Hatton Breaks Down Malignaggi in 11
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 11.23.2008
Ringside Report: The Hitman too much for the Magic Man tonight.
Hatton at the post-fight press conference
LAS VEGAS - After eleven rounds of relentless pressure, Ricky Hatton was finally too much for Paulie Malignaggi, forcing an 11th round TKO. Malignaggi had success with his quick jab but that was about as effective as he would be the entire night. Both fighters looked sharp in the first round as they worked each other to the body during clinches but soon thereafter, Malignaggi's offense simply fell flat. In the second round, Hatton nailed the Magic Man with a left hook that stunned him and nearly put him on the canvas, had he not hung on to Hatton's neck. Throughout the fight, it was Paulie that was doing most of the holding, frequently initiating a clinch when Hatton would get close. Malignaggi's best round came in the eighth when he landed two straight one-two combinations, one of them knocking Hatton off balance.
The next three rounds featured Hatton stunning Malignaggi with hard left hooks and a punishing body attack. Midway through the eleventh, Hatton unleashed a series of combinations to the body that convinced Buddy McGirt to throw in the towel, giving Hatton the technical knockout. Malignaggi was visibly upset after the stoppage but there was no reason to let it continue.
In the co-featured bout, James Kirkland (24-0, 21 KOs) remained unbeaten as he systematically broke down Brian Vera (16-2, 10 KOs) of The Contender. Vera hung tough for a few rounds, forcing Kirkland to brawl but ultimately took one too many punches. Kirkland was floored in round 2 with a left hand to the ear but seemed ok. Later on he found himself on the canvas again after a mix of twisting his ankle and a left cross to the shoulder blade though it was ruled an official knockdown. Kirkland then began to unload on Vera in rounds 7 and 8 before the fight was finally stopped at 1:45 of the eighth.
Kirkland said after the fight that he was never hurt, despite Vera's winging haymakers. Vera was awkward but he feels this type of fight benefits him in the long run.
Kirkland and Vera was the fight of the night! I thought Vera had a legit shot at knocking out Kirkland halfway through the bout! As for the Hatton/Malignaggi bout it was a complete hold fest. Paulie would come inside and then hold. It was so frustrating to watch because it slowed down the fight to the point of judges awarding the rounds to Hatton because he managed to land a 2 punch combination between every hold. Lets hope Paul Williams has a good night next Saturday so we get a good show. Great reporting of the whole event and tell the Tecate girls I said hi.
Posted By: Unplugged (Guest) on November 23, 2008 at 03:55 PM
They said hello!
Posted By: Ramon Aranda (Registered) on November 23, 2008 at 05:05 PM
