Magical night for Hatton -- Sky Sports

Sky Sports

Matthew Hatton stepped out of the shadows of older brother Ricky by claiming the vacant European welterweight title with a points win over Gianluca Branco.

The Mancunian, fighting at short notice, dominated after a shaky opening round at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham.

Having felt robbed on the scorecards against Lovemore N'dou last November, 'Magic' this time got the nod on the scorecards by a landslide.

All three judges gave it to the 28-year-old, the closest being a 115-113 scoreline. The other two had it 116-112 and 117-111 in Hatton's favour.

Fantastic
"It feels fantastic," he told Sky Sports afterwards. "I've had a lot of bad luck in my career but I always knew that I was capable of this.

"I always knew that if I stepped up in class I could do better. I can box better than that tonight but I'm very pleased to beat a world-class fighter.

"I was out-working him...I was boxing his ears off to be honest with you. When I was boxing and moving, he didn't lay a glove on me."

Hatton's victory means he follows in the footsteps of Miguel Angel Cotto and Artugo Gatti to become just the third man to beat the experienced Italian.

To do so he had to overcome a wobble in the opening round, a big right rocking him backwards a step or two towards the ropes.

But while his opponent looked to load up in an attempt to find a repeat of that punch, Hatton worked diligently behind the jab to open up a sizeable lead.

By the 11th Branco - sporting a badly swollen right eye as well as a small cut underneath it, knew that he needed a knockout. He marched forward and briefly found the Brit in the mood to stand toe-to-toe.

However a verbal volley from trainer Bob Shannon soon put Hatton back on the right path, allowing him to coast through the final three minutes.

Proud
Brother and promoter Ricky was delighted for his younger sibling, admitting he had almost lost his voice having been shouting instructions from his seat.

"Thank God that is over," he admitted afterwards. "I'm so proud.

"I know for a fact that he wanted to chuck the towel in a few years ago but I said to him 'listen, you're going to be a late bloomer. You've had no amateur experience really, stick at it and you're going to get your just rewards'.

"That's what he has done tonight. What a success story, because he's gone from maybe a six-to-eight round type to a European champion."

Source: skysports.com

Hatton claims European welterweight title -- ESPN

ESPN.co.uk

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 opening 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

Matthew Hatton decisions Gianluca Branco

Boxing News World

Manchester’s Matthew Hatton grabbed the European welterweight title via unanimous decision victory over two-time world title contender Gianluca Branco just seconds ago at Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham in London, England.

Hatton (now 39-4-2 with 15 knockouts), a decade younger than his Italian rival, controlled most of the rounds of the 12-round fight throwing effective left jabs and hooks after a wobbly first few minutes.

The 39 year-old Branco (now 43-3-1, 22 KOs) suffered his third career defeat. He was knockout by Miguel Angel Cotto in 2006 trying to win the Puerto Rican WBO light-welterweight belt. He also lost to the late Arturo Gatti in 2004 when they fought for the vacant WBC light-welterweight title.

-Marshall N. B., marx7204@lycos.com

Matthew Hatton steps out of Ricky's shadow to box Gianluca Branco -- The Guardian

By Kevin Mitchell, Guardian.co.uk

Matthew Hatton has been handed a rare chance to move out of his brother Ricky's shadow. He has agreed to take a short-notice fight for the vacant European welterweight title against Gianluca Branco at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham a week on Friday. The offer to fight the seasoned Italian comes only a month after the younger Hatton stopped Mikheil Khutsishvili in the fifth of eight rounds in a non-title contest in Stoke. "It's not ideal," Hatton said, "but I am in decent shape as I kept in the gym after my recent win. Things could be worse."

It is as well that Matthew decided not to accompany his brother to Tenerife on a stag holiday two weeks ago. The former double-weight world champion has not appeared in public since telling friends then that he was having second thoughts about fighting again. In the absence of a statement from his company, Ricky Hatton Promotions, despite repeated inquiries, rumours have circulated that he will announce his plans at a press conference some time this week.

Matthew Hatton has been given his chance ahead of more fancied challengers – including the unbeaten young boxer of the year, Kell Brook, who battered the game Krzysztof Bienias to defeat in six rounds in Liverpool on Friday. It was an eliminator for the WBO world title held by Manny Pacquiao.

Brook admits he is not ready to challenge Pacquiao, who dominated the disappointing Joshua Clottey over 12 rounds to keep his title in Dallas on Saturday – but he would have relished a fight against Branco. The Roman is 39 and a shadow of the fighter who lost two challenges for versions of the light-welterweight title. Branco was outpointed by Arturo Gatti in 2004 and stopped in eight rounds by Miguel Cotto in 2006.

He has been a decent operator at European level for nearly a decade. Hatton, who is 28 and has won 38 of 44 fights, will not have a better chance to make a name for himself other than as Ricky's little brother.

Source: guardian.co.uk