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Versus Fight Night Live Recap

May 24, 2008

City of Manchester Stadium-Manchester, England

"The Homecoming"

City of Manchester Stadium is the home of Manchester City FC, Ricky Hatton's favorite soccer team, and it usually holds over 55,000 people for boxing. The event sold over 50,000 tickets in its first week to see Hatton's first match in England, since November 26, 2005. The rest of the 55,000 seats were gone shortly there after. The stadium seating has been reconfigured, since then to hold another 15,000 people for a total capacity of 70,000.

1. IBF Junior Welterweight (140 pounds) 12-Round Championship Match:

Paulie Malignaggi (24-1, 5 KO's, 139.75 pounds) (c) vs. Lovemore N'dou (46-9-1, 31 KO's, 139 pounds) II

Malignaggi won this title from N'dou in their first matchin ablowout unanimous decision on June 16, 2007 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Malignaggi won every round on 2 of the judges' scorecards. The American picked up an additionalpoint advantage when N'dou was docked a point on a very weak call for hitting behind the head in round 6. Then in round 9, Malignaggi gained another point advantage by knocking N'dou down with a right hand. The final scorecards had Malignaggi winning 120-106, 120-106, 118-108. The final punchstat numbers had Malignaggi out-landing N'dou 352 total punches to 161 total punches. Malignaggi ended the match with a ridiculous 44% total connect percentage. He is making his second defense of this title.

Before the match with N'dou, Malignaggi had to have 3 surgeries on his right hand for 9 fractures and several ligament tears over the years.Many of those had been sustained during matches. This lead The Ring magazine to name Malignaggi their "Comeback of the Year" for 2007. The injuries have also made Malignaggi a left jab heavy boxer, who is unwilling to throw his right handout ofconcern it will break, again.

Malignaggi was born and lives in Brooklyn, New York, but spent the early years of his childhood in Sicily, Italy where his father played professional soccer.The championis training for this match back in Sicily as a home away from home to closer acclimate to the 5 hour timechange between the Brooklyn and Manchester. Malignaggi usually trains in Vero Beach, Florida, but has said the training conditions in Sicily have been ideal for him. However, his trainers have been unhappy at Malignaggi's change in camp. They are concerned that the champion is looking past N'dou.

The champion's last match was a somewhat controversial unanimous decision victory over Herman Ngoudjo on January 5, 2008 at Bally's Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The judges scored the match for Malignaggi: 117-111, 116-113, 115-113. On color commentary for Showtime Al Bernstein scored the match 114-114, and my scorecard had Ngoudjo winning 116-112. Ngoudjo was not robbed, because his inactivity in a hostile environment cost him a close match. However, the 117-111 score for Malignaggi was ridiculous. Malignaggi workrate had dropped drastically from the match with N'dou to this one. Malignaggi said part of it was due to the long break between matches, and he later admitted that he was looking past Ngoudjo to a match with Hatton. The champion is coming off almost as long a layoff between that match and today's.

Malignaggi is The Ring magazine's number 1 contender at 140 pounds to its champion in the weight class, Hatton.

N'dou had a great amateur boxing career in his native South Africa, winning 4 consecutive national amateur championships. He would have competed at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympiad, but South Africa was banned from the games for the country'spolicy of apartheid.

The challenger's last match was on the untelevised undercard of the Showtime event featuring Malignaggi vs. Ngoudjo. N'dou defeated Rafael Ortiz via knockout at 2:14 of round 7 in a scheduled 8-round match. That match was held at 147 pounds. Following the match N'dou was made the mandatory number 1 contender to Malignaggi's title, despite the fact he was blown out in the first match.

N'dou, who now lives in Sydney, Australia,is The Ring's number 8 contender at 140 pounds.

At 27-years-old, Malignaggi is 9 years younger then the 36-year-old N'dou.Malignaggi has the height advantage standing 5' 8" tall, while N'dou stands 5' 7" tall. The champion has the reach advantage with a 71" wingspan, compared to a 69" wingspan for the challenger. The IBF requires that boxers weigh-in the next day within 10 pounds of their weight at the official weigh-ins. However, neither the boxers' weights on the day of the match or approaching match timeare available.N'dou, thoughappears to be the larger boxer in the ring. Both boxers will employ the orthodox stance.

Malignaggi is in full heel mode coming to the ring in a luchador's mask, and with one of the wackiest haircuts, ever. It appears to be some form of very tightdreadlocks pulled back into a large ponytail. The Versus commentators clarify that Malignaggihad hair extensions put in to get his hair to look that wacky (and they appear to be very cheap hair extensions). Kevin Federline would think a white guy should not try and pull off that haircut.

Malignaggi is dancing to the ring very slowly to irritate the crowd more, and soak in the boos.Malignaggi is vociferously booed when introduced to the crowd in the ring. This causeshim to mockingly act like he is crying and thatthe booshurt his feelings. Malignaggi then breaks into a broad grin and smiles at the hostile crowd. After this displayMalignaggi needs to win this match by at least the same 120-106 margin he won the first one.

The unified rules of boxing are in effect for this event. Two of the judges are from England and the other judge is from Scotland. The referee is Mickey Vann, who is still laughing at Malignaggi's ridiculous entrance when Buffer introduces him (Vann).

Close round 1, that Malignaggi speed may have won, 10-9. In round 1, Malignaggi's ponytail came undone and his extensions were flying in is face. That was bothering his vision and effecting him. It may have cost Malignaggi the round. To start round 2, Malignaggi's ponytail is being held together by tape in 2 places. Both of the Versus commentators scored round 1 for N'dou, 10-9, based on the challenger landing a few good right hands. Malignaggi lands more punches in round 2, which should be good enough to win the round, 10-9. With 1:12 to go in round 3, Malignaggi is hit with a left-right combination that may have caused his right glove to brush the canvas. It was out of the camera shot, and the referee did not see it. However, Wally Matthews, who is doing color commentary of this event for Versus, caught it. It could have arguably been from Malignaggi attempting to dodge the punches. It could havebeen a judgment call by the referee. It is tough to tell from the camera view shown at the time, which it was. Regardless, no knockdown was ruled. After round 3, there is no replay shown to confirm Malignaggi's glove brushed the canvas as a result of a punch. This makes round 3 is very difficult to score. Malignaggi controlled most of the round, and if his glove touching the canvas is ignored he easily wins the round. However, thatshould notbe ignored, but cannot be scored as a knockdown. Therefore, N'dou wins round 3, 10-9. After 3 rounds, Malignaggi leads on my scorecard, 29-28. Matthews scores round 3 for Malignaggi, 10-9, and has Malignaggi ahead after 3 rounds, 29-28. In the corner after round 3, Malignaggi was having work done on his left eye. It is unclear what damage has been done to that area.

Malignaggi has an extension come lose in round 4 and it bothered him during the round. Round 4 was close and N'dou may have won it, 10-9. Malignaggi wins round 5, 10-9. The champion's speed is taking over the match. Malignaggi wins round 6, 10-9. In round 6, N'dou received his final warning for pushing down on the head of Malignaggi. After 6 rounds, Malignaggi leads on my scorecard, 58-56. Both Matthews and Nick Charles, who is doing play-by-play of this event for Versus, have Malignaggi ahead after 6 rounds, 59-55.

N'dou hit Malignaggi with2 good right hands in round 7. However, the rest of the round was controlled by Malignaggi left jab and superior speed. Malignaggi wins round 7, 10-9. The champion appears to have to have too much speed for N'dou to be able to beat him. With 2:35 to go in round 8, Malignaggi extensions have come loose, again. This causes the referee to call timeout for Malignaggi's corner to tape the hair back in place. The crowd rightfully boos how ridiculous this stoppage is. Even after the stoppage, Malignaggi's hair continues to fly around his face in round 8, and it is bothering him. N'dou wins round 8 big, 10-9. The crowd began to sing the Hatton theme song at the end of round 8, fed up with watching Malignaggi. In the corner after round 8, Malignaggi's people cut off his extensions. Both boxers were relatively inactive in round 9. Malignaggi probably did less, which cost him round 9. N'dou takes round 9, 10-9. After 9 rounds, Malignaggileads on my scorecard, 86-85. Matthews has the same score after 9 rounds.

Malignaggi's aggression wins round 10, 10-9. At 2:51 of round 11, the referee calls time to give both boxers along winded warning aboutfouling. N'dou wins a close round 11, 10-9. Round 12 may decide this match. Malignaggi had a good last 30 seconds, which may have been good enough to win round a close 12, 10-9. Malignaggi wins the match on my scorecard, 115-113. Both Matthews and Charles scored the match the same. It appears Malignaggi hurt his right hand, again in this match.

The official decision as read by the legendary Michael Buffer is that the judges have scored the match: 115-114 (N'dou), 116-112 (Malignaggi), 116-113 for the winner by split decision and still IBF Junior Welterweight Champion of the World, Paulie "The Magic Man" Malignaggi. The win moves Malignaggi to 25-1 with 5 of those victories coming by way of knockout. Malignaggi's promoter has informed Versus after the scores were read, that Malignaggi broke his right hand in round 6.

Malignaggisaid in his post match interview that this match went badly for him. The champion said with the broken right hand he could not throw his left jab, because he felt N'dou had it timed and was countering it effectively. Malignaggiadmitted the dreadlocks were a disaster, and it cost him a few rounds. The Brooklyn native said when the hair came loose he could not see the punches coming at him. Malignaggi hopes he is not out a long time with the hand injury, and will be healthy enough to face Hatton in Hatton's next match.

The only thing that could have gone worse for Malignaggi in this match is if he had lost. The injury appears significant and that could put him out of the running for a match with Hatton in the fall. However, if Malignaggi is able to rehab the injury quickly, he will likely face Hatton next. Ngoudjo is facing Souleymane M'Baye on June 6 in Montreal on ESPN 2 with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger to Malignaggi's title. To face Hatton, Malignaggi may have to vacate his title. However, if Malignaggi is too injured to face Hatton his next opponent would be the winner of that match, probably in Atlantic City as soon as he is healthy. After the match in January, it appears Malignaggi has no desire to face Ngoudjo, again.

N'dou is in a tough place with his career. He is getting old, and has been in a lot of tough matches to the point he may consider retirement. N'dou would be a good boxer for young boxers to use as an opponent to see if they are ready to make the move from prospect to title contender. He could also be used to fill in when opponents are needed to keep champions busy. However, N'dou has a lot of other business opportunities in Australia, and at this point a title or a victory over a name opponent seem out of his reach.

In between matches Oscar De La Hoya is interviewed toput over Hatton. De La Hoya is Hatton's promoter and credits Hatton with him not needing to do any work to put over 56,000 people in the stadium. De La Hoya said that Hatton will do no less then 6 more matches in his career. Therefore, no one needs to worry about Hatton's focus on boxing. De La Hoya then ended with an intense statement that "I will beat him (Floyd Mayweather, Jr.)." The Los Angeles, California native said the contract and papers are not signed. The date is not set in stone, but with Floyd Mayweather, Sr. in his corner De La Hoya has no doubt he will beat Junior. The intensity in De La Hoya's eyes made this a money promo. That match is tentatively scheduled for September 20, and De La Hoya appears very motivated. Senior has already cut his promo that he does not want to see his son get knocked out, but he does want to seeJunior "get his ass whipped". The elder Mayweather says Junior needs it and it would be good for his son.

2. The Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight/IBO Light Welterweight (140 pounds) 12-Round Championship Match:

Ricky Hatton (43-1, 31 KO's, 139.75 pounds) (c) vs. Juan Lazcano (37-4-1, 27 KO's, 139.75 pounds)

Hatton won his Ring Championship via technical knockout over Kostya Tszyu at 3:00 of round 11 when the Australian decided to end his hall of fame career on his stool on June 4, 2005 following a tremendous onslaught from the Manchester resident. Thematch ended an 8 year winning streak for Tszyu, and was voted the greatestboxing match in the history of Britain by members of the British press. It lead to Hatton being named The Ring's "Fighter of the Year" for 2005. Hatton is making his fourth defense of this title.

Hattonwon his IBO Championship when it was vacant via blowout 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Urango on January 20, 2007 at Paris Las Vegas in Las Vegas. The previous champion was Stevie Johnston, who vacated this belt, because it is a relatively worthless belt. Hatton is making his second defense of this title.

Hatton lost his last match via technical knockout at 1:35 of round 10 to Mayweather, Jr. on December 8, 2007 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The match was great and did over 800,000 buys on PPV in North America and shattered the U.K. PPV record doing over 1 million buys there. Hatton was set to receive less for the match then Mayweather, unless the event destroyed the record for PPV buys in the U.K. Then Hatton would get 50% of every PPV buy above a certain level. Mayweather and Hatton both ended up making roughly $25 million for the event from the approximately $13 million live gate and the record setting PPV number.

The Englishman, who had roughly 20,000 fans fly across the pond to see him in action,was the clear crowd favorite that night in the town Mayweather calls home. Mayweather was booed as heartily as Matt Hamill was in England for walking to the ring to Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA".

The opening rounds of the match were a brawl on the inside. That was the conditions that favored Hatton, but the referee was constantly admonishing Hatton for rough tactics. Hatton allowed himself to become distracted arguing with the referee, rather then focusing on the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world he was supposed to be fighting.

This pattern kept up through the middle rounds, except Mayweather became as physical on the inside as Hatton. Mayweather began pushing Hatton in the throat with his elbows, and using his head as a weapon. Then in round 6, Hatton was deducted a questionable point for hitting Mayweather behind the head, becauseMayweather partially caused the foul. Mayweather had turned his back to Hatton while the Englishman was throwing his combination. However, the referee had felt Hatton was fouling too much and took the point from Hatton. An angry and bordering on emotionally out of control Hatton then turned his back to Mayweather when action resumed to let Mayweather hit him in the back to even things up. Once the referee made Hatton turn around, the Englishman rushed Mayweather without throwing a punch, but only to rough up Mayweather out of frustration.

Hatton would hurt Mayweather several times over the next few rounds, but by the end of round 8, Hatton was out of gas. Had there been a standing 8-count rule it would have been used on Hatton in the last 30 seconds of round 8. A left hook from Mayweather with 1:58 to go in round 10 sent Hatton crashing face first into the turnbuckle, and then face first to the ground. Hatton amazingly got up from the nasty fall, but was on very shaky legs when he answered the referee's count. Seconds later Hatton was pinned up against the ropes and Mayweather unloaded with both hands on Hatton until the referee stepped in to end the match. However, the referee was a few seconds late. Mayweather finished his combination with a left hook as the referee stepped in and as Hatton attempted to take a step to the side he fellto the ground unconscious. Hatton'sloyal fans continued to sing the Hatton theme song, which is a take-off "Winter Wonderland",while their fallen hero was revived. Mayweather was pushed harder then he had been in any other match as a pro by Hatton, and turned in his best performance. Even in defeat, Hatton had one of his best performances in the ring.

Hatton is The Ring Champion at 140 pounds and The Ring's number 8 ranked boxer in the world, pound-for-pound.

Lazcano had a good amateur career, which was highlighted by winning the Texas Golden Gloves tournament.

He made his pro debut at 18-years-old, and won a belt at 135 pounds at 21-years-old. Lazcano has boxed the majority of his career at 135 pounds.

The challenger's last match was a narrow 12-round unanimous decision loss to Vivian Harris on February 10, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Lazcano has not had an official match in the last 15 months, and only 3 in the last30 months.

Lazcano is The Ring's number 9 contender at 140 pounds.

At 29-years-old Hatton is 4years younger then the 33-year-old Lazcano. Lazcano has a huge height advantage standing 5' 9" tall, while Hatton stands 5' 6" tall. The challenger has the reach advantage with a 72" wingspan, compared to the 65" wingspan of the champion. Neither boxers' unofficial weights approaching match time are available, but Hatton is likely the heavier boxer in the ring. Both boxers will employ the orthodox stance. According to Versus, the local bookmakers in Manchester have Lazcano as an approximately 10-to-1 underdog.

A special Hatton song not the usual Hatton theme plays, when Buffer announces that Hatton is coming to the ring. Then the champion's familiar entrance music of "Blue Moon" by Supra, the theme song of Manchester City,begins to play. The crowd that is singing along to the song is bathed in blue light and a Hatton video package begins to play on the screen wherethe hometown boxeris about to enter. The screen then bursts into flames and Hatton emerges from the tunnel to thunderous cheers. Hatton is coming out in a fat suit to mock the derisive nickname some in the local press have given him of Ricky Fatton for ballooning up to roughly 180 pounds on Chinese food and beer, when not training for a match. Instead of Hitman written on his hood as it usually says, it has been replaced by the word "Fatman" and Hatton on his pants has been replaced by "Fatton". This is one of the best entrances in all of boxing.

Hatton's entrance may have been a brilliant move to serve a second purpose, besides light hearted entertainment. It is52 degrees Fahrenheitin the stadium (11 Celsius), and all of the extra padding Hatton was wearing have kept him warm coming to the ring. That means he should start quickly, and the look on Hatton's face when he hits the ring indicates he wants to make this a short night.

Thejudges are from the United States, England and Australia. The referee is Howard Foster.

The referee calls time with 1:23 to go in round 1 to wipe something off of Hatton's gloves. At this point, Hatton's nose is already bleeding. That should not be a factor in this match. Hatton's brawling style causes him to bleed in most of his matches, and he has scar tissue all over his face that opens up easily. At this point in his career, bleeding no longer seems to effect Hatton adversely. Hatton wins round 1, 10-9. The champion said he wanted to box more in this match. However, he has said that before his last several matches and not done it. In this match, he is continuing to be the brawling unscientific boxer that has made him appealing to watch over the years. With 1 minute to go in round 2, the referee calls time to warn both boxers about holding. Hatton wins round 2, 10-9. Lazcano's game plan is to tire out Hatton. Lazcano believes Hatton will be out of shape, because the champion had to miss some sparring time before this match with a chest infection in the last few weeks, and that his lifestyle of eating primarily pub food when not training will catch up with him in the ring in this match.However, Lazcano is not pushing the pace to test Hatton's cardio. With 2:52 to go in round 3, Hatton goes stumbling to the canvas. It is ruled correctly ruled to be a slip and not a knockdown. Hatton got off balance throwing a left hand and went down. The referee dusts Hatton off, and the action is resumed with 2:48 to go in the round. Round 3 is close, but Hatton may have still won it, 10-9. After 3 rounds, Hatton lead on my scorecard, 30-27. Matthews' scorecard reads the same after 3 rounds.

Lazcano started round 4 with a very good combination. However, Hatton controlled the last 2 minutes of round 4 to probably take the round, 10-9. Lazcano spends a lot of round 5 trading punches with Hatton on the inside. That is a bad strategy and Lazcano does not look like he is going to be around much longer. However, it has erased any doubts about whether Hatton can take a good punch following his knockout loss to Mayweather. Hatton wins round 5 big, 10-9. With 2:32 to go in round 6, the referee calls time to give Lazcano a stern warning for holding. It is likely the next time Lazcano holds it will cost him a point he cannot afford to lose. Apparently, the timekeeper did not stop the clock, and the action is resumed with 2:22 to go in the round. Hatton wins round 6, 10-9. After 6 rounds, Hatton leads on my scorecard, 60-54. Matthews has the same score after 6 rounds.

Hatton wins round 7, 10-9. Lazcano continues to be warned for holding, yet has not been deducted a point for holding. After round 7, Lazcano followed Hatton back to the champion's corner and said something to the Manchester resident. Hatton was hurt badly in round 8, but still had some good moments in the round to make it close. Lazcano probably wins round 8, 10-9. Hatton wins round 9, 10-9. After 9 rounds, Hatton leads on Matthews' and my scorecard, 89-82.

At the beginning of round 10, Lazcano spins Hatton around and the referee calls time to admonish both boxers for rough tactics. The referee at this point needs to either take a point or stop talking, becausehe appears to be all bark and no bite. There is a cut over the left eye of Lazcano and the referee is ruling it was caused by a punch. A left hook has Hatton badly hurt with 1:12 to go in round 10. Hatton is holding on to try and recover. While Hatton is still hurt and holding on the referee destroys the flow of the match, and aids Hatton by stopping to admonish Lazcano with 54 seconds to go in the round. This warning is for pushing down on Hatton's head, while the champion is running in to grab on to Lazcano. That foul was initiated by Hatton running in with his head down, and not Lazcano's fault. There should have been warning there, and this has given Hatton valuable time to recover. When the referee asked for action to resume, Hatton used a veteran trick of staying in the neutral corner with his arms on the ropes until the referee noticed the champion's shoe was untied. The referee, thensent Hatton over to his own corner to have the champion's shoe retied.It is embarrassing how much time to recover Hatton has been given.Hatton's corner is wisely taking a lot of time to tie the shoelace. When the action is resumed, Hatton is back on offense. Lazcano wins round 10 big, 10-9. Hatton wins round 11, 10-9. Hatton wins round 12 easily, 10-9. On Matthews and my scorecard he wins the match, 118-110.

The final decision as read by Buffer is that the judges have scored the match: 120-110, 118-110, 120-108, all for the winner by unanimous decision and still Ring Junior Welterweight and IBO Light Welterweight Champion of the World, Ricky "Hitman" Hatton. Matthews had to stop himself mid profanity when the 120 in the first scorecard was read. (This is Versus not HBO.) There is an argument for scoring round 8 for Hatton. There is no reasonable argument for scoring round 10 for Hatton. The win moves Hatton to 44-1 with 31 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Hatton said after the match that he would like to face Malignaggi next in November. In Hatton's post match interview, they show a close up of his face and it is a mess. He has significant swelling around his right and left eyes. Hatton said that he was happy with the match, but he made the match more difficult for himself. He could have boxed, but then he would not be Ricky Hatton. That style is what had over 55,000 people come out to see him. Hatton said he felt a lot of pressure for this match, because he was performing in front of this many of his hometown fans. When asked why he did not take a match with less pressure, Hatton smiled and said "That would be boring." Hatton admitted he was hurt several times in the match including in round 10, when the referee halted the match for roughly a minute.

The champion looked good in this match. Hatton has looked better, but performed substantially better then Malignaggi did tonight and Tim Bradley did in his win over Junior Witter. If Malignaggi is healthy a match between the two of them in November seems guaranteed. In the post match press conference De La Hoya indicated that a deal is in place for Hatton to face Malignaggi, and the match will probably take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which is owned by new Golden Boy Promotions partner AEG. If Malignaggi is unable to compete in November, Bradley, who is now ranked as the number 2 contender at 140 pounds by The Ring,would likely receive the shot at Hatton in November. Bradley is probably a worse match up for Hatton, because he possesses some power. If both Malignaggi and Bradley continue to win they will both likely receive a shot at Hatton by the end of 2009.

Lazcano was in semi-retirement before this match, and he will likely go in to full retirement after this match. If Lazcano were to become an active boxer, matches between him and several of the other second-tier boxers in the division could be very entertaining.

The final official attendance for this match had the crowd in excess of 57,000. That makes it the largest crowd to see a boxing match in Britain, since World War II. This event was the first boxing match on Versus to not be promoted exclusively by Top Rank. Versus has an exclusive deal with Top Rank to only promote their events, and it is expiring at the end of the month. It appears Versus has no interest in renewing the deal, and after this theymay look to run a lot more events with Golden Boy Promotions. The boxing in thisevent was not great. However, Hatton is unlikely to be onanything but premiumcable or PPVagain in his career, and for those who have not seen him it is an opportunity to see a great boxer that should not be missed.