Hatton Disposes of Castillo in Four Rounds
by Jason Collins
It took just four rounds for popular British brawler Ricky Hatton to dispose of Jose Luis Castillo and retain the WBC and IBO junior welterweight titles. Those who predicted this to be 2007's fight of the year
were wrong. But murmurings of Castillo being a shot fighter proved entirely true. Castillo looked like a shadow of his old self as he found himself beaten to the punch for the majority of the fight. Meanwhile, Hatton looked better than ever. Hatton's punches were faster, more accurate and caused more damage than Castillo's did. Even Castillo's physique looked visibly weaker than it did during his famous fights with Corrales two years ago. Perhaps Castillo's resume of brawls, along with years of constantly trying to make weight before fights, have finally taken a toll on the Mexican warrior. Another part of the problem for Castillo on Saturday night was Hatton's success in preventing Castillo from launching much of an offense. Right from the opening bell, Hatton would initiate an exchange with a blazing and effective combination and would then tie Castillo up immediately after his assault, preventing any counter-attacks. Hatton's strategy of "attack and tie up" proved completely effective against the befuddled Castillo.
Referee Joe Cortez did Jose Luis Castillo no favors. In round three, Castillo landed a clearly legal and solid body blow right to the center of Hatton's abdomen. Cortez then scolded Castillo for the blow, accusing Castillo of punching below the belt. In the following round, Cortez quickly took a point away from Castillo after "El Terrible" landed an unintentional yet slightly low body blow. Hatton helped his cause for a Castillo penalty by alerting Cortez each time Castillo threw a body punch.
Still, the point deduction would prove to be a non-factor when Hatton landed a thunderous left hook to the liver area of Castillo's body just thirty seconds after the low blow penalty. Castillo winced, turned away and went down to one knee, where he would remain for a ten-count.
To his credit, Castillo fought effectively and valiantly in the third round. Some might argue that he actually won the round by landing plenty of punches and counterpunching successfully. But by willing himself through a strong third round, Castillo emptied what was left of his ammunition. Round three of the Hatton fight may end up proving to be Castillo's last hurrah as a championship fighter.
Saturday night also provided some unusual sights and sounds from the audience in the Thomas & Mack Center. The Mexican contingent of a Las Vegas fight crowd almost always makes the loudest and most visible presence when a Mexican champion fights in a championship fight. But on Saturday night, British flags far outnumbered the Mexican ones and non-stop singing in support of Hatton left Castillo's Mexican supporters largely unheard. Fight songs from Hatton's British supporters cascaded down from the crowd before, during and after the fight.
After his impressive dispatch of Castillo, Hatton did not call Mayweather out directly. Rather, Hatton pointed out that boxing fans saw more action in his round four knockout of Castillo than they've seen in Mayweather's entire career.