USA: Ricky Hatton defeats Juan Urango to take title for IBF light welterweight championship

Record ID: 334879

  • Title: USA: Ricky Hatton defeats Juan Urango to take title for IBF light welterweight championship
  • Date: 21st January 2007
  • Summary: *CAUTION - CONTAINS SWEARING* LAS VEGAS, USA (JANUARY 20, 2007) (REUTERS) PRESS CONFERENCE SOUNDBITE (English) RICKY HATTON SAYING: "I'd like to thank Dennis and all my team for all the hard work they've put in training for this fight. I'd like to give a lot of credit to Juan Urango for giving me such a wonderful fight, although he was pissing me off when he was hitting me like that (Hatton and Urango laugh and shake hands), but he's a wonderful fighter, very strong, and he kept coming." PHOTOGRAPHER SOUNDBITE (English) RICKY HATTON SAYING: "It's very very frustrating when you're hitting somebody constantly like I was doing tonight and fuck all happened (laughter)." PRESS SOUNDBITE (English) RICKY HATTON SAYING: "I feel very proud to be the IBF champion again and the IBO champion and I hope to do the belts proud, I hope to be able to have these titles a little bit longer than a fortnight (two weeks) because lately I seem to be winning them and vacating them, which is something nobody likes to do, so hopefully I can hold on to these titles for the future and do them proud." PRESS CONFERENCE SOUNDBITE (English) RICKY HATTON SAYING: "One thing you are going to get with a Ricky Hatton fight, I don't think you're going to go home bored. Sometimes I make it hard work, the first six rounds I felt quite comfortable then the red mist sets in and I probably made it hard work. "I think I showed another side to my game tonight, that I can not only mix it up and brawl, I know when to hold and and have a rest and survive. He was a very dangerous fighter, I think the way I fight and the way Juan Urango fights that was never going to be an easy fight, even though the scorecards suggested that, Juan Urango was always in the fight." PRESS SOUNDBITE (English) RICKY HATTON SAYING: "I think I boxed a clever fight. I think I showed a side to me, certainly in the first six rounds, that I've got a boxing brain, I've got some good boxing ability as well as the rough and tumble stuff. That fight was always going to be hard, if anyone thought I was just going to get on my bike, jab and move and shuffle around for 12 rounds, then they're seriously mistaken, it's just not my style." PHOTOGRAPHERS (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) HATTON POSING WITH NEXT OPPONENT JOSE LUIS CASTILLO
  • Embargoed: 5th February 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVABFGZEVYMOANJUAS1V867FSTJA
  • Story Text: Ricky Hatton scored a unanimous decision over Juan Urango to win the International Boxing Federation light welterweight championship in Las Vegas on Saturday (January 20).
    All three judges scored the bout 119-109 but the fight was far from easy for the Manchester-based "Hitman."
    Urango, the powerfully-built defending champion from Colombia, never looked in serious trouble from the Englishman's punches and stung Hatton with some solid counters.
    But Hatton showed vastly superior footwork and hand speed, and piled up points by landing one or two shots and then floating away from danger.
    "He's a wonderful fighter, very strong, and he kept coming," said Hatton, who strayed from his usual all-out brawling style to show more craft against Urango.
    "I think I showed another side to my game tonight that I can not only mix it up and brawl, I know when to hold and and have a rest and survive," he said.
    "I think I showed a side to me, certainly in the first six rounds, that I've got a boxing brain, I've got some good boxing ability as well as the rough and tumble stuff."
    It was the first defeat for Urango, who falls to 17-1 (13 KOs). Hatton remains unbeaten at 42-0 (30 KOs).
    It was the fourth world title belt in as many fights for Hatton, who previously won the IBF light welterweight title in May 2005 and added the World Boxing Association belt six months later.
    He relinquished both when he stepped up to welterweight in a successful challenge of WBA champion Luis Collazo last May.
    Hatton's next bout will also be in Las Vegas, on June 2, against former world lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo of Mexico, who scored a close split decision victory over previously unbeaten Herman Ngoudjo in the main supporting bout.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register