Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Is Floyd Mayweather Sr. the blame for Hatton's loss?
Re-watching the replay of the Pacquiao/Hatton fight this past Saturday night I began to wonder what went wrong for 'The Hitman' from Manchester, England. If I was Billy Graham I probably would, no I definitely would blame my replacement for the outcome of the fight. Having previously worked with Hatton for close to 20 years, Could Graham have done a better job preparing Hatton for his fight against Pacquiao? Was Mayweather's old-school, fundamental boxing training not suited for Hatton abilities or makeup?
To get a better indication of Mayweather's effectiveness as a trainer for Hatton during this fight I paid close attention to the basic boxing technique that Hatton employed during the fight, head movement, footwork and positioning..
Things that Hatton did wrong:
- Hatton tried to enforce his will on Pacquiao and attacked with a face-first, head straight up in the air, frontal assault, also setting the fight to a very high pace.
- Hatton didn't jab his way into the fight.
- Didn't move his head but instead held his head stationary.
- Hatton abandoned his training and resorted to his 'brawling' style.
- Hatton threw punches 'out of position' or 'out of range'.
- Hatton used bullying tactics and then clinched trying to keep Pacquiao tied up so he couldn't punch back.
In between the first round and 2nd round after 2 knockdowns Mayweather Sr. admonished Hatton telling him to move his head and do the things they worked on in the gym, Hatton thoroughly confused and overwhelmed by then probably needed more specific instructions on how to work his way out of his deficit.
Things that Mayweather did wrong:
- Tried to remake Hatton's fighting style.
- Hearsay was that Mayweather Sr. was inconsistent as a trainer not showing up on time for scheduled training sessions.
- Allowed disagreements in the Hatton camp to become distractions.
- Offered only better basic boxing fundamentals to Hatton instead of a more solid gameplan.
- Publicly berated his fighters skills and former trainer, while also bragging about his own credentials.
These events alone may not point the finger of blame at Floyd 'Joy' Mayweather , but the moments after the KO are moments of shame for the self proclaimed 'greatest trainer of not this time, or that time, but of ALL TIME'; Where was Floyd Mayweather Sr? Why was he not there attending to his charge?
Overall a combination of factors led to Hatton's devastating loss to Manny Pacquiao, one major factor was that while Team Hatton was in turmoil, Team Pacquiao was a well oiled machine firing on all cylinders. The inclusion of Former Heavyweight Champion Michael Moorer to Team Pacquiao paid dividends. Another factor is that Pacquiao just has superior skills to those possessed by Ricky Hatton.
I would also question Hatton's mental preparation. The last thing that should be considered is that you 'can't teach an old dog new tricks', and Mayweather Sr, being the great trainer he claims to be should've known this. Mayweather Sr, could have just opted to improve the things that Hatton already does that is make Hatton into a better brawler. Is Floyd Mayweather Sr. the blame, NO? He IS part of the problem, but Ricky Hatton's main problem is that he never developed
the fighting skills to compete at the highest level of the sweet science and came to that realization late in the game. This revelation is crystal clear if you look back at the Luis Collazo and Juan Urango fights. Could Billy Graham have done a better job? Probably not in the skills department, but mentally yes. Graham would have totally controlled the training environment.
Fans shouldn't be surprised if Ricky Hatton continues to fight under new trainer Freddie 'The Joke Coach' Roach. I'm sure that as far as Freddie Roach is concerned the joke is on Floyd 'Joy' Mayweather.
Source: http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=19788&more=1
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