In a move that I would have expected, there is talk of former light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton (43-1, 31 KOs) going up against undefeated World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Gavin Rees (27-0, 13 KOs), arguably the worst of the four champions in the division. If they wanted to rebuild Hatton’s shot confidence, a bout against the 27 year-old Rees would be just what the doctor ordered, as he has few skills and is more like a club fighter than a real champion, from what I’ve seen of him.
Of course, Hatton can’t go wrong there, because the British fans would love to see him fight Rees, because they’d at least know who he is, and Hatton, in turn, would have a good chance at winning the fight. He couldn’t say the same for all of the light welterweight champions, since he would have his hands full with Junior Witter, Ricardo Torres, and Paulie Malignaggi, all of whom would have a better than average chance of beating Hatton.
Witter, more than rest, would be the worst possible fight for Hatton, but you’ll not hear him mention Witter. According to the latest news, talks are underway with Ree’s promoter, Frank Warren and Hatton’s people. Nothing will be confirmed until Hatton get’s back off vacation.
As for the 5’3″ Rees, Hatton, at 5’6″, would seem like giant next to him, and would most definitely make his night miserable should the two of them get in the ring together. Rees, trained by Enzo Calzaghe, the father of super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, won the WBA light welterweight title with a 12 round unanimous decision over Souleymane M’baye in July 2007, a bout that M’baye lost by not letting his hands go.
It’s hard to get Rees much credit in the fight, because M’baye looked so bad, as if he was in a trance or something. When he did let his hands go, on the few occasions, he looked better than Rees, which isn’t saying much. However, he just wouldn’t throw any punches.
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