Recalling the Night Ricky Hatton Took on Luis Collazo in Boston

On May 13, 2006, Ricky Hatton defeated Luis Collazo to become a two-weight world champion.

The then-unbeaten Mancunian, who was already in possession of the IBF belt at light welterweight, added the WBA welterweight title with a points triumph over his American opponent. Two of the judges scored it 115-112 in his favour, with the other official's card read 114-113.

The scores suggested it was close, and anyone who saw the bout knew it had been anything but a tea party for Hatton in Boston.

CHITOSE SUZUKI/Associated Press

No one up until then had come so close to ending his perfect record as a professional.

Not Jon Thaxton, who took a young Hatton the full 12 rounds six years earlier in a bloody battle staged at Wembley Conference Centre in London.

Not Eamonn Magee, who knocked his rival down for the first time in the paid ranks and in Hatton's own backyard at the MEN Arena too, before eventually losing on points in 2002.

Not even Kostya Tszyu, the Australian who lost his IBF title to Hatton in the summer of 2005. The Thunder from Down Under retired on his stool after 11 gruelling rounds and would never fight again.

Yet Collazo, who had held the WBA strap going into the fight, pushed The Hitman all the way, coming as close as anyone had at that point to stopping him during a thrilling last round.

In an interview with Tom Gray of Ring Magazine in 2014, Hatton admitted:

"

It was one of the hardest fights of my career.

When I was fit at junior welterweight I could bulldoze opponents, but competing seven pounds north of my natural fighting weight was a real shock to the system.

Only two fights earlier I made Kostya Tszyu quit on his stool and he was an animal at 140 pounds.

"

Collazo, it seemed, had failed to read the script.

In his report for the Guardian, John Rawling noted that Collazo had been "hand-picked as the opponent to give Hatton the eye-catching win he needed on his debut as a US headline act." It was seen as the perfect warm-up for the main event—a clash with fellow unbeaten fighter Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The choice by Hatton's team appeared to be a wise one when The Hitman knocked down Collazo in the opening seconds of the first round, catching him with a left hook that dropped him to the canvas.

At that point, it seemed the step up from 140 pounds wouldn't be a problem for Hatton.

However, he admitted in the aftermath that the knockdown was a mixed blessing, per BBC Sport: "Knocking him down that early was probably the worst thing I could have done because I went in to finish him."

Collazo, heavily tattooed and wearing shorts comparable in length to those donned by Hatton, picked himself up from the canvas, dusted himself down and proceeded to make it an uncomfortable night for the challenger.

Nick Laham/Getty Images

He was helped by Hatton, who had enjoyed such early success, striving to force a stoppage. Per CompuBox stats (h/t BoxingScene.com), he hit home with 254 power shots yet landed just five jabs all night.

His regular tactic of marching straight forward and looking to fight up close found a stumbling block against Collazo, a fully fledged welterweight who could counter effectively.

Hatton told Gray, "The punches were a lot harder and I could feel his strength, as we grappled on the inside."

Collazo's power came close to causing a late twist in the tale. The 12th round saw him catch Hatton, who by then had a badly swollen left eye, with some seriously powerful shots.

Ryan Songalia for East Side Boxing reported, "Collazo hurt Hatton very badly with a left-right combo and nearly put Hatton onto the seat of his pants."

Yet the Englishman weathered the storm, initially grabbing hold as often as possible to aid his recovery, and responded with several shots of his own before the final bell sounded. 

At the end, both competitors raised their arms in triumph.

Hatton, however, was declared the winner when the verdict was announced. Bruised but unbeaten, there was a sense of relief among his large number of travelling fans in the crowd at TD Garden.

Collazo was left to wonder how he had been dethroned as champion, per Dan Rafael of ESPN: "I thought a guy had to do more than he did to take my title."

There was talk in the immediate aftermath of the pair doing it all over again. Promoter Don King was certainly keen, per Rawling's report: "This was good, but a rematch would be better."

In the end, though, it didn't go any further than talk.

Hatton went back down to light welterweight to face Jose Luis Castillo, and when he did step up to 147 pounds at the end of 2007, it was to take on pound-for-pound champion Mayweather. 

As for Collazo, the New Yorker would go on to lose on points to both Shane Mosley and Andre Berto in his attempts to become the WBC champion.

He would end up meeting a British opponent again, but it wasn't Hatton.

In 2014 he stepped into the ring against Amir Khan and once again came out second-best on the scorecards. There were, however, fewer complaints about that result.