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Originally Posted by Salvy_Mic
This is one of the big fights of the first half of this year, and even though Hatton unfairly got stripped of his IBF title, he still has more meaningful Ring title to defend against Castillo, and arguably, the biggest fight of Hatton's career. If Hatton wins, I don't see much else for him to do at 140 honestly. He's already said he won't fight fellow Brit Junior Witter, and the other titlists, Souleymane M'Baye, Lovemore N'Dou, and Ricardo Torres, don't bring money to the table. For Hatton, all the big fights are at welterweight, and unlike the first time he moved up, against Collazo, he can prepare himself better. The only thing Hatton can really do at Jr. Welterweight after a win over Castillo would be to wait on Diego Corrales or wait for Demetrius Hopkins to become a champion and/or star soon. As for Castillo, should he win, he would probably have no problem taking fights against the other titlists, but the most logical thing would be to wait for Corrales, to have the final match of their trilogy, The Battle of the Bulge if you will.
As for the fight itself, it should be hard hitting and action-packed. Both Castillo and Hatton have similar styles, which should make for a highly entertaining, possibly even FOTY-worthy, match. In the end, I think Hatton's youth will overtake Castillo's experience in either a close decision or a very late round stoppage, and especially for Ricky Hatton, make the winner a big star.
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Hatton was stripped or actually gave up the titles both times because he didn't want to fight the mandatories or he decided to move weights. It was deserved, he can't hold on to titles if he's not going to fight in that division. When he went to 147 it was a wakeup call, he had plenty of time to prepare. He's good at 140 but the guys at 147 will be too big and too strong for him, he won't be able to muscle them around as he did at 140. He won't even crack the top 5 if he stayed at 147. Junior Witter has been dying for a fight with him and begged for a big showdown in England but Hatton refuses which to me if someone wants to fight you and it would be a huge payday at your home and you say no, then you're ducking them. What if Americans didn't fight Americans or other countries doing the same? We would barely have a sport so that's a shitty excuse for him. Diego is fighting at 147 in his next fight, he's skipping right over 140, so that won't happen unless they talk him down to weight or Hatton goes up. But i think that's a real bad move for Corrales and he's going to get beatup jumping up so far in weight at this point in his career.
I agree this Hatton/Castillo fight could be FOTY caliber, but i think Castillo could pull this off. Hatton hasn't seen someone who fights like him with hard body punching, that could be very bad for him while Castillo has been in wars with some of the very best in the sport so Hatton won't be anything new to him. I don't think anyone will win by stoppage but the decision could go either way. If Castillo's rough career has caught up to him, then it'll be a long night for him but if he brings his A game it'll be a long night for Hatton. A very good fight on paper either way, i can't wait.