By Scott Gilfoid: Ricky Hatton recently attempted to give Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KO’s) in advice about his May 3rd opponent Luis Collazo (35-5, 18 KO’s). Hatton’s advice was for Khan to avoid going to war with Collazo and to use in and out movement for 12 round. But Khan says he doesn’t need Hatton’s advice in moving up in weight, because he feels that he did a better job in moving up than Hatton did when he moved up in weight to challenge Collazo for his WBA 147lb title in 2006.
“I won’t speak to Ricky moving up wise because I think I’ve done it properly,” Khan said. “I think I’ve always been a 147 fighter who has been drained down to 140 and less. Ricky Probably underestimated moving up to 147. He probably didn’t train as hard as I have to get to this weight…I am not going o be one of the fighters who moves up in weight just by eating.”
Khan went onto say that he watched Hatton’s fight with Collazo and he felt that Hatton was standing too flat-footed, and that he doesn’t intend to fight Collazo in that manner.
It sounds like Khan knows all that answers about moving up in weight and how to beat Collazo. I just hope that he can actually back it up in the ring on Saturday night, because it would be sad to see Khan get starched again like he was against Breidis Prescott and Danny Garcia. I bet Hatton would have some helpful advice in what Khan should or shouldn’t have been doing in those fights. Maybe Khan needed to stand flat-footed against Prescott and Garcia, because his running around the ring didn’t help him much, did it?
Hatton was pretty good shape when he fought Collazo in 2006, and he didn’t have the look of someone who had eaten their way to welterweight. Hatton looked like a genuine welterweight. He wasn’t flabby and soft looking like Tony Bellew when he moved up to cruiserweight recently. With that said, Hatton didn’t have enough talent to beat Collazo without controversy, and that was his problem. Hatton got the decision, but it was as controversial as heck. I had Hatton losing a clear decision, but he was the name fighter, so it was pretty obvious that he would get the victory.
Khan’s muscles probably won’t help him take head shots any better than he did before. If anything, the added muscle will slow Khan down, and make it easier for Collazo to try and knock him senseless with one of his perfectly timed right hooks to the head. With the way that Collazo was punching in his recent win over Victor Ortiz, I don’t think Khan would have done any better if he had been on the receiving end of those punches in that fight rather than Ortiz.
The in and out style that Hatton is advising Khan to use for the Collazo fight might be too dangerous for him to use, because Collazo will time Khan if he uses that approach for this fight and likely catch him with something big.
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