Move over Manny 10 year old Maria Aragon has arrived -- 8CountNews

By Brad Cooney, 8CountNews.com

It appears as if 8 division world champion Manny Pacquiao has company. There is another person from the Philippines making noise on the scene right now, and she's 10 years old. Maria Aragon, the Filipino Canadian from Winnipeg has over 22 million views on her YouTube rendition of Lady Gaga's "Born this way" and the numbers are rising. The pint sized singer has had an amazing 3 weeks.

Maria's sister filmed Maria as she sang, "Born this way" and uploaded the video on YouTube. A few days later Hollywood Gossip Blogger Perez Hilton saw the video, and enjoyed it so much that he forwarded it to the singing icon who wrote the song, Lady Gaga. When Lady Gaga saw the video, she began to cry and sent out a message to her 8 million Twitter followers. The message said, “Can't stop crying watching this. This is why I make music.”

A few days later while visiting with a local Winnipeg radio station FM HOT 103 Maria received a surprise phone call that would change her life. With her headphones on her head, the voice of Lady Gaga came through and the 10 yr olds face lit up like a Christmas Tree. The voice said, "Hi it's Lady Gaga" and at that point the singing icon would go on with the following, "Not only do you have such a beautiful voice and you are so joyful to watch, but every once in a while, whether people believe it or not, I have a very bad day, I was not having such a good day, and when (entertainment blogger Perez Hilton) sent me the video of you singing Born This Way, I was so overjoyed that I began to cry."

With hearing these words, the overwhelmed Maria said, "Thank you so much....thank you so much" and then began to cry. A few second later Maria regained her composure and asked Gaga where she gets her outfits. The room began laughing, and Gaga would go on to tell her about her design team, "House of Gaga" but the big surprise would be a few minutes later.

The radio host then told Lady Gaga that they were going to fly Maria to Toronto, Canada for her big Monster Ball tour concert. Lady Gaga then dropped the big surprise, "Well I think we should sing that song on stage together Maria. I think we should do a duet together, what do you think?" With tears streaming down Maria's face, she said, "That would be really cool."

Fast forward to March, 3rd 2011. In front of over 20,000 fans in Toronto, Gaga introduced Maria to the fans, "I have a surprise for you tonight. Introducing Maria, the famous singer from YouTube." The crowd erupted with cheers as Maria walked onto the stage. Dressed in black sparkle pants, a hoodie, and a rally monkey around her neck, the 10 year old walked into the waiting arms of Lady Gaga. The two would then sit down at the piano, Maria on Gaga's lap, and the kids dream would come true. A duet with Lady Gaga singing Aragon's version of "Born this way" became a reality. The crowd was mesmerized by the performance.

When the song was over Gaga handed Maria the mic and said, "Do you have anything that you would like to say?" Aragon smiled and said, "Hi Lady Gaga!" This brought the house down with laughter. Maria then went on and said, "I want to thank all of you for all of your support. I am actually from Winnipeg, and I came here to sing for you guys, so I hope you enjoyed it." Lady Gaga looked at Maria with tears now streaming down her face.

In just a matter of a few weeks, Maria has been on the Ellen show, and the Good Morning America show. Now she's performed with Lady Gaga, and she has multiple record deal offers coming at her every day.

A new star was born and the 10 year old from Winnipeg Canada is handling it like a champion. Both of her parents were born in The Philippines, and arrived in Canada 14 years ago. The Aragon's are a close family, they sing often together, and they are all taking this ride together.

Manny Pacquiao has company, and it's a ten year old named Maria Aragon.

Source: 8countnews.com

Cotto forces Mayorga to quit in 12th -- ESPN

By Kieran Mulvaney, ESPN

LAS VEGAS -- Ricardo Mayorga, true to form, was going nuts.

He stood in the corner of the ring, pointed to the canvas just in front of him and yelled at Miguel Cotto to stand on that spot and trade punches. Cotto paused, waited his time, then moved in, unleashed a flurry, and slipped back out of range. Again, Mayorga erupted. Again, Cotto repeated his move. By the time the sequence was over, Mayorga had three times exhorted his foe to engage him; three times the Puerto Rican champion had answered the challenge on his own terms, had inflicted damage as desired, avoided return fire as required, and ultimately put another round in the bank.

Over the past several years, Cotto has fought a more consistently high level of opposition than perhaps any other fighter; he has, as a consequence, suffered the wear and tear of ring wars, even on those occasions when he has emerged triumphant. With the prospect looming of a summer rematch with Antonio Margarito, one of the two men most responsible for inflicting that wear and tear, he was easily forgiven a relatively soft touch in the interim. But as soft touches go, Mayorga was potentially as hard as they come. Sure, he was faded, years removed from his last significant victory. Granted, he was crude -- in his boxing style as well as in his sometimes boorish mannerisms. But the man could flat out punch, and the unorthodox awkwardness with which he threw his punches made it all the more likely that one or more of those hard punches might find a home.

And certainly, Mayorga had his moments, none more so than in the seventh round, when he threw punch after punch in his trademark fashion, not in combination with each blow setting up the next, but one after the other, winged onward in the hope of success. Enough of them landed that Cotto, for the first time in the fight, began to ship some punishment and exhibit the first true signs of possible vulnerability.

But the exertion appeared to have taken a greater toll on the puncher than the punched. By the next round, Cotto was once more in control, the position in which he found himself for the great majority of his fight. His defense -- right hand held high, head and shoulders shifted just enough to evade the worst of the incoming artillery -- combined with a patiently constructed offense to ensure that Cotto won eight of 11 rounds on all three official scorecards entering the final frame.

Then, just as it appeared the bout would conclude with a wide unanimous decision, a left hook exploded on Mayorga's jaw, its force magnified by the fact that the Nicaraguan, as is his wont, was winding up to throw a big punch himself. Mayorga staggered backward, held out his hands beseechingly, as if unable to comprehend what was happening to him, and then dropped to one knee. The contest was effectively over at that point, although it would take an extra few seconds, a follow-up fusillade and a capitulation adding the icing and securing the victory.

After his defeat to Margarito in 2008, and even more following his loss to Manny Pacquiao the following year, Cotto seemed damaged goods, a man on whom years of hard fights had finally exacted a punitive toll. In two fights since then under the tutelage of trainer Emanuel Steward, Cotto has appeared an altogether stronger, better-rounded boxer. Of course, neither this version of Mayorga, nor Yuri Foreman -- whom Cotto defeated last year and who was himself a loser on Saturday night posed the stiffest of questions. But he answered them convincingly nonetheless, and now another challenge, surely more personal than the others, awaits.

Margarito may not be the man he once was either, following defeats to Pacquiao and Shane Mosley, to say nothing of the sense that his greatest victories may have been aided in less than legal ways. But in July, Cotto will have the opportunity to use him as a measuring stick by which to gauge his progress under Steward, with which to continue his career resurrection, and through which he can achieve a degree of revenge and redemption in the process.

Yet, however much the fire of vengeance may burn within him, Cotto will assuredly approach that challenge as he did on this night: Calmly, unhurriedly, and on his own terms.

Source: espn.go.com

Legendary Promoters King And Arum Want To Make Mayweather-Pacquiao This Year, King Envisages A Three-Day Music Festival To Accompany The Super-Fight -- Eastside Boxing

By James Slater, Eastside Boxing

Though his many legal issues have still to be resolved before Floyd “Money” Mayweather can even think of boxing again (his court appearance pushed back to April now), the entire boxing world refuses to give up on the idea of one day seeing a mega-fight between he and Manny Pacquiao. Right now, in conjunction with one another, legendary promoters and one-time bitter rivals Don King and Bob Arum are thinking of how they can make the biggest fight in all of boxing today. And if the combined know-how of King AND Arum cannot get the clash made, then forget it!

King has Floyd’s ear; Arum promotes Pac-Man. Working together is now very much a doable thing for the two veterans, too (together, the two put on tonight’s Miguel Cotto-Ricardo Mayorga fight in Las Vegas) and maybe, just maybe, they will be able to pull out all the stops and get this thing on. King, who rose to global fame with the work he did in putting together the heavyweight mega-fight that was 1974’s Muhammad Ali-George Foreman “Rumble in The Jungle,” likes the idea of a three-day musical festival accompanying Pacquiao-Mayweather. As fans know, a musical event accompanied Ali-Foreman, with legends such as James Brown performing free for the fans. King wants today’s musical stars, such as 50-Cent (Floyd’s best buddy!) and Jay-Z to do their thing for this huge boxing occasion.

“Well, there is every possibility, every possibility, if we can get the stars to be a part of it and be a part of the people,” King said to The Manila Times. “We represent the masses not the classes; but we unify the masses and the classes.”

And Arum is also very much hoping the super-fight can be signed, sealed and delivered.

“I firmly wish it would happen,” he said. “If Don and I were promoting that fight, it would be something that would remembered 100 years from now. We would make this entire planet stop. All the wars and all the conflicts in the world - there would at least be a truce.”

Arum isn’t exaggerating. If the two best P-4-P stars on the planet locked horns on a glitzy stage accompanied by the kind of musical festival King envisages, who wouldn’t watch it? More importantly to the two worldly promoters: who wouldn’t PAY to watch it? Mayweather-Pacquiao, Pacquiao-Mayweather; whichever way around you want it - would be staggeringly big. Just like Ali-Foreman, Leonard-Hearns and all the other classics Arum and King have worked on were.

King and Arum together, smiling and doing great business together without any nastiness aimed at the other is a quite amazing thing to see. If these two can be paired together with such lack of ill feeling, surely Manny and Floyd can be persuaded to come together also and sign on for the fight the entire planet wants to see!

Source: eastsideboxing.com

Mayorga insists his fists will do the talking -- USA Today

By Bob Velin, USA TODAY

If trash-talking won fights, Ricardo Mayorga might be the greatest boxer of all time.

Mayorga, the sharp-tongued Nicaraguan, has called Miguel Cotto, his opponent Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and Cotto's trainer, highly respected Emanuel Steward, failures and clowns.

Wednesday, during the fight's final news conference, Mayorga said he wanted to thank Bob Arum, Cotto's promoter, "for allowing me to eat his sheep on Saturday night."

Said Steward: "It's a good thing that fights are not won at press conferences because we'd be knocked out of the box."

But Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KOs) still has to meet Cotto (35-2, 28 KOs) in the ring (Showtime pay-per-view, 9 ET), with the Puerto Rican's WBA light middleweight title on the line, and that's where Mayorga has had his troubles.

"I don't care what he (Mayorga) is saying about me," Cotto says. "He's always going to be talking, but as everyone knows, the fight starts when you enter the ring, and that's where I'm going to win the fight — in the ring."

Mayorga has fought only once since being knocked out in the 12th round by Shane Mosley in September 2008, and has had just eight fights in eight years, going 4-4 against a formidable lineup that included Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Cory Spinks and Fernando Vargas.

He says that a bad car accident before his knockout loss to Trinidad in 2004 made him fight through pain most of his last six fights, and he took the last two years off to fully heal.

Mayorga has been known to drink beer and smoke cigarettes while training for fights, but this time he insists he's taking his training seriously.

Al Bernstein, a member of Showtime's broadcast team who spent time in Mayorga's camp in Ocala, Fla., agrees.

"He was only 5 pounds away from making weight," Bernstein said by phone this week. "You could tell he was in good condition. He was serious."

Mayorga has another motive for being in what he calls the best shape of his life — a fight with another of Arum's fighters, the world's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and titlist in a record eight weight classes, Manny Pacquiao.

"This is the fight where I'm going to impose my will so much so that — because I want a fight so bad with Pacquiao — that if I don't beat Cotto by knockout and I happen to beat him by decision, then I don't feel like I'm deserving of a fight with Pacquiao.

"When I knock out Manny Pacquiao, I will become the most famous fighter of all time. That is what I want and am working for."

Mayorga, in a show of disdain for his opponent, plans to weigh in Friday "with a plate of Puerto Rican food to show Miguel I'm in the best shape of my life."

"My immediate goals are to knock out Cotto and then to fight and knock out Pacquiao," he said.

"I'm 37 years old and thinking about retirement. I will move on and let the younger guys have a shot like the older guys did for me when I was coming up."

Cotto, meanwhile, is coming off a string of tough fights, including a brutal beating at the hands of Antonio Margarito more than two years ago, and a bloody 12th-round TKO loss to Pacquiao in November 2009.

Margarito was found to have plastered hand wraps before his next fight against Mosley and was suspended from boxing in the USA.

Last June at Yankee Stadium, Cotto stopped then-WBA champion Yuri Foreman in the ninth round after Foreman injured his knee. It was far from a dominating performance against a fighter who was essentially working with one leg through the last three rounds. Foreman is making his comeback fight vs. Pawel Wolak on the undercard.

Bernstein believes if Mayorga — an unconventional, if not wild, brawler — can lure favored Cotto into a shootout, Mayorga might have a chance to win.

"He might get starched in that instance, too, because Cotto punches, and God knows, Mayorga can be hit," Bernstein says. "But it at least gives Mayorga a real chance of winning and makes it a fan-friendly fight.

"Mayorga really, really is engaged in winning this fight. I think it's going to be four to six rounds of warfare, because Cotto's only fought one fight at 154, and Mayorga is a real 154-pounder. Cotto's a better fighter, but Mayorga is the bigger guy."

Source: usatoday.com

Ricardo Mayorga: Miguel Cotto is "my golden ticket to Manny Pacquiao" -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

LAS VEGAS—In a city whose glistening cathedrals of chance attest to the fact that “the house always wins,” a prospector named Ricardo Mayorga is looking to get lucky.

Mayorga, the loudmouth from Nicaragua who turns age 38 today (Thursday), said on Wednesday that he views his Saturday night PPV opponent, the redoubtable Miguel Cotto, as a lottery ticket. Having tried and failed against superstars named Tito Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya while training sporadically and often unethusiastically, the chatterbox from Managua views this bout as his Last Chance Cafe, his possible Superlotto strike.

“I need to earn a golden ticket. This is my ticket, my golden ticket,” Mayorga said while meeting the media in the bowels of the MGM Grand Garden Arena. “This is my ticket to Manny Pacquiao.

“If I don't knock Cotto out in three or four rounds, I won't get that time, I won't get the opportunity to fight Pacquiao. If I beat him in the late rounds or by decision, then I realize I might not be (deemed) as deserving of the fight against Pacquiao.”

That was in the morning, Mayorga's amusing but seemingly endless spiel about why this is only the fifth out of 37 pro bouts (make that 41 as he claims the official record gyps him out of four victories that are unrecorded) that he has religiously conditioned himself for beforehand.

In the afternoon, Sunshine Boys Reunited, meaning longtime archrivals Bob Arum and Don King barked into any and all available microphones. Taking his cue from Mayorga or vice versa, King was the proverbial broken record going on and on about how his man would smash big betting favorite Cotto, the Pride of Puerto Rico, and then destroy Pacman.

Mayorga was said to have reacted angrily in Los Angeles the other day when a media type stated that he had done nothing “to deserve” a Pacquiao fight.

“Pacquiao knocked out Cotto in the ninth or 10th round, late in the fight,” Mayorga said. “That is why I am going to knock Cotto in four rounds. (Actually, Pacman halted Cotto in the 12th and final round.)

“Then people will know that I am better than Cotto. I'm going to go out and prove that I deserve a shot at Pacquiao. In the first round, I will either knock Cotto down or bust one of his two eyes open.”

Mayorga described Cotto taking a precautionary knee against Mexican Mauler Antonio Margarito as being “very cowardly.

“Me, I don't take a knee, I don't bow out like that. That is just very cowardly.”

Adding to his delusions of grandeur, Mayorga, who was doing some political shilling by wearing a teeshirt supporting Nicraguan President Daniel Ortega, then said “half of Puerto Rico” would rooting for him to beat Cotto back.

“At least half of Puerto Rico will be rooting for me. Lots of people over there, they think that he is very snobby, that he is very stuck up. In LA, he spoke only in English which is very vulgar and disrespectful . He showed a lack of respect to the Spanish (speaking) people.”

All the prefight blather seems to be going in one of Cotto's ears and out the other.

“ I am tranquilo, I am calm,” Cotto said. “I am tranquilo, I am just trying to stay in my proper style.”

Cotto did not even fire back at the “very cowardly” remarks.

“The most important thing other than my family is my health,” Cotto said. “What Mayorga said is just ignorance.”

Mayorga and Cotto trainer Emanuel Steward share the same fight prediction in terms of distance, both saying it will not go past four rounds.

“As Mayorga has gotten older, he has really slowed down. He is fighting more conventionally, he has slowed down on the old, impulsive style. Miguel will catch him with solid left hooks and with solid left jabs. Miguel will catch him while he is swinging with all those wide, wild punches.”

Steward said Cotto and Pacquiao have something in common, besides having had Hall Of Fame careers, a distinction never attributed to the erratic Mayorga.

“We punch through the pads, the others punch to the target and not through it,” the former Kronk Gym guru said.

“Miguel and Pacquiao are the only two fighters around today who are doing that.”

If Cotto punches through early and often, that “golden ticket” for Mayorga will go uncashed.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Mayorga's trash talking hits peak at presser with Cotto -- Examiner

By Paula Duffy, Examiner.com

Ricardo Mayorga is a quote machine and his accusations and predictions about what he will do when he faces Miguel Cotto on Saturday night in Las Vegas are pure genius.

Just when you think it couldn't get better it does. In the case of Mayorga however, the material goes lower on the tone scale of words rather than higher when he gets in a groove.

In Monday's final press conference, held in Los Angeles he hit such a low note I'm not sure he can top himself now. I'm concerned he is peaking too many days away from the fight to take Cotto's WBA Super Welterweight belt. A sampling of his greatest hits:

“All the Puerto Ricans coming to the fight will leave as Ricardo Mayorga fans. The best time of his career was when he fought at 140 (pounds). When he came up to 47 and 54, that’s when he made the mistake.

“Don’t take a knee on me like you did with Margarito. Let me finish punishing you. I come from a country where women give birth to men.

“Take your shirt off just like me and show me your weight."

A vote for any of the above three statements couldn't be a loser but a personal favorite has got to be Mayorga's claim that he's the only man in the ring since women in Nicaragua actually give birth to men. Priceless.

As for Cotto, well, the photos to the left of this column tell you everything you need to know. If you see confidence in his stoic gaze you wouldn't be wrong, but you could also interpret his lack of facial expression as emotionless. Presumably the emotion gets unleashed when the gloves are on. One can only hope.

Mayorga got one in for his promoter of the moment, Don King. He has vowed to put King back on top of Mr. Top Rank himself, Bob Arum when he takes the belt on Saturday night. Nice thought Ricardo, except Arum promotes the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game today and you my friend are no Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao is always on Mayorga's brain however, or more precisely, the $ Pacquaio can bring to an opponent. "I want Pacquiao", says Mayorga looking past Cotto.

Don King returned the favor in his comments about Mayorga. "For all you who have little, just a little bit of money, put it all on Mayorga because the odds are in his favor. You will have the chance to be wealthy. Don’t wait till Saturday night. Do it now. Mayorga will win by a knockout. Check it all out on SHOWTIME pay-per-view.” Showtime thanks you Don.

Say what you will about the matchup but the the war of words was all one could have hoped for and more. Will it make the fight more appealing to PPV buyers?

That remains to be seen since as Fight Sports Examiner Rick Rockwell noted, the loss of the Clottey-Green under card match leaves a gaping hole in the lineup. For those who aren't aware, Clottey injured himself while out for a run and pulled out of the match.

Source: examiner.com

ESPN's OTL: The Fight of the Century

Boxing News World

ESPN’s Outside the Lines 3 p.m. ET Today: The Fight of the Century

Forty years ago today, Muhammad Ali squared off against Joe Frazier in a battle of unbeatens vying for the title of heavyweight champion. Today, in a special presentation, Outside the Lines talks live to Joe Frazier, Ferdie Pacheco, boxing historian Bert Sugar, and New York Times columnist Dave Anderson as they remember what it was like to be part of the Fight of the Century.

Contact:
ESPN Communications

(860) 766-2234
dan.quinn@espn.com

Pacquiao inspires Matthew Hatton -- Examiner

By Ricardo Lois, Examiner.com

Anaheim - Brought in to be the sacrificial lamb for rising boxing superstar Saul Alvarez, Matthew Hatton went 12 rounds Saturday night at the Honda Center against the young Mexican in a losing affair and cited Filipino pound for pound great Manny Pacquiao as his inspiration.

At the official weigh-in Friday afternoon, Alvarez came in over the contracted weight of 150 pounds and Hatton’s brother and promoter Ricky suggested that he walk away and cancel the bout.

Instead of derailing an event attended by approximately 10,000 fight fans and broadcast on HBO, the Brit’ said the show would go on - even though Hatton find himself out-gunned by a younger, bigger fighter.

Where did Hatton’s inspiration to fight on against a bigger man originate from? The one and only Manny Pacquiao.

“Size is not everything,” said Hatton, “Manny Pacquiao is a living testament.”

So when the bell rang to mark the beginning of the first round on Saturday night, most pundits expected Hatton to be knocked out by Alvarez within the scheduled twelve rounds.

Instead Hatton showed resolve and grit by surviving Alvarez’s barrage over twelve rounds and providing the paying public a memorable scrap.

Now doubt, Alvarez won a one-sided affair, but when the final cards were read, Hatton stood proud fueled by the legacy of a fighter who has scaled several weight classes and utterly destroyed bigger men.

Source: examiner.com

Mayweather surfaces; Pacquiao mystery deepens -- Philippine Daily Inquirer

By Percy D. Della, Philippine Daily Inquirer

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA—Floyd Mayweather Jr., not exactly the Howard Hughes of boxing, resurfaced a couple of days ago.

Just turned 34 and devoid of a fight for 10 months, Mayweather (41-0 with 25 knockouts) has not been met with applause by boxing fans as he figures in a possible fight in South Africa around the time of Nelson Mandela’s birthday.

Jeff Mayweather, Money’s uncle, has told a boxing website he is dealing with his nephew for a possible bout with a still unnamed opponent to honor the celebrated freedom fighter on his 93rd year on July 18. Talks are ongoing with Mandela’s daughter, Jeff said.

Jeff told Percy Crawford of www.fighthype.com that “it’s a major event in terms of not just Floyd fighting Manny Pacquiao, but to be involved in a historic event in terms of it being done with Mandela.”

Adds Mayweather’s uncle breathlessly: “You have physically two of the most powerful black men that you see and Mandela is definitely one of them, (US President) Obama, and then after that you would probably say (former US Secretary of State) Colin Powell, so to be part of an event like that is a big deal.”

“To be invited to Mandela’s birthday is phenomenal,” he says, but everything hinges on Floyd. “I still will talk to Floyd and find out exactly what he wants and things like that and see if we can make it happen.”

Meantime, a Mayweather-Pacquiao tiff awaited by the universe has been stalled forever, and a Floyd fight has come once in a blue moon since he scored a unanimous decision over Shane Mosley last May.

You don’t need a slight jab in the head to know that Mosley fights Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 7.

* * *

Speaking of Pacquiao, the mystery of his recent visit to the White House continues to deepen since a photograph or video of his rare encounter with President Obama still has to surface—specially in the sporting and Filipino media—to this day.

According to an Associated Press story, datelined Washington and bylined by Joseph White on the day of his visit, Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee reportedly talked boxing and basketball with Obama.

White, citing Pacquiao publicist Fred Sternburg, wrote that the eight-division world champion even posed for several photos with the most powerful man on the planet, including a boxing pose in the Oval office.

Do we get to see those pictures soon? It’s been really odd why the White House clamped an embargo on the picture record of the visit.

Or was it recorded at all?

And logging on to the White House web site after the fact adds more strangeness to the whole thing.

A glance at the President’s calendar for February 13 to 18 did not show the Pacquiao visit on either Feb. 15 or 16. It was probably inserted at the last minute, through Nevada Sen. Harry Reid whose political endorsers during a tough race last November included Pacquiao.

On Feb. 16, Senate Democrats led by Reid were penciled in to see Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at 2:20 p.m.

For the month of February, the only sporting item on the President’s calendar was a call on Feb. 7 to Super Bowl coach Mike McCarthy, extolling him in leading the Green Bay Packers to victory and looking forward to a White House visit by the football world champions.

How would you describe Pacquiao’s White House visit?

For me, weird’s the word.

Source: inquirer.net

Game Matthew Hatton clings on but is outclassed by Saul Alvarez in one-sided WBC 154lb title -- Telegraph

By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph

Matthew Hatton was gritty and game, but lost every round and was outweighed and outfought by the 20-year-old rising Mexican star Saul Alvarez who claimed the vacant WBC light-middleweight title at the Honda Center, Anaheim, California, early this morning. The title itself, and the weight differential has, frankly, been a farce since the title was announced over three weeks ago.

Alvarez become the youngest man to win the world title belt, the gong having previously been held by Tommy Hearns, Oscar de la Hoya, Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr – and vacated by pound-for-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao last month.

Hatton is a welterweight, from the division below, but gamely took his opportunity. In many senses, Alvarez failed to do what he had pledged to do before the contest; namely, to KO or stop Hatton. The Mexican, who moved to 36 wins, one draw, hadn’t banked on the toughness and obduracy of Hatton, younger sibling of former two-weight world champion Ricky.

Alvarez won a landslide 119-108 decision, after being deducted a point in the seventh round for hitting after being broken up by referee Lou Moret. Hatton was fighting a young, stronger, and indeed, heavier opponent. “I was in there with a great champion. He never hurt me, but I couldn’t seem to hurt him. He seemed to big for me, and I’ll move back down to welterweight, my natural weight.”

Alvarez is touted as a huge rising star, and this will be a learning curve against a durable, experienced fighter in Hatton. Great ? We really don’t know yet. This was nothing more than an extended sparring session for him, as Hatton was unable to hurt him. Alvarez appeared to tire towards the end, and was caught more often than trainer Jose Reynoso will have wanted. In many ways, this was a phyrric victory for ‘Canelo’, the flame-haired young South American who is now likely to face much stiffer opposition as he attempts to hold onto the WBC 154lb belt.

Hatton can claim great respect for making it through to the end of the championship rounds. On final analysis, a mismatch. Horrible mismatch.

Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk