| Hatton will battle the bulge |
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| Written by iTV Sport | |
| Sunday, 21 January 2007 | |
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Ricky Hatton has vowed to cut down on his junk food diet after reclaiming his old IBF light-welterweight title with a points win over Juan Urango in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Hatton's win by 119-109 on all three judges' scorecards set up a potentially explosive superfight against Mexican Jose Luis Castillo back on the Strip in June. And Hatton knows he will have to compromise his penchant for beer and Chinese takeaways if he is to rise to the challenge of overcoming the former lightweight champion.
Hatton said: "I don't think my weight will increase too much this time because the fight is not too far away and obviously it's the kind of fight you want to stay in shape for. "I will go away on a family cruise and relax but then it will be back in the gym to prepare for Castillo because we all know that is a massive fight for me."
Hatton gave his win over Urango seven out of 10 but admitted the lopsided scoreline did not reflect the rock-hard challenge offered by the previously unbeaten Colombian. Twice, in rounds five and nine, Hatton was visibly hurt by clattering right hands to his body and needed to negate his usual all-action style in order to smother his opponent and take a breather. But his superb movement and footwork enabled him to hold off the relatively one-dimensional Urango, even though he did begin to fade slightly in the later rounds. Hatton said: "I felt quite comfortable for the first six rounds then the red mist set up and I probably made it harder work than I should have done. "Juan caught me with some good shots and sometimes you have just got to suck them up and survive the moment. He is definitely the best body-puncher I have faced." Hatton certainly did enough during the build-up and the fight itself to convince Las Vegas casino executives of his market value as a top of the bill fighter here. And his profile could go through the roof if he produces fireworks against Castillo, who is already hugely regarded for his two epic lightweight battles against Diego Corrales. Castillo's promoter Bob Arum used the post-fight press conference to announce the fight with Hatton was confirmed, with only the June date and precise Las Vegas venue to be confirmed. However the prospect did diminish slightly after Castillo produced a simply dreadful performance on the undercard as he claimed a split decision over Cameroon's Hernan Ngoudjo. Although Castillo deserved the verdict against his unambitious opponent, he looked weak and fought as if the wars with Corrales had taken too much out of him. However Hatton will not be tempted out for too many more Chinese meals as a result. He said: "If you want to see two guys knocking the hell out of each other, come and watch us. "It will be an honour to share the ring with Jose. You only become a great fighter if you share the ring with other great fighters, and that is exactly what Jose is." |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 27 January 2007 ) |
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