MIAMI- The biggest boxing night of this year so far ended with no surprises as everyone touted to win by oddsmakers and fan favorites alike did just that, albeit not in the greatest of fashion. In the HBO televised card there were two matches with major implications going forward, as the winner in the undercard match-up is tentatively setup to take on the winner of the main event. Ricky Hatton vs (IBF Champ) Juan Urango In the main event it was the brit, Ricky Hatton (42-0, 30KO’s), squaring off against the colombian born Champion Juan Urango (17-1, 13KO’s), in a match-up of two fighters known to plow forward and land big shots to no end. The fight would see a great deal of big shots as predicted, but even though the decision was rendered as a landslide, (119-109 on all cards in favor of Hatton), the action itself from the winner was far from what was expected. Unfortunately, what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas, as Hatton’s recent reputation based on his last two fights have seemed to put a ‘fight-fan’ damper on future possibilities with his name attached. Hatton, (never known to be weak in the body), seemed very uncomfortable all fight long as he tried to find a way to deal with the power of Juan Urango’s body shots which appeared to do major damage when landing. Urango’s inexperience and slower handspeed was the difference in the fight as it appeared Hatton would use quick angles and flurries of ‘snap-shots’ throughout the fight, never really doing any serious damage to the Champ. This is two fights in a row where Ricky Hatton appeared far less than superior, bringing to light questions about his true worth in the jr. welterweight and welterweight divisions. Any talk about a match-up with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the future is very premature and should not even be discussed based on his recent performances. It appeared tonight that any talented boxer with great enough handspeed, strength, and footwork would have had a fairly easy assignment against Hatton who’s only true defense tonight was to clinch. This victory set the stage for a showdown between he and Jose Luis Castillo later in the summer, but from the looks of it, I don’t see the reception of the ‘fight-public’ being too strong anywhere aside from those across the pond in Hatton’s native Manchester, England. For now, Hatton lives to see another day, but it’s safe to say that after two recent strikes, his next could be the proverbial deathblow as questions about his ‘out of the ring habits’ seem to be more fact than fiction. Jose Luis Castillo vs Herman Ngoudjo In the undercard match-up it was the supposed favorite, Jose Luis Castillo (55-7-1, 47KO’s) who also barely found his way to the victory circle as he was able to narrowly outscore the previously unbeaten Herman Ngoudjo (15-1, 9KO’s). It appeared through most of the fight that he was behind on the scorecards but his ‘gritty’ nature made the difference in the end as it was widely believed that the judges gave him the fight based on his aggressiveness late in the fight. Herman Ngoudjo was barely known before tonight, but the road ahead for him looks quite promising as he gave a very polished effort that produced great glimpses of speed, power, and skill. The lost for Ngoudjo was scored 115-113 on two cards, and on the third card he was actually ahead by the same score. Switzerland Fight Card: (WBA Champ) Nikolay Valuev vs Jameel McCline It took only three rounds of action for us to find out which of the two giants would prevail in tonight’s match-up in Basel, Switzerland. Jameel McCline and Nikolay Valuev started what was a very predictable and methodical fight in round one, exchanging few shots as each one measured the other to get an idea what range would be best for this very ‘unique’ combat between the giants. Valuev seemed to be the one landing the more effective and cleaner shots thru the first two rounds with McCline seeming a bit uncomfortable as he was faced with the rare scenario of looking up to an opponent. In the 3rd round, McCline finally seemed to be settling in, connecting on effective jabs and combinations, but after a tough two way exchange at the end of the round, he fell to a knee and wasn’t able to continue, citing an injury to his knee. This didn’t really do much to clear up the Heavyweight picture, and with the most talented “Heavy” scheduled to take on another ‘cupcake’, (Klitschko/Austin), it will probably be a while before we see any true fireworks in a division losing steam by the day.
Vegas Fight Card Proved To Be Major Gamble: Fight Night Review, Major Results
Posted by Tim Starks on Jan 21, 2007 06:47
