.
A passionate boxing observer since 1982, a crazy year for the sport, Chris has never missed a major bout and has travelled to Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and of course in Canada to attend fights in person.
Recent Posts
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