Ricky Hatton re-inforced his reputation as the best light welterweight in the world, with a punishing TKO victory over Paul Malignanni on Saturday.
The Briton dominated the fight from the second round before Malignaggi’s trainer stepped into the ring 28 seconds into the 11th round to spare his fighter any further damage.
Fighting in the same ring where he suffered his only loss against Floyd Mayweather Jr a year ago, Hatton stunned the American early and dominated him the rest of the way in a fight that was never in doubt.
PHOTO: AFP
Hatton had employed Mayweather’s father, Floyd Sr, to help him with his defensive techniques for the fight, but didn’t need much defense against the light-hitting Malignaggi, who could never find an answer to Hatton’s all-out fighting style.
Hatton had won nine out of the previous 10 rounds on all three ringside scorecards when the fight was finally stopped. Though Hatton never managed to put Malignaggi down, he hurt him several times during the fight.
Malignaggi never seemed the same after the second round when Hatton hit him with a right hand that buckled his legs and forced him to hold on to survive the last 30 seconds of the round. From then on it was all Hatton, much to the delight of several thousand British fans who cheered and sang their countryman’s praises from the opening bell on.
Malignaggi’s face was bruised and his eyes puffy midway through the fight as Hatton’s punches began showing their effect.
By the eighth round, Hatton was chasing Malignaggi and taking wild swings at him, clearly unimpressed with the power of a fighter who had only five knockouts in his 26 professional fights.
Hatton, though, said it was harder than it looked.
At the end of the 10th round, trainer Buddy McGirt warned Malignaggi that he would stop the fight if he continued to take a beating, and it didn’t take long for him to follow through on his promise. McGirt came into the ring and the fight was stopped, much to the displeasure of Malignaggi, who shoved his trainer away when he tried to embrace him.
“I was worse off in the Miguel Cotto fight,” Malignaggi said of his only previous loss. “They didn’t stop it then, they shouldn’t have stopped it now.”
McGirt was unapologetic.
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