RICKY Hatton is lined up to make his first é and probably only é WBA welterweight title defence in England against Oktay Urkal.
The Hitman has hastily revised his plans to fight the winner of last Saturdayés WBC lightweight showdown between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, as the fight was called off after Castillo failed to make the 9st 9lbs limit.
And with that ugly situation set to end up in action by the US boxing authorities and maybe even the courts, Hatton does not want to be kicking his heels waiting for a resolution.
TV paymasters have already indicated that they are happy for at least one contest in their three-fight deal with the Hyde ace to be staged on this side of the Atlantic, and European-based Urkal is the WBAés mandatory challenger.
American audiences normally turn their noses up at all-European fights, but Hattonés reputation was enhanced by his edge-of-the-seat victory over Luis Collazo last month, and Urkal is respected for taking former undisputed light-welter champ Kostya Tszyu the distance in 2001 and for twice giving Vivian Harris hard fights for the WBA title in 2004.
Court
éWe have an agreement to fight Urkal, who is the mandatory contender for Rickyés WBA welterweight belt,é said promoter Dennis Hobson.
éWeére not waiting about for court cases and suspensions.é
There were also complications arising from the fact that Corrales normally fights on HBOés rival channel Showtime, while Castillo is set to go ahead with a fight against Miguel Cotto on November 11, if he does not get tangled up in lawsuits or end up being banned.
Hobson added: éWe spoke to promoter Bob Arum and heés trying to resolve the issues with Castillo but we want a quick solution.
éMaybe theyéll suspend him or they may just let him fight at light welterweight.
éBut Urkalés on the table and Ricky wants to get along with his career.é
Hobson and Hatton had travelled to Las Vegas to be ringside for the Corrales v Castillo showdown, but the promoter says the trip was not entirely wasted: éWe laid foundations and had talks, and the hotels and casinos are hot to trot with regards future fights.
éA big plus was to see how popular Ricky is é people were clamouring for him.é
Do you think Hatton will beat Urkal? Have your say.
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Hatton to win infront of home crowd in Manchester...
I will be there..
Since beating Tsyzu Hatton has not faced any big names and seems content to take the big money HBO offer fighting opponents who only hardened boxing fans have ever heard of, such as, Maussa, Collazo, Urkal. Hatton won't make it into the Boxing Hall of Fame fighting guys like this.
i think any fight at welter is a risk but dont forget hattons amateur pedigree he can box and box well i think its a sham the way hatton has been treated with matchups and the way he has lost his ibf title is a joke rabhas last opponent boxed for a intercontinental title which tells you the level he is at how can he be ranked above mayweather,cotto,harris,gatti etc its a joke to loose your title to a fighter at intercontinental levle
I knew Ricky was going to defend his title after the Castillo and Corrales farce.It is the only real option at the moment.Although Urkal is NO pushover,a think he deserves a slightly easier opponent for once anyway.
msg to pat barret of moston he could always follow your career path!!!! NOT
Urkal is a definate step back, infact its a giant leap. Harris beat him twice (In Germany) and beat him pretty easy. I will be shocked if Hatton`s team do not go after Corrales and think its a ploy by his team 2 apeaze the wba. Hatton took a step back in facing Collazo, he then stated it was the only viable option now he has the likes of Cotto,Corrales,Castillo, and Floyd Mayweather as options.
i,m inclined to agree with pat from moston ,urkal is a non puncher and getting on in years ,although being a bit of a "fancy dan"his style could cause ricky problems ,when rick fought collazo the powers to be said the winner had to fight urkal within 120 days and the winner of that fight had to fight either carlos quintana or joel julio who meet shortly ,should ricky beat urkal both pat and i know full well that theres no chance of ricky meeting quintana or julio ,i,ve seen both these prospects and they are realy tasty to say the least having had 49 unbeaten fights between them with about 45 on ko,s so they will be avoided at all costs ,whatever happens in the next few months will be interesting indeed .
Urkal will smash Hatton who won by fluke of wrestling against Tszyu and was out cold on his feet against Colazzo.
Bobby Boy from Sydney,I detect a slight hint of jealosy from Ricky Hatton`s thorough and fair beating of Kostya Tszyu. Realise every great fighter has his day. learn about the sport before you comment on it.Urkal will NOT STOP Hatton`s ambition to fight the Mayweather or Gatti fights that may come up.Hatton should stop Urkal in his defense of the title.
the wba was quite specific when it gave ricky a crack at collazo,s welter title they said that the winner should fight urkal within 120 days and the winner of that fight to defend against either carlos quintana or joel julio by feb 07 ,on the face of it ricky should win ,being on home soil ,urkals age "36",non puncher ,so it should be a nice little payday for rick ,when the dust has settled from that one and providing rick wins ,he will then have to face quintana or julio ,this fight of course will never happen ,the reason being that ricky wants to retire unbeaten and who,s to blame him for that,ricks a good fighter without a doubt but i along with many other boxing fans have the view that he always avoided the real talents in his division .
message to carl stanley at least pat barret can spell!!thougt i was bad but yours takes some beating.
I think it is ridiculous that there is so much hate for Ricky Hatton out there. After beating the 'king of the division' in Kostya Tszyu, he beat Maussa TO UNIFY THE DIVISON. I dont care if people think Maussa wasnt a worthy opponent, he had a belt that Ricky wanted, so Hatton Knocked him out and took it. He unified the division , then stepped up a weight and fought yet another title holder, his third in three successive fights. Granted these arent the HUGE names of the sport, but there are definitely a lot worse of opponents that he could have chosen to fight.
What does he have to fight a world title holder superstar in each fight now for anyone to give him any credit. NO ONE DOES THAT ANYMORE. For those who think he 'avoids all the talent in the division' ummm...you need to know a little bit more about boxing and the light welterweight division before you open your mouth again, because you simply sound stupid.
hi justin,i don,t think anybody "hates" ricky has you put it ,for sure ricks a good fighter without a doubt and proved it when he fought collazo surviving a rocky 12th round on heart alone ,but just a few facts why i am of the opinion that rickys dodged a few opponents on his way to the top ,junior witter consistantly challanged rick for 6 years and was turned down flat on each occasion ,the excuse was that rick had bigger fish to fry ,biggerfish!!,like freddy pendleton and vince phillips both 40 years old and washed up fighters and rated far below witter ,then theres kostya tszyu 2months short of his 36th birthday and only 1 fight in 30 months {sharmba mitchell} kostya was brought out of virtual retirement with the promise of one last big payday by frank warren ,and like many great fighters before him fought one fight too many ,mausa in my eyes was a paper champ having took the title off vivian harris with a lucky punch ,before that mausa got ko,d by cotto,also in the post fight interview rick promised collazo a return match which he went back on later ,the upcoming defence against 36 year old oktay urkal should be no problem for rick ,but lets see if rick defends against the winner of the quintana vs julio fight which the wba stipulated had to happen before feb 07 somehow i,m highly doubtful,if you check there records up you,ll know why ,and lastly just because somebody has an opinion which differs from yours do,s not mean they have a big mouth and know nothing about boxing ,if we all thought the same the world would be a very dull place indeed ,honest debate in any sport is good for the game whatever it may be .
just read on "fightnews"that miguel cotto has just beat formaly unbeaten pauly malignaggi in defence of his lt welter title ,breaking his nose and jaw in the process,being that billy graham fancies rick to beat cotto why not defend against him after ricks dealt with 36 year old oktay urkal,cotto said after the fight thats he,s moving up to welter ,this would be a dream match for sure and make both fighters mega bucks ,so in the words of star ref mills lane "lets get it on"
He will beat anybody!
carlos quintana has just beaten joel julio in a final WBA welter elimination fight for the right to meet the winner of the hatton vs urkal fight as this promotion was run by HBO rickys backers, this fight would be a real draw in the states and have ricky laughing all the way to the bank ,i stand to be corrected of course but i seem to have read that rickys team agreed to both the urkal fight and to fight the winner of the quintana julio fight so rick could fight for collazo,s welter crown which he duly won ,the urkal fight is near certain to happen and in my opinion should be a win for rick possibly on a late stoppage so it makes sense for rick to take the quintana fight otherwise the WBA will strip him of his belt and he,ll be back to squre one a fighter without a title.