Ricky Hatton produced a sensational
display in front of his home fans in Manchester as he stopped
Kostya Tszyu to claim the IBF light-welterweight crown
'The Hitman' forced the defending champion to retire on his stool
before the start of the final three minutes after an amazing contest
that ebbed and flowed throughout 11 pulsating rounds
The local boy certainly came good in front of 22,000 people at
the MEN Arena as he ended Tszyu's 10-year reign as champion in
a somewhat scrappy, but enthralling, bout
Many had predicted that Tszyu's power would be too much for the
British challenger, yet the 26-year-old from Hyde refused to back
down from his opponent as he walked through everything the Russian-born
fighter threw at him
In the end the 35-year-old's body proved incapable of matching
the pace being set by his younger counterpart as the man known
as the 'Thunder from Down Under' was forced to quit
The hype surrounding the fight was certainly justified once the
action got underway as fight fans witnessed the biggest world
title fight in Britain since Frank Bruno defeated Oliver McCall
at Wembley back in 1995
The opening rounds proved that Hatton had plenty of intelligence
to go with his energy as he crowded Tszyu and backed him up against
the ropes to stop the champion having any room to work in
The British boxer's approach certainly seemed to take Tszyu by
surprise as his counter shots failed to stop Hatton's forward
progress
However, the Australian showed just why he had been champion for
a decade in the third round as he began to back away from the
challenger so he had space to unleash several booming straight
rights and left hooks
While Hatton continued to stalk his prey round the ring, Tszyu's
ability to find the target looked to be turning the fight his
way as it appeared every punch he released found the target
He started the fifth round with two huge right hands and it appeared
as if his counter shots were taking their toll as Hatton's work-rate
dropped considerably in the middle rounds, allowing Tszyu the
chance to work from distance
Yet Hatton had always stated he would be the one to finish the
fight the stronger and he turned the contest on its head as his
superior fitness saw him move into control
Not even a second blow below the belt in round nine could stop
the Mancunian, although he gave as good as he got as he hit back
with a low shot of his own that forced referee Dave Parris to
warn both fighters
But it was becoming clear that all was not well with Tszyu as
he looked a shadow of the man that had destroyed Sharmba Mitchell
inside three rounds last time out
The home crowd could certainly sense a home victory was on the
cards and round 10 showed the writing was on the wall as Tszyu
found himself being worked over on the ropes as he was forced
to cover up and hold on for the bell
The 11th was the scrappiest round of the night, yet it was still
too much for Tszyu to take as his corner beckoned over referee
Parris to put an end to the contest
As the realisation of what had happened sunk in, Hatton fell to
the floor and shed tears of joy as he became the latest in a long
line of great British world champions
Ever the champion until the end, Tszyu was quick to tell the crowd
he had been beaten by the better man on the night and was full
of praise for the fighter who could well have bought the curtain
down on his illustrious career
But while one great name looks set to bow out of boxing, another
may well have emerged with Hatton defying the odds with a display
that would have impressed the likes of Joe Calzaghe, Diego Corrales
and Ronald 'Winky' Wright who were all at ringside
The victory extends his unbeaten streak to 39 fights and his performance
will no doubt have alerted the boxing public in America and put
him in line for some money-spinning fights in the future