British Scene Weekend Recap: All Square Between Hatton & N'dou

Dave Oakes recaps this past weekend's British action.

Photo © Ray Kasprowicz

Lovemore N’dou retained his IBO belt on Friday night after he and Matthew Hatton (pictured) fought to a draw in an uneventful fight in Stoke.

Neither man stamped their authority on the fight; N’dou seemed to start slowly before picking up the pace slightly in the middle rounds, whilst Hatton looked one-paced and lacking in any ideas throughout the fight.

The first round could’ve gone either way with both fighters seemingly content enough to check each other out whilst hardly throwing any noteworthy punches. Hatton took over the fight for the next few rounds, although that was more down to N’dou’s lack of ambition rather than anything Hatton was doing. Hatton was avoiding most of the South African’s desperate lunges and was having the occasional success of his own, usually with the straight right.

N’dou never really got going early on, he landed two decent looking body shots in the fourth but was looking like an old fighter trying to regain what he used to have. Despite having a well-known name there for the taking, Hatton still looked devoid of ideas as to how to deal with him.

Hatton was allowing N’dou’s disjointed efforts to look far better than they were. Hatton seems to be stuck in a style which is 99% jabs and straight rights; he sporadically throws a hook to the body and the occasional hook to the head but he’s embarrassingly limited for someone who’s had forty plus fights.

With a lot of the previous rounds having been close, Hatton inexplicably let N’dou outwork him in the eighth and ninth rounds. N’dou tried to increase the pace in the two rounds but it was Hatton’s lackadaisical approach to the rounds that swung them in N’dou’s favour. If Hatton had kept plodding along at the pace he had been doing, he would’ve won the rounds comfortably.

To his credit, Hatton realised he needed to finish strongly and forced himself onto the offensive in the final three rounds. He outworked N’dou as he finally let his hands go; he forced N’dou backwards with a steady output of jabs and straight rights, helping him to take all three rounds on my scorecard.

I had the fight scored 115-113 in Hatton’s favour but wasn’t surprised when the official scorecards made it a draw. One judge had Hatton winning 115-114, whilst another had in N’dou’s favour by the same score; the third and decisive judge scored it 114-114.

Hatton was furious after the fight but I feel he’s only got himself to blame. He let a fight that he was capable of winning slip through his fingers, if he’d shown the passion of the last three rounds earlier on, there would’ve been no purported controversy with the scoring.

Hatton has improved over the past eighteen months but still seems a mile away from being capable of winning a domestic title. N’dou, despite retaining his lightly regarded world title, looks like a fighter whose best days are very much behind him. He’s still teak tough but seems to be slowing down in both speed of foot and hand, the best he can hope for in the future is a couple of good paydays before retiring.

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British Scene: Matthew Hatton vs Lovemore N'dou Preview

Dave Oakes previews Friday night's welterweight match-up between Matthew Hatton and Lovemore N'dou.

Photo © Marty Rosengarten / Ringsidephotos.com

It must be hard fighting in the shadow of your brother for the whole of your career, but Matthew Hatton has the chance to step out of the shadow and enhance his reputation as a fighter in his own right this Friday night, when he takes on former world title holder and the current IBF #15 rated Lovemore N’dou at the Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke.

N’dou, 47-11-1 (KO31), is the far more experienced fighter, he’s been a pro since 1993 and has fought much better opponents than Hatton has. He’s been in with five world champions – Junior Witter, Sharmba Mitchell, Miguel Cotto, Kermit Cintron and Paul Malignaggi, who he’s fought twice. He lost against all five but has always proved to be a hard opponent.

The high point of N’dou’s career came when he defeated Naoufel Ben Rabah to win the light-welterweight world title. N’dou and Ben Rabah put on a wonderful display of courage and passion, both fighters gave everything, but in the end it was N’dou’s superior fitness and chin that helped him survive the ferocious exchanges to outlast Ben Rabah. He lost the title in disappointing style in his next bout, a wide points defeat against Paul Malignaggi, before coming close to recapturing it, narrowly losing on a split decision against Malignaggi.

Hatton’s career has been a slow burner so far; he’s been a pro for nine years but has only ventured into domestic title class once, a points defeat to Craig Watson in a Commonwealth title fight eighteen months ago. He’s been criticised for being a protected fighter but what a lot of people fail to realise is that he hardly had any fights as an amateur before turning pro. It’s been a case of learning on the job for the younger Hatton.

The added pressure of being a Hatton has also put him under more pressure and in the spotlight more than most fighters. Having an older brother as famous as Ricky has been both a help and a hindrance for Matthew. Big things were expected of him purely because of his name and he’s received a lot of criticism for not setting the world alight like Ricky did when he turned pro. That said, he’s had the benefit of being on the undercard of big fight cards on both sides of the pond and has benefited from training in the same gym as Ricky.

Hatton, 37-4-1 (KO14), has gone four undefeated since the defeat to Watson, including wins against tough veterans Ben Tackie and Ted Bami. He seems to be improving as a fighter but still lacks versatility and punch variety; he only looks comfortable fighting at mid-range and seems content to throw jabs and straight rights for the most part.

N’Dou is ten years Hatton’s senior at 38 and has been there, done it and bought the t-shirt. It remains to be seen as to how much he’s got left in the tank at this stage of his career; he’s showed no major signs of deterioration as yet, although, I’ve got a feeling Hatton may be facing him at the perfect time.

I’d be extremely surprised if the fight ended early, N’dou’s got a granite chin and Hatton has never been in serious trouble in his career either. I believe Hatton will make the better start; out-jabbing and out-working N’dou before surviving a spirited late charge by the Australian based South African to edge a close and maybe controversial points decision.

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