By Chris Williams: In the latest news, there is talk of Floyd Mayweather Jr. facing Matthew Hatton (37-4-2, 14 KO’s) in March 2010 instead of Manny Pacquiao. According to Insidesports.ph, part of the problem for the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout not going ahead is because Pacquiao has decided to run for congress in Sarangani. This predicament has resulted in Mayweather looking at a fight against Matthew Hatton, who recently failed in an attempt to capture the International Boxing Organization welterweight title when he fought to a 12 round draw against Lovemore N’dou on November 13th.
If the fight against Hatton does end up taking place, it will likely be hard for many Americans to get excited about this fight because Matthew Hatton isn’t as of yet a world class fighter. He could be one some day, but at 28, Hatton is closer a 2nd tier fighter than a 1st tier. He was soundly beaten last year by Craig Watson, a good but not great British welterweight, and Hatton has beaten only B level fighters since that fight.
The real test of Hatton’s career came this month when he fought a 38-year-old N’dou for the IBO title. Although Hatton appeared to win the fight by three to four rounds, it still wasn’t the kind of performance that would make you get excited about seeing him fight.
I think Hatton would have serious problems if he were put in with a decent 1st tier welterweight contender like Mike Jones or Jesus Soto Karass. I think either of those guys would beat Hatton soundly. However, for Mayweather, who is perceived to be the best fighter in the welterweight division aside from Pacquiao, to face Hatton, it seems a little off putting. I wasn’t all that excited about seeing Mayweather hand pick another smaller fighter when he fought Juan Manuel Marquez in September, because it was Mayweather’s second consecutive fight against a smaller fighter.
However, Marquez would probably tear Matthew Hatton apart if they were pitted against each other. And Mayweather showed that he’s much better than Marquez, so you can pretty much see that a fight against Hatton will be no less than an organized slaughter for Mayweather. The casual boxing fans scooped up the Mayweather-Marquez fight and purchased in in droves on pay-per-view.
It’s not clear why they opted to do so, because the fight was seen as a mismatch going in because of Mayweather’s size advantage. But if Mayweather thinks that will happen twice against the little known Matthew Hatton, I think he’s overestimated the public’s gullibility. I wouldn’t pay to see Mayweather fight Matthew Hatton. In fact, they’d have to pay me to see this hopeless slaughter because it’s not good boxing. It’s like matching a super bowl bound football team against a rag tag high school team. Hatton, like his brother Ricky, has no chance against Mayweather.
The British boxing public might go for this fight, but even they would have to be a little put off by it you would think. I’d rather see the still green Kell Brook matched up against Mayweather rather than Hatton. At least Brook would be able to make it slightly interesting for a round or two because of his fast hands and accurate shots. Hatton is going to get destroyed. Mayweather would have to carry him if he wanted to make the fight last.
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