RSS Feed
Twitter
So Tszyu is not Mr Invincible, but while Hatton clearly has the will to win, can he truly find the way? He may need to do a Liverpool - and then some - by coming from behind to score a stunning upset over one of the greatest gladiators of the past couple of decades. A maximum of 13 fillies will line up for the 227th Oaks on Friday. It is possible, but the more probable scenario is that Tszyu's right hand will explode on its target around the halfway stage.Whatever happens this is a ring war that will be brutal, and almost certainly bloody Watch and learn, Amir And welcome to the real world.. He has a Wigan-based entourage the size of a football team, and offers this sobering warning. "This will be a hard fight because Ricky is brave and has heart He may think he can get to me with his body shots. But I've done so much work on my stomach if he wants to punch me there I'll say 'Go ahead my friend, you're welcome.' And then he will be ready for this?"Ominously, he waves his right fist in the air.The only man who has beaten Tszyu in 33 bouts is the American Vince Phillips (albeit eight years ago), who Hatton himself subsequently defeated.
Had it come three or four years ago, I probably would have fallen short, but now at my prime I've never felt as good."Tszyu, enticed here by the thick end of a joint £4m purse, aims to become undisputed world champion for the second time before he retires. "I know he has handled similar situations pretty well, but I dare anybody, no matter how experienced, not to be daunted by the noise of those 22,000 people. They'll be baying for his blood."Style-wise this seems the perfect match. Inevitably Hatton will fight the only way he can, going forward with both fists blazing, with the Australian waiting his moment to jump on him and try to pick him off "The pace of the fight will be a key factor," argues Hatton. "He's won a lot of his fights in the first four rounds, but he hasn't done that many rounds in the last four years because of injury lay-offs. From what I've seen, he doesn't like to fight out of pace, the danger for me is his power, but if he doesn't nail me with that big right hand in the first four rounds - and I intend to make sure he doesn't - then I reckon things will swing my way."Hatton has been working on a tighter defensive strategy.
"My work-rate is what I do best and in the end that will win me the fight, but I know I am going to have to be cautious, get in very close and take as little stick as possible I know Tszyu is going to bring the best out of me It's come at the perfect time for me. They're very passionate, they'll be throwing every punch with me." He reckons the huge volume of support he will get in the arena will rock Tszyu on his heels even before the bell sounds. He might even be sitting in a smelly police cell on remand, urinating in a bucket and queuing up for his supper. But because he's white, posh and moves in the right circles, he's perfectly free to carry on breaking the law and getting away with it. He might be the youngest Master of Hunt in Britain, he might care passionately about the countryside, and he might be very angry that the Government seemed determined to ban hunting with dogs, but Otis has lived his 22 years under a major delusion. He honestly believes that if he stamps his feet, runs up and down and squawks enoug If Otis Ferry were black, lived in a council flat and wore a hoodie, he'd be spending this weekend under house arrest, probably the subject of an Asbo.
