14-11-2007 Boxing Betting - Manchester Mexican Ready for Pretty Boy

Preview of Ricky Hatton v Floyd Mayweather, Las Vegas (Dec.9th 1am GMT)

Dancing Reality Show a Distraction for Mayweather

Floyd ‘Pretty Boy’ Mayweather’s preparations for his December fight with Ricky Hatton have certainly raised a few eyebrows, having decided to honour his commitments to compete in popular US reality TV show – Dancing with the Stars – which started on September 24th. He will therefore be training for both events in parallel, with four days a week intensive dance practice (for the duration of his participation in the show), with the remainder of his time dedicated to boxing. The final, should he make it, is just two weeks before he meets the Hitman in Vegas.

"I’m the only athlete that’s active in his field and competing with two big challenges," Mayweather said, "I’m trying to make the impossible possible. It’s about pushing myself to the limit."

The level of commitment required for the dancing contest shouldn’t be underestimated. Australian welterweight fighter, Kostya Tszyu, who Hatton beat in 2005, came second in the Aussie version of the show and admitted he had under-estimated the amount of preparation required. Mayweather must meet the demands of filming - which require him to commute between LA and Las Vegas – avoid the threat of injury, as well as handle the intensified media circus that his involvement in the ABC show has generated.

Hatton Quietly Focused on Job in Hand

By contrast, having used the media to bait Mayweather out of retirement, and during the obligation promotional process, Hatton is now quietly focused on the job at hand. Critics have focused on his eating habits when not in full training, that have led some to call him ‘Ricky Fatton’. The Mancunian has been known to bulk up to 35 pounds over his fighting weight - on full English breakfasts and Guinness - which some have linked to a tendency to tire toward the end of bouts. Hatton set off for his two month training camp in Vegas dispelling criticism over his weight, suggesting that two fights earlier in the year, and the move up a weight division lessened that burden.

He beat Juan Urango in January at Light Welterweight for the unified IBF and IBO titles, but relinquished the former to fight Jose Castillo in June, a fight which Hatton ended in the fourth round with a vicious left-hook body shot, which left Castillo on the canvas, counted out for the first time in a 63 fight career.

Hatton enjoys a fanatical support that created a tremendous football stadium atmosphere at the Thomas & Mack Center against Castillo, with 9,000 of the 13,000 crowd behind him. Crucially only 3,800 tickets have been allocated to British fight fans for the 15,150 capacity MGM Grand Garden Arena, though they will be available on the black market at hugely inflated prices.

Castillo’s fight history included two judge’s decisions against Mayweather in 2002. There is however a danger in comparing those fights against Hatton’s TKO. Castillo seemed to be beyond his best when he faced Hatton having struggled to make weight on several occasions prior to the meeting, and labouring to a narrow points decision against Herman Ngoudjo in the preceding fight despite being priced 1/8 with PinnacleSports.com.

Mayweather has ended 63% of his fights with knock-out blows, while Hatton’s record is even better at 72%, but those stats include a few ‘soft’ opponents. The oddsmakers at PinnacleSports.com certainly anticipate this one going the distance, pricing over 11.5 rounds (for the 12 round contest) at 1.415, with the Under at 3.210 - a market priced to under 102%.

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