Matthew Hatton is the new European welterweight champion after he outboxed the wily figure of Gianluca Branco to take a unanimous points decision on Friday. The three judges scored the bout 117-111, 115-113 and 116-112 in Hatton's favour.
Cornered by brother Ricky, Matthew Hatton recovered from a wobbly open
ing round to dictate the pace of the fight against veteran Branco, who is 10 years the Mancunian's superior. That age gap showed as Hatton was quicker to the punch throughout the fight, working the jab and the body shot particularly effectively. Branco, known for his counter-punching ability, rocked Hatton early in the first round, forcing the Briton to hold on in order to regain his senses. However, from the third round onwards it was Hatton who fought the better fight, frustrating the Italian by making him miss with alarming frequency.
By the sixth round, Hatton was 1/8 to finish victorious, with Branco now only registering the odd good right. Hatton's corner continued to order him to fight every round as if it was his last and, while it was barely a siege produced by "Magic", it was undoubtedly dominant in front of the eyes of the judges.
Branco gave it all he had in the final two rounds, looking for a desperation knockout, but he could not stop Matthew adding the European belt to the world title already previously won by Ricky in the Hatton household.
"It feels fantastic," said Hatton to Sky Sports. "I've had a lot of bad luck over the years, but I always knew I was capable of this. I can box better than I did tonight but that was a world class opponent and I'm over the moon.
"I was outworking him, and I boxed his ears off to be honest. When I boxed and moved, he didn't lay a glove on me."
Source: espn.co.uk
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