Even though 55,000 fans will be out to watch Ricky Hatton fight Juan Lazcano in Manchester, Juan Lazcano’s coach, Ronnie Shields, still thinks that his fighter will come out victorious.
What Shields says should be taken seriously. Not only is he a former two-time world light welterweight title challenger himself, but as a boxing coach he has worked with names such as Vernon Forrest, Evander Holyfield, Jesus Chavez, Kassim Ouma. Juan Diaz, Jesse James Leija and Mike Tyson.
Ronnie Shields said: “I’m here in England to train Juan Lazcano for his fight with Ricky Hatton and make no mistake, we have come here to win,”
This is Ricky Hatton’s first time in the ring since losing to pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather. In that fight Hatton’s trademark attacking style was expertly countered by Mayweather’s defensive skill.
But Shields has something else in store for Hatton:
“Juan is a completely different fighter than Floyd Mayweather, so we can’t really follow Mayweather’s fight plan against Ricky,”
“But Juan is a top class fighter, one of the best junior welters in the world and we’re going to surprise Ricky Hatton and beat him.”
“He [Hatton] lives a very bad lifestyle for a fighter, Anyone who goes out and drinks the way he does, it has to take an effect. Personally, I think it started taking an effect in the Floyd Mayweather fight. Floyd Mayweather isn’t a big puncher, yet Floyd knocked Ricky out. As could be seen, round and round after round, Hatton got more and more tired and that’s for the simple reason that his lifestyle is starting to take an effect on him.
“Just watching the fight, I could see this happening round after round, and after about the sixth round, I thought that Floyd had the chance to knock Ricky out because Floyd hurt him with a couple of those check hooks. Gaining all that weight, losing all that weight and then gaining it all back again, that takes a hell of a toll on your body, I don’t care who you are.”
I would agree that Hatton’s lifestyle is limiting his abilities as a boxer, but I still think he has enough juice in the tank to beat Juan Lazcano.
What do you think will happen in the Juan Lazcano – Ricky Hatton fight?
