Freelance Writing Jobs | Today's Articles | sign in

Ricky Hatton vs Paulie Malignaggi: Fight Results

The Junior Welterweight Champion Scores a TKO at the MGM Grand

Nov 23, 2008 Bill Scherer

Las Vegas--Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton defeated Paulie Malignaggi by TKO at :28 in the 11th round of their junior welterweight bout.

Malignaggi's trainer, Buddy McGirt, stepped onto the ring apron, forcing referee, Kenny Bayless, to stop the fight. Malignaggi, distraught by the stoppage, shoved McGirt in vehement protest, but he had little argument for his cause.

By the fateful 11th round, Malignaggi had deflated into a survivor instead of a winner. He circled without throwing and grabbed without trying to land. Meanwhile, Hatton had begun pot-shotting like he was a prime Roy Jones Jr.

The Blue Moon Brit punched with every forward step. Sometimes it was two or three successive left hooks. Sometimes a hard one-two. But always a punch with each forward step, every step toward Malignaggi a step away from his loss to Mayweather Jr.

"I lost some confidence after that fight. My performance against (Juan) Lazcano wasn't really the confidence builder I hoped it would be. But tonight, against a slippery, fast, difficult guy in Malignaggi, I put it together pretty well."

With a new trainer in the Hatton corner, Floyd Mayweather Sr., Hatton obviously was enamored with the changes he saw in himself after only a short time working together.

"We only worked together for seven weeks and I think you could see the difference, even with a difficult opponent like Paulie. When was the last time you've seen head movement from me? Or a jab? Imagine what we can do in a fight or two?"

While struggling to contain his disappointment in being stopped, Malignaggi was genuinely gracious and appreciative of Hatton making the fight.

"I'm not gonna harp on the stoppage, I just want to thank Ricky for making the fight. I know he didn't have to. He's a great fighter and I wish him the best."

He even had a parting gift for his conqueror.

"I didn't want to give this to him before the fight because iIdidn't want to be too friendly," said Malignaggi as he pulled four blue-labeled bottles out of a plastic bag. "There was a six-pack of these but somebody drank two of them," he said, sparking a laugh from Hatton as he handed the famously beer friendly champion a bottle of Blue Moon beer.

Hatton, (who doesn't get much sun in the UK, this writer has Scotch Tape that's darker than he is) came out into the arena in a blue "fat suit" with "Ricky Fatton" emblazoned in white letters, an obvious reference to his tendency to put on considerable weight between fights. Conventional wisdom is that his weight fluctuations will eventually deplete his talent. It hasn't happened yet.

The copyright of the article Ricky Hatton vs Paulie Malignaggi: Fight Results in Boxing is owned by Bill Scherer. Permission to republish Ricky Hatton vs Paulie Malignaggi: Fight Results in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.