Boxing News - James McDonnell

Oh Ricky Boy! 20 Years On, Can Hatton Fill McGuigan’s Boots?
By James McDonnell (June 4, 2005) Photo © Tom Casino / SHOWTIME

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Twenty years ago, almost to the day, Barry McGuigan, an Irishman who was also one of the most popular fighters from anywhere in the British Isles in the post-war era, won the featherweight world title from Eusebio Pedroza.

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Tempted by the offer of a £ 1,000,000 purse from bookmaker Barney Eastwood, Pedroza took on the dynamic Clones-born fighter in front of almost 40,000 fans at Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road ground, situated in White City, an area brimming with Irish workers and their descendants.

Most boxing fans of a certain age in the UK will remember that fight with fond memories, the sight of well over 30,000 fans swaying to the strains of ‘Danny Boy’ the beloved unofficial Irish anthem, which McGuigan’s father Pat sang to accompany Barry’s every ring entrance.

All writers, whatever area of life they write about, are always searching for analogous situations, for comparisons and models on which to base their musings. Boxing is no different, and whenever a big fight of this stature approaches, especially one involving a fighter from this small corner of the world, where very few of our fighters have gone on to become genuine world champions, the mind harks back to previous triumphs and defeats.

In the long run up to the Hatton fight, I’ve had plenty of time to think about numerous fighters from the British Isles who have tried, often failed, and occasionally triumphed. In recent memory, the notable cases are of course Alan Minter, Barry McGuigan, Jim Watt, Ken Buchanan, Nigel Benn, and Naseem Hamed, who have gone on to capture genuine world titles.

The McGuigan fight, for me, has a particular resonance, as it was the last occasion when a genuine big three beltholder was lured over to the UK by a big pay packet. Those who think Hatton is popular now would do well to look back at the footage of McGuigan on the big chat shows of the time in the UK, even before he won the title.

Hatton is certainly a very popular and exciting fighter. In Manchester, a city which worships at the altar of football, and increasingly boxing too, he has become the unofficial mascot for the Manchester City football team, but is not a national icon in quite the same way. Terrestrial TV’s and the mainstream media’s lack of interest in big-time boxing for the better part of a decade has seen to that.

However, both men could definitely be called ticket sellers, as only Mike Tyson has filled MEN Arena in Manchester with more fans than the 26,000 which will turn up to watch Hatton, and that’s hardly a mean comparison, given that no other fighter on the planet could have forced an increase in capacity to over 29,000 to see the spectacle of opponent Julius Francis collapsing like an errant deck chair.

However, such comparisons can be labored, and on the surface of it, there are many parallels between these two big fights, but does Hatton stand to emulate McGuigan’s considerable achievement?

First of all, there are the styles of Hatton and McGuigan. Though certainly not identical fighters, both have eschewed headhunting tactics in favour of a relentless body attack which ground down the resistance of their opponents before administering the coup-de-grace. McGuigan had the more cultured offence, with greater variety in his work, and had better one-punch power, particularly with shots to the head, with his hooks being particularly effective. However, both had the same swarming dynamic style, surging forward constantly on top of their opponent, always throwing shots. McGuigan used a dipping, bobbing and crouching motion to get inside and evade punishment, whilst Hatton works the angles and uses his constant forward pressure to keep his opponents negative and in retreat.

What is somewhat surprising is that Hatton has already had more fights than McGuigan did in his entire career, and even Tszyu, with 38 wins to Tszyu’s 31. However, Ricky’s ascent to become the top contender to Tszyu’s IBF title has been a long and drawn out affair. McGuigan’s rise by contrast was meteoric, and his peak brief. Barry won the British, European and WBA featherweight title in a little over two years, the next year he was a former champ after losing to Steve Cruz, and his career was over by 1989 after only eight years as a boxer, retiring at the age of 28 after his loss to Jim McDonnell. McGuigan came, conquered, lost and went in the space of eight years, during which time, Hatton has defended his WBU ‘world’ belt 15 times, and is just about to challenge for his first proper world belt in virtually the same time.

Compared to Tszyu though, McGuigan’s progress is virtually pedestrian. Tszyu, an amateur standout who would turn pro instead of pursuing a gold medal at the Olympics, fought for his first belt in only his 3rd year as a pro, fighting experienced former title holders Juan LaPorte, Livingstone Bramble, and Roger Mayweather along the way. He’s a two time champion with a total of 13 defences in a 13 year career.

Hatton hasn’t been tested to the degree that McGuigan had been going into this, the biggest fight of his career, and he is facing an opponent with not just the advantage of experience at the highest level, but boxing ability, and perhaps most damningly for Hatton, punching power. Tszyu doesn’t appear complacent going into this fight, and judging by his press conferences so far, he is aware of the dangers inherent in every fight, but rightly confident in his own abilities. When I interviewed Tszyu in January, he was confident almost to the point of arrogance, but there was a steely determination not to allow for any slip ups, and a desire to continue to prove himself the best in the world at the weight.

Pedroza, like Tszyu, was a future Hall-of-Famer, and a well established champion with a big reputation. It’s easy to forget, looking back on that emotionally charged night, that amongst most pundits, McGuigan was far from a big favourite going into the fight. The likes of the Times and the Manchester Guardian had McGuigan as a major underdog, and it was thought that Pedroza was simply too experienced for his younger foe.

Pedroza was 34 to Tszyu’s 35 when he faced McGuigan, but age is sometimes the most misleading of statistics. A look back at the records of Pedroza and Tszyu going into their respective bouts reveals that Pedroza was the more hard-worn man.

Pedroza, never a devastating puncher, was more of an attritional all around fighter - he could box and he could brawl, but normally he dictated his own pace and liked to use the ring. He lacked the devastating power to end many fights early, with most of his stoppages coming late. Pedroza’s seemingly limitless well of stamina and resolve allowed him to outlast and stop opponents. However, on the run-in to the McGuigan fight, Pedroza’s ability to grind opponents down seemed to be deserting him. In his previous eight fights, he had stopped only one opponent, had been held to a draw against Bernard Taylor, and was thought to be struggling with making weight. By contrast, after winning the title against Cecilio Lastra, only two of eight opponents saw the finishing bell, and included in those stoppage wins were victories over Royal Kobayashi and Ruben Olivares.

Compare this with an appraisal of Tszyu’s form, and the only knock you can really put on Tszyu is his lack of competitive rounds in the last five years. Part of the reason for that is that when the biggest fights have come, he has been absolutely devastating.

Zab Judah, now a welterweight champion, was destroyed with clinical precision in two rounds, Sharmba Mitchell, picked by myself to win after Tszyu’s long layoff, was treated like a bowling pin and destroyed in three rounds. Since his lone loss to Vince Phillips in 1997 only Otkay Urkal, a very well schooled and durable fighter in the European mold, and to a lesser extent, James Leija, have posed any problems. Hatton does not have the style of either man. Only two men have lasted the distance, Urkal and Tackie.

Hatton’s punch power has become less reliable as he has moved up in class, with Vilches, Magee, Phillips, and Tackie lasting the distance. Some of his foes, like Rios and Pedersen were natural lightweights, and it’s clear that unlike McGuigan, who went into his fight with Pedroza with the puncher’s advantage, Hatton is going to be the one in peril every time Tszyu cocks his right hand.

Prior to fighting Pedroza, McGuigan showed the difference in their offensive prowess when he faced off against Jose Caba, a toughnut who had extended Pedroza 15 rounds in his previous fight, blowing him away in seven rounds.

McGuigan proved he could blow away contenders, and showed that he was good enough to live with world class former champions when he faced off against still dangerous Juan LaPorte (who would go on to be one of Kostya Tszyu’s early victims), who despite having several losses on his ledger, was still looking for success, and would go on to challenge for world titles after that loss, including tilts at JC Chavez, JJ Molina, Azumah Nelson, and Charles Murray. Hatton’s best wins have been against the limited and less than ambitious Ben Tackie, a weight drained and over the hill Vince Phillips, an overrated Michael Stewart, who flattered to deceive with his lofty IBF rating, and Eamonn Magee.

The truth of the matter is, as much as I would like to draw comparisons between Hatton’s and McGuigan’s prospects going into this fight, the event may have a resonance, but the careers of the respective fighters and the styles of the people involved just don’t stack up.

McGuigan overcame the slightly fading Pedroza with a combination of his innate power, youthfulness, and sticking to what he did best. Hatton by contrast is going to have to either fight in a manner in which we have never seen him fight before, or elevate his alacrity and dynamism to new heights. His money punch, the left hook to the body, will leave him open to his opponent’s sweetest shot, the straight right which has devastated the likes of Zab Judah.

Hatton is a lot more intelligent than his brawling style would lead people to believe, and more adaptable than he is given credit for. Against Ben Tackie he was forced to display a more cautious conservative approach boxing behind a corkscrew jab and throwing more head than body shots, but Tackie, tough as he is, is no Tszyu, and had a very limited one-dimensional style which Hatton’s not inconsiderable boxing skills and savvy easily overcame with only a few dangerous moments.

Hatton’s best chance surely lies in trying to pressure Tszyu early, trying to apply the style which has given him the most success. It’s very hard to switch up your natural style against a fighter with the technical and physical advantages Tszyu holds.

In this sport, you never say never, and we’ve seen major upsets in the past with British fighters turning over living legends. Lloyd Honeyghan and Donald Curry provided another unexpected drama. Randy Turpin and Sugar Ray Robinson provided probably the most unexpected result by a British fighter ever, though the volte-face was swift and emphatic. However, Curry was an idol with feet of clay and life-and-death struggles with the scales, whilst Robinson, basking in the adulation of the crowds and the pleasures of his European tour, had become mentally complacent and physically indolent.

Tszyu, who judging by what I have seen of his routine is quite possibly the hardest training world champion in boxing, will not hand Hatton his title through complacency; Hatton will have to rip it away from him.

I see Hatton going down hard around the middle rounds unless Tszyu does a containment job, but win or lose, he’s earned the respect of the boxing fraternity, and paid back the loyalty of his thousands of Mancunian fans.

Win or lose though, Hatton deserves credit for wanting to take on the best in the world, and despite the delay, so does Frank Warren for finally putting the fight together. Hard as I find it to see Hatton prevailing, I’ll be rooting for him all the way as I did as all those years ago as a 14-year-old singing along with my Irish Ma and McGuigan’s swaying fans.