By William Mackay: Huge underdog Matthew Hatton (41-4-2, 16 KO’s) says he’s going to try and box hard hitting Saul Alvarez on Saturday night rather than playing into the Mexican’s hands by trying to slug with him and getting hurt. However, Hatton, 29, says he’s going to take the fight to Alvarez if he believes he’s the stronger fighter.
You can’t rule out anything with Hatton, because like his brother Ricky Hatton, Matthew often times likes to get in there and trade with his opponents. He hasn’t been in with the kind of puncher he’ll be facing on Saturday night, so you can expect Hatton to be a little overconfident about his ability to take shots. Alvarez is going to likely put the fear in Hatton early on as soon as he catches him with a big shot. Hatton doesn’t have a lot of power, and mainly relies on boxing. If he tries to slug with Alvarez, this could be a very quick fight with Hatton getting knocked cold.
Alvarez isn’t then greatest fighter in the division despite his number #1 ranking by the WBC. In looking at Alvarez’s fight with Lovemore N’dou last year, Alvarez looked slow and winded by the 5th round. He turned red in the face and looked exhausted when N’dou failed to fall over early in the fight like many of Alvarez’s opponents previously did. Alvarez then was forced to cover-up and ride out N’dou’s attacks. Alvarez looked uncomfortable when N’dou was coming. But when Alvarez was the one setting the pace, he looked a lot better. But his stamina was horrible. Alvarez seemed only capable of throwing a small amount of shots without needing rest breaks where he would cover up and take huge breaths while getting his wind back. Alvarez will have to fight better if he wants to take Hatton out in an impressive fashion.
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