Junior Welterweights Come Out To Play In May
By Jake Donovan
There's only one Ricky Hatton, but the linear junior welterweight king has company in May. The top three rated 140 lb. fighters in the world return to the ring this month, with all three bouts taking place in England, and within a three-weekend span.
Two of the three are on a head-on collision, with Hatton and Malignaggi appearing in separate bouts on a May 24 card in Hatton's hometown of Manchester, England. Hatton returns for the first time since his knockout loss to Floyd Mayweather last December, as he takes on Juan Lazcano in the evening's main event. One fight prior, Malignaggi dances with Lovemore N'Dou for the second time in less than a year.
But before we get to see the May 24 double dip, SHOWTIME kicks off the junior welterweight festivities this weekend in Nottingham, England (Saturday, 10:45PM ET/PT, tape-delayed). The main event features Junior Witter defending his alphabet crown against undefeated American challenger Timothy Bradley, with both fighters making their 2008 debut.
For Witter (36-1-2, 21KO), this weekend's fight is more than just an alphabet mandatory defense. It's his chance to prove to any remaining doubters that he is without a doubt the top threat to Hatton's linear crown.
The doubt began way back in June 2000, when Witter, then a relative novice with merely 17 fights under his belt, accepted a last-minute assignment against then-junior welterweight titlist Zab Judah. It became one of those situations that sounded better in theory than it appeared in reality; unfortunately for Witter, it wasn't a lesson realized until after the opening bell sounded.
What came about was a stinker of a performance, one that many fans – mostly in America – refuse to forgive even to this very day. Witter's tried his damnest to exorcise the demons, but as far as most remain concerned, 21 wins (including 15 straight knockouts following the Judah debacle) and an alphabet title isn't enough. It's not a matter of what he's done, but who he's done it against – or more specifically, who he hasn't done it against.
There's only one… Ricky Hatton.
For years, Witter's winning streak – and overall career – was overshadowed by his countryman Hatton, appearing on his undercards while the two fought under Frank Warren's Sports Network promotional banner. Witter didn't necessarily have a problem with the arrangement, so long as the promised payoff materialized – a showdown with Hatton.
It never came, as Hatton's overwhelming popularity was realized long before he became a world champion, or even began facing opponents with a pulse. Witter eventually split from Warren, landing with rival promoter Hennessy Sports soon thereafter, this weekend's bout his tenth with the group. None of that changes the fact that Witter remains not just England's second best junior welterweight, but also a very distant second in terms of popularity.
Chances are, not even a career-best performance this weekend will change that. Not when the opponent is undefeated but untested Tim Bradley (21-0, 11KO), a familiar face on the ShoBox circuit, but yet to grace any respectable divisional top ten ranking.
The squat 24-year old, ten years Junior's junior, takes on a series of firsts in this bout. It's his first major title fight, though he boasts experience as a Youth champion which, if nothing else, allowed him to acclimate to 10-round fights a lot earlier in his career than expected.
The Witter bout is also Bradley's first outside of the United States. In fact, it's the first time in his four year career that he doesn't fight in his home state of California.
Finally, it's Bradley's first fight in nearly ten months, though just six weeks longer than the last time Witter has seen in-ring action. The parts can add up to one of two things: both fighters shaking ring rust, making for an awkward affair, or both flying out the gate, anxious to ignite any sort of momentum and ultimately make a statement.
The downside is, the best that can come out of the fight is the winner sees his cause taken up by the public. It won't change the fact that, two weeks later, Hatton and Malignaggi take on the first leg of their two-show tour, with wins by both leading to a potential September showdown somewhere in the United States.
That Hatton (43-1, 31KO) can suffer the first loss of his career in brutally one-sided fashion and still pull in over 50,000 in ticket sales for his next fight is an overwhelming testament to the endless love affair he enjoys with his fellow Mancunians.
The upside to the aftermath is that he returns to more familiar surroundings in more ways than one. The Mayweather bout was his second at welterweight, with his lone win at the weight hardly coming in impressive fashion. A 2006 decision over Luis Collazo was met with much post-fight debate, with many ringsiders favoring the Brooklyn southpaw. Regardless of the verdict, it was hardly Hatton's finest hour, to which he attributed at the time to not properly preparing for welterweight, admitting that he belonged seven pounds south.
It was there he returned seven months later, for his first junior welterweight fight since knocking out Carlos Maussa in November 2005. The Maussa fight was his first linear title defense, after having scored what easily ranks as the biggest win of his career when he forced longtime champion Kostya Tszyu to quit on his stool after eleven punishing rounds.
His January 2007 defense against Juan Urango was hardly along the same lines, action-wise, as his bouts with Tszyu and Maussa. In fact, if not for the rowdy U.K.-in-Vegas atmosphere, the evening would've been a colossal disappointment. But the show ultimately served its purpose, with Hatton squaring off five months later against the winner of the evening's co-feature, Jose Luis Castillo. The Hatton-Castillo bout featured a much larger crowd in Vegas, with over 10,000 Brits on hand to cheer on their countryman as he sent everyone home early with a fourth round, one-punch body shot knockout.
Then came Mayweather – and Hatton's first career loss ten mostly one-sided rounds later.
In Lazcano, Hatton doesn't face anywhere near a similar threat in a bout that headlines a doubleheader to be aired by Versus Network (Saturday, May 24, 4PM ET). He's literally back home in Manchester, England and, perhaps even more important, back in his more familiar weight class, where he has never lost in 42 fights, 37 of which came in England.
Not quite the same backdrop for Lazcano (37-4-1, 27KO), who enters the 44th prize fight of his career in a ring located anywhere other than the United States or Mexico. The 32-year old does so on the wrong side of his career, having long ago seen better days as he creeps up on 15 full years as a professional.
Lazcano's best work came one division south, serving for years among the world's best lightweights. What was – and is still – lacking on his resume is a career-defining win. Victories over Wilfredo Vazquez, John John Molina and Stevie Johnston said little more other than a young gun was capable of outlasting the ghosts of championship past. Even at that, his bout with Jesse James Leija still required creative scoring in order for the Sacramento (CA)-based Mexican to emerge victorious in their 1999 Showtime-televised bout.
Still, the wins were collectively enough for "The Hispanic Causing Panic" to surge toward the top of the lightweight rankings. Following linear champion Floyd Mayweather Jr's departure from the division in 2004, Lazcano's bout with Jose Luis Castillo was regarded by Ring Magazine as being worthy of their vacant lightweight title. Others vehemently disagreed, but still looked forward to the matchup nevertheless.
It didn't go very well for Lazcano, who was competitive throughout, but never to the point where you got the sense he would be the first to cross the finish line. Castillo wound up taking a well-deserved decision win, along with alphabet and magazine hardware.
Lazcano's performance was spirited enough to where fans were curious to watch his next move. They'd have to wait, as the troubled Mexican didn't return for another 14 months, mostly due to his well-publicized feud with his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions. The two sides eventually resolved their differences, but Lazcano's career never regained its stride. A modest four-fight win streak included a highly controversial split decision win over journeyman Manuel Garnica late in 2006, four months before dropping a decision to Vivian Harris in a spirited, albeit awkward, affair.
That he enters the Hatton fight coming off the Harris loss 15 months ago matters little; most understand Lazcano's role in this fight, which is merely that of tune-up opponent before Hatton moves on to bigger and better things.
The same could be said of the televised co-feature, the rematch very few wanted to see between titlist Paul Malignaggi and the man from whom he wrested his alphabet hardware, Australian-based gatekeeper Lovemore N'Dou.
There are very few in the sport who carry the combination of charisma and brutal honest as well as Malignaggi (24-1, 5KO). Most prize fighters are either one or the other. Malignaggi wears both hats in equally impressive fashion. He transforms himself into the ultimate salesman when he targets a fight that he truly wants. At the same time, he'll be the first to tell you if one of his performances was hardly up to snuff.
No excuses were offered when he suffered the first/only loss of his career, a June '06 points loss at the hands of one of the sport's best in Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden. Malignaggi acknowledged the fact that he simply lost to the better man, and that he would use the fight as a valuable learning experience. It was also a night where he showed courage in defeat, overcoming a second round knockdown and a massive beating to still fight on competitive terms down the stretch, even with the fight well out of reach on the scorecards.
His return eight months later was hardly as memorable, taking a workman-like decision over Edner Cherry in an HBO bout that also took place in New York City, mere miles from his Bensonhurst (Brooklyn) home. Once again, the question was asked to evaluate his performance. Once again, Malignaggi was the first to admit that he left a lot to be desired, and that fights like that won't get him a shot at Ricky Hatton anytime soon.
Four months later, he'd take a giant leap forward, pitching a virtual shutout over Lovemore N'Dou, also on HBO. The bout came days after the debut of his documentary "Magic Man", which focused on his career as a whole, but mainly the preparation leading up to the fight with Cotto. The N'Dou fight laid the groundwork for a potential sequel, with Malignaggi scoring a late knockdown in a virtuoso performance.
His only stumbling block between then and now has been the politics of the sport. With networks pressured to beef up their second half schedules, dates were quickly filled, leaving Malignaggi on the outside looking in for the remainder of 2007.
An ordered mandatory defense against Herman Ngoudjo eventually found a home, starting off SHOWTIME's 2008 campaign. It was as entertaining as its decision was debatable, with Malignaggi struggling to a majority decision in a fight that, at the very least, could've went either way. That Malignaggi won the fight was not as upsetting to some as was the wide margin of victory, including one card that incredulously had him winning 9 out of 12 rounds.
Though it was an N'Dou rematch that was contractually obligated of Malignaggi, most believed a return go with Ngoudjo was far more in order. N'Dou eventually got his way, though after both HBO and Showtime vehemently rejected the bout before finding a home in the co-feature slot of Hatton's homecoming.
The rematch represents what could be N'Dou's last shot at remaining relevant in the junior welterweight mix. Long ago developing a rep for his willingness to take on all comers even on short notice, N'Dou (46-9-1, 31KO) thought his career had finally climbed over the hump early last year after capturing his first alphabet title with a stoppage win over Naoufel Ben Rabah.
Incredibly, it was the first shot at a major title for N'Dou, who previously fell short in eliminators (L UD12 Miguel Cotto in 2004, L UD12 Junior Witter 2005) and interim title fights (L UD12 Sharmba Mitchell, 2004). N'Dou is tough as nails for the most part, but there was a flip-side to his reputation for taking on the best; that of his inability to win a fight whenever he stepped up in opposition.
That changed in his career-best performance against Ben Rabah last year, though the glory was short lived; N'Dou fell way short in his very next fight, against Malignaggi just four months later.
Despite the fight severely lacking in drama, competitiveness and entertainment value, Team N'Dou put the proverbial gun to the head of Lou DiBella, Malignaggi's promoter, to force the rematch that nobody wanted. It was DiBella's ability to arrange for a two-fight deal for his fight fighter – the second leading to the long-desired Hatton fight, should he once again beat N'Dou – that ultimately made everyone happy. N'Dou gets his rematch. Malignaggi gets his chance to fight for a career-high payday in September – and what he hopes will become a career-best win.
And in the end, boxing fans get to see the top three rated junior welterweights ply their trade in the month of May.
