Hatton v Castillo - Saturday 23rd June

I'm so out of the boxing loop, I had no idea this was even happening

I'm rooting for Hatton. Castillo will be tough, but I agree that maybe a late stoppage or UD will give the win to Hatton.

Whats the undercard?

Eh, I think I'll be skipping. I'm low on cash, hopefully someone in the family buys it and records it.

That actually is pretty tempting. I'll speak to the parents about it lol.

yeah, castillo is way past his prime; hopefully Hatton finishes him off before ten.

Floyd would make Ricky look like a rook in the ring, sorry to say.

Hatton and Castillo have both made weight for the fight

LAS VEGAS -- Ricky Hatton plans to come out swinging from the opening bell. Jose Luis Castillo knows no other way to fight than to move forward relentlessly.


The two all-out styles would ordinarily promise one great fight. And there's little doubt that the two fighters at their best would put on just that kind of bout.

But there are questions both Hatton and Castillo will have to answer when they meet Saturday night in an intriguing 140-pound fight.

Among them are:

Has a brutal fight with the late Diego Corrales and the wear and tear of a long career finally caught up with Castillo? Have money and personal problems affected him more than he lets on?

Is Hatton really the "Hit Man," or just a one-hit wonder who parlayed a win over Kostya Tszyu into millions?

Both fighters are coming off of less than impressive performances, giving the questions added legitimacy. But both promise they will be in top form when they tangle in a scheduled 12-round fight at the UNLV campus arena.

"I feel a big performance coming on," Hatton said. "Every professional sportsman can go through lean spells and maybe my last two performances were lean spells for me. But in my defense I fought a couple of southpaws with tricky styles and sometimes it's hard to look good against them."

"I'm not even anywhere near finished," Castillo said. "The last two fights that I had, I really didn't train well for them. I wasn't prepared for them like I should have been."

Hatton will have the backing of thousands of rabid fans who came over from his native England to watch their hero, while Castillo will have his Hispanic supporters in a fight (HBO, 10 p.m. EDT) that matches two of the most aggressive fighters around.

Several thousand of Hatton's fans were on hand Friday when the fighters both weighed in at 140.

The bout is only for a fringe version of the title because of boxing politics, but both are widely considered the top two fighters at 140 pounds now that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has moved up to welterweight.

Castillo (55-7-1, 47 knockouts) is a tough puncher with a vicious left hook who fought Corrales in one of greatest recent fights ever, and then knocked him out in a rematch. Hatton, meanwhile, likes to throws punches from all angles and never seems to stop.

If the two both bring their top game, it could be a real slugfest.

"I want to go to war and put him on his back foot," Hatton said. "But obviously the dangers are there for all to see."

Hatton is undefeated, a champion in two weight classes, and a tough Brit who is a superstar in his native land. But he's coming off two lackadaisical fights, and understands he needs to put on a show to establish himself as a big name in the United States.

"People all know I can fight," Hatton said. "I think maybe because I've been in a lot of hard fights they think Ricky is showing signs of wear and tear. I don't blame them for thinking that, but I'll prove them wrong."

Hatton (42-0, 30 knockouts) last fought in January when he shared a card in Las Vegas with Castillo to set up their fight. Hatton regained his 140-pound title with a decision win over Juan Urango, but was criticized for being too cautious in the fight.

Castillo, meanwhile, looked rusty as he used left hooks to the body to win a narrow decision over Hermann Ngoudjo after being off for nearly a year because of being suspended by Nevada boxing authorities for failing to make weight twice against Corrales.

Castillo was fined $250,000 the second time he failed to make weight, and part of his purse for this bout will go to promoter Bob Arum to pay it off. He has had money troubles, and the unexpected death of a brother also wears on him.

But he says he is back to normal in the ring, where he not only gave Mayweather fits in two fights but was on the verge of knocking out Corrales before he himself was knocked out in the 10th round of their epic 2005 battle.

"This fight has the potential to be like the first Corrales fight," Castillo said.

Credit Sportingnews

Hatton looked very good tonight, and Castillo looked like a shot fighter. I was suprised to see the fight end so quickly though, but that body shot was amazing. I wonder who Hatton will fight next, and i loved his comment about Mayweather.

haha totally, you could tell ricky was preparing to say something; hopefully floyd won't puss out.