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 Relentless Hatton Passes Test Against Phillips
 by Thomas Gerbasi (April 6, 2003)
Photo © Tom Casino
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It was a coming of age for both Ricky Hatton and Vince Phillips at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England Saturday night. For the unbeaten Hatton, his 12 round unanimous decision win gave him his first victory over a legitimate “name” opponent, but for the 39-year-old ‘Cool Vince’, the fight was just a brutal coming of old age.
Scores were 119-109, 120-107, and 120-108 for Hatton, 32-0 (24 KOs), who retains his WBU junior welterweight title. Phillips drops to 44-8-1 (32 KOs).
The pace was furious at the start, with Phillips effectively keeping his distance while Hatton looked to get close. Hooks to the body and head got Phillips’ attention, and when Hatton got him on the ropes, the fight was one-sided. But late in the round, hooks to the head by Phillips opened a large gash over Hatton’s right eye, and the 24-year-old was immediately placed at a disadvantage.
Used to being in this situation, Hatton refused to change his style in the second round, and Phillips looked woefully outgunned as ‘The Hitman’ muscled him along the ropes with hooks and uppercuts to the body.
Still bloody, Hatton returned the favor in the third, cutting Phillips over the right eye, and the Las Vegas resident, though able to land some shots, continued to get pounded by Hatton, who just would not stop coming forward.
Phillips was able to time Hatton’s rushes in the fourth, landing a couple of stiff right hands that jarred the youngster, but by round’s end, it was the same old story – Phillips on the ropes with Hatton winging haymakers.
Hatton continued to dominate the action in the fifth, and after a week’s worth of turmoil for Phillips – who didn’t even know if he was going to be able to travel to the UK for the fight due to passport issues – ‘Cool Vince’ had a look on his face indicating that maybe he should have stayed home for this one.
But while Phillips’ 39-year-old legs and reflexes may have been betraying him, his heart stayed in his fight. Though by the end of the sixth round, there was little doubt as to what the outcome was going to be if Hatton’s cut eye held up.
The second half of the fight produced more of the same, with Hatton just relentless in his attack, and Phillips scoring occasionally, but basically just surviving. In fact, the only drama was whether one of the fighters was going to break their necks on the slippery advertising on the canvas. By the end of the bout, Phillips’ face told the story of the fight, with cuts over both eyes and on his lip from the attack of Hatton, and as he approaches 40, retirement should be a serious option for ‘Cool Vince’, a former world champion who holds the only professional victory over Kostya Tszyu.
As for Hatton, the UK star continues to put on exciting fights, the recipe for success on either side of the pond. Whether his tender skin and questionable defense can withstand a step up in class is another story, though he does seem to have a fair beard, and his pressure attack can cause problems for fighters at any level. At the very least, the next 12 months should be very interesting for Manchester’s ‘Hitman’.
In the Showtime co-feature, Junior Witter - expected to challenge Hatton in a high stakes bout in July - kept his end of the bargain with a fourth round stoppage of Jurgen Haeck to win the European Union 140-pound title.
Witter, best remembered on US shores for his dreadful track meet with Zab Judah in his only title challenge, has made an effort to make his style more pleasing to the fans (he’s 11-0, 11 KOs since the loss), and that was evident from the outset against Haeck, as he swung power shots at his foe from all angles in the opening round.
Haeck, a native of Ghent, Belgium, bounced back with some stiff shots in the second that got Witter’s attention, but by the third, the unorthodox Bradford native started to find his range again.
With under a minute left in the fourth, a left right not only dropped Haeck but also busted up his face. Witter jumped on his foe after he rose, but Haeck got his legs under him quickly and survived the round. But with Haeck sporting nasty knots under and to the side of his eye, referee Francisco Vasquez Marcos halted the bout.
The Brendan Ingle-trained Witter lifts his record to 26-1-2 (15 KOs), and Haeck drops to 15-2 (6 KOs).
E-Mail Thomas Gerbasi at tgerbasi@mindspring.com
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