BOXING/Ricky Hatton v Jose Luis Castillo :It was surely no coincidence that Roger Mayweather happened to be hanging round the Top Rank gym in Las Vegas when Jose Luis Castillo met the media earlier this week. The trainer and uncle of the pound-for-pound world number one, Floyd Mayweather, who holds two wins over Castillo, was only too happy to talk up the possibility of a confrontation between Mayweather and Ricky Hatton.
"Floyd wouldn't want Castillo. Why should he? But Hatton would be huge. It would be a bigger fight than Mayweather and (Oscar) De La Hoya because it is not just about two boxers, it is about nations as well. I know Floyd said he was retiring but there would be so much money in that one that it would make a dead man walk," said Mayweather before adding emphatically: "But first Hatton must look good against Castillo." That test comes in the Thomas and Mack Center tonight.
Hatton, by his own admission, has produced three substandard performances since a magnificent win against Kostya Tszyu two years ago. First, while embroiled in a split with his long-time promoter Frank Warren, Hatton gave a ragged and angry display against Carlos Maussa. Next, struggling against a full-blown welterweight , he barely edged past the southpaw Luis Collazo in a fight where some believed he was fortunate to get the verdict. Then in January, on his Las Vegas debut, he was way short of his best as he outpointed the strong but limited Juan Urango, with the debilitating effect of a virus later revealed as a contributory factor in Hatton's performance.
"I am pretty p****d off about it," said Hatton. "I know I am better than ever and have been doing some amazing things in the gym. So it is frustrating I haven't been able to show it in my recent fights. But I have had a fantastic training programme and I'm ready to produce a great performance. The way I feel there is no way Castillo can beat me."
Whether Hatton (28) will need to reach his best to win remains to be seen. Castillo (33) a veteran of 63 fights, looked rusty as he laboured to a points win over Herman Ngoudjo of Cameroon in his last fight. Perhaps the skills that propelled him to wins over the late Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor, and twice extended Mayweather in close fights, have begun to erode.
A formidable puncher with a damaging left hook, Castillo believes undefeated Hatton's aggressive style will play into his hands. But Hatton is fresher and is probably physically stronger. He anticipates a long and gruelling battle where fighting heart might ultimately prove as significant as any technical superiority and it would be no surprise if the contest went the full distance.
Guardian Service
