Hatton V Tszyu - The hangover

Well, it’s taken a couple of weeks (and a battle with the blackdog) but I’ve finally managed to make it thru the Tszyu/Hatton fight. On the morning of the battle I was passed out drunk after my own battle with a bottle of nelson county bourbon and on hearing the result of the fight that afternoon just didn’t want to watch it. The last fight I ever watched with my father was the last fight Kostya lost, on the anniversary of my father’s death (and the reason the bourbon got to me) he lost again. It took me a couple of weeks to want to see the fight but I’m glad I did, it was a bloody good fight. A tight, hard fought affair you can see how Hatton had prepared himself by crowding Kostya and not letting him get off those hard shots. Hatton looked remarkably fit and prepared to take Kostya’s shots to get his own in. Age certainly helped too with Kostya visibly tiring near the end, though the blatant low blow didn’t help his cause. I was surprised that his corner called it quits because it was still a very tight fight with maybe only one or two points in it (though I haven’t seen what the score cards said – I suspect the crowd may have ballooned them – I should find out hey). But you could see that Ricky was getting his shots off near the end of round 11 and obviously Johnny Lewis had Kostya’s health as his main concern. Maybe Tszyu could have rallied in the last and knocked Hatton down but I doubt it. It was looking like a points decision anyway to the challenger so why take more punishment?
And hats off to Paul Upham in the commentary chair who had to put up with some amazingly biased commentary from his English counterpart who, like the crowd, screamed for every Hatton punch but never saw Kostya’s blows land, well done Paul, a more patient man I don’t think I’ve ever heard. All in all, a disappointing result but a damn fine fight. I’ve heard various rumours about Tszyu’s retirement and the selfish side of me hopes he comes back to try and re-assert himself as the topman but if this is the end, it’s certainly not a disgraceful way to go. He’s probably still got it in him to be the best but whether the drive, body and hunger are still there remains to be seen.