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I've been researching this Ricky Hatton fight. I've been searching for evidence to justify my instinctive feeling that he will lose. It's been hard work though, like trying to find some rabbit poo in a mince pie. Evidently Malignaggi's right hand is made of china and his left hand earned him the epithet "float like a butterfly, sting like a butterfly." I think it's fair to say a knock-out can be ruled out.

Why do I want Ricky Hatton to lose? Why why? Well, I don't know. I'm not much of a boxing fan any more and Ricky Hatton hasn't done anything to offend me other than being perhaps a bit cocky before that Mayweather fight, but I think the beating he took that night addressed those cockiness issues. I want him to lose I think because I just like to take sides in any sporting contest I plan on watching and I've found that I'm viewing this one as a New York v Manchester confrontation rather than England v the Mercans. It goes without saying I will always have New York's back in these cases. No disrespect, all due respect, forgeddaboudit.

So now...it seems Malignaggi despite having no punching power and despite being a bit of a typical Italian pretty boy who probably still lives with his Mamma, is indeed a tough little fucker. His fight with Manuel Catto was a brutal affair, at the end of which he looked like Iain Dowie. He broke his jaw in that fight and still fought on. Catto was huge too coming down in weight. Had Malignaggi fought at Catto's weight of 147lbs he may still look like Iain Dowie today.

On a more positive note, what he lacks in punching power he makes up for in hand speed. Adopting the Hitman Hearns approach with the hands down type style that few boxers can really adopt with any success, but he ought to cause Hatton a lot of trouble if the referee can prevent Hatton from employing his spoiling wrestling tactics. Las Vegas judges ought to find Paulies attacking approach to the fight appealing too. Vegas judges seem to exist in a parallel universe to everyone else. The fight those people see is often very very different to the fight everyone else witnesses, which can only work in my man's favour. Speaking of the judges, they were really not impressed by the Hatton fans booing of the Mercan national anthem and if they do it again it they're bound to punish Hatton for it. They may just stubbornly decide to gift the early rounds to Paulie if Hatton's fans can't help them selves and boo the anthem again.

On paper this a points win for Hatton who ought to be too strong for Paulie. Hatton just looks much bigger and if he still is hungry he must overwhelm ickle Paulie. But since I'm searching for reasons to back Malignaggi we must wonder how much of an affect that Mayweather fight had on him. He looked disinterested in his last fight and is now the wrong side of thirty. With all the Guinness and undigested black pudding in his bowels his physical age must be closer to 35. This is a very good time to meet Ricky Hatton. Also, he appears to have one eye on fighting Oscar De La Hoya and if he's not 100% focused on beating Paulie he won't ever see that fght. Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis both lost to far inferior opponents because they were looking into the future instead of at the hulking angry bastards staring them in the face from one foot away.

What might happen here though is Malignaggi just out boxes a slow lethargic Hatton and the judges score the bout unanimously in Paulie's favour. That fight with Mayweather really must have an affect on Hatton and with Mayweather's Dad now training him, it may be a case of not being able to teach an old dog new tricks. The language barrier must also be a factor. Almost certainly they've had problems finding someone who can speak jive and Mancunian.

There's an outside chance Hatton gets stopped because he's bleeding to death too. He's had problems with cuts in the past and he's bound to get tagged a lot in this fight. Knock downs are highly improbable from either fighter. Malignaggi has an awesome chin and doesn't possess the power himself to trouble our Ricky.


I haven't seen the same enthusiasm and passion from Hatton in the pre-fight press conferences. He hasn't once referred to Paulie as a fucking cunt or anything. To me he looks like he's lost his edge, conversely Malignaggi looks desperate to win. I'm gonna call it for Malignaggi. I've convinced myself. A controversial points win it is then after Paulie survives an early onslaught from Hatton but eventually out classes him when Ricky's stamina deserts him in the latter rounds -- the judges score cards inexplicably give Paulie some the first couple of rounds too even though he clearly lost them, this is attributed to their being pissed off at the Hatton fans disrespectful booing of the US national anthem again. I can't be any more specific than that.

Most likely wager: Malignaggi to win on points 2/1