By Scott Gilfoid: Former Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 21 KO’s) knockout victim Stuart Elwell thinks that Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) will be able to beat the 35-year-old Ukrainian Senchenko when they fight on November 24th of this month at the Manchester Arena (formerly M.E.N Arena), in Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom.
What’s really, really strange about this is that Elwell was knocked out in the 2nd round by Senchenko in 2008. Why Elwell thinks that Hatton can beat a fighter that so easily him is the real question. I mean, it’s hard to top a 2nd round knockout. What does Elwell think Hatton would do to him? Knock him out in the 1st round?
Elwell told the bbc.co.uk “If he’s the old Hatton, he’ll go in there all guns blazing and he’ll stop him…Senchenko’s punches were nothing extraordinary. He didn’t punch half as hard as Kell Brook did.”
Well, Brook knocked Elwell out in the 2nd round, so I don’t see how Brook came out all that much ahead. If Senchenko knocked Elwell out in the 2nd round and Brook did as well, what’s the difference? It sounds like a subjective garbage to me. I think Hatton couldn’t top a 2nd round knockout if he tried.
What Elwell feels will happen is immaterial, since he’s not exactly in the position to give a good prediction of who will come out ahead in a fight between Senchenko and Hatton given that he’s never faced Hatton. He did fight Senchenko as was wiped out in only two rounds. I don’t understand how Elwell can be making a big fuss out of Hatton when he was knocked out in the 2nd round by Hatton’s opponent Senchenko.
The fact of the matter is that Senchenko can punch and if he’s able to land his shots without being wrestled all night long by Hatton, then Senchenko will knock Hatton out just Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. did.
Hatton isn’t going to be the old Hatton in the sense that he won’t be what he once was. How can he be? He hasn’t fought in three years and he’s been eating and drinking well. All the weight that Hatton put on his body during those years couldn’t have helped him. I do agree with Hatton being old, but I don’t mean that in a good way. He’s going to be old if anything. He won’t be the young Hatton; that’s just not possible unless he can take a time machine back to 2005 and use the body that he had when he wrestled his way to a decision against Kostya Tszyu in Manchester.