On The Beak

Alan Dawson – London

Matthew Hatton bounced back from an unsuccessful world title challenge earlier in the year to claim the lightly-regarded IBF International welterweight championship as he dominated Andrei Abramanka in every round. The Eastern European did not have the power or strength to discourage Hatton from his evening’s work and, despite the one-sided nature of the scorecards, Hatton rarely seemed to leave second gear at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, Lancashire on Friday, August 19.

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Dawson’s scorecard

Judges verdict: 118-110, 118-109, 118-109 all in favour Matthew Hatton.

Former European welterweight champion, Matthew Hatton, relinquished the EBU title in order to challenge popular Mexican prizefighter Saul Alvarez for the then-vacant WBC super welterweight world championship in March, however, the younger boxing brother of Ricky Hatton returned to Blighty defeated by decision.

The weekend dust-up with Andrei Abramenka represented the first time Matthew had returned to the ring since his foray at world level and, walking out to Ready Or Not by The Fugees, the 30-year-old looked focused, determined and undeterred by the attractive ring-girls clad in transparent carnival clobber who greeted him on his way to the ring.

Hatton kept Abramenka at arm’s length throughout the opening stanza. There was little offensive game enforced by Abramenka and Hatton, remaining on the outside, stuck jabs on his opponent with an occasional hook shot to boot. Abramenka, from Belarus, enjoyed only sporadic moments of success and looked good went he went after Hatton’s body.

Abramenka was more sprightly in the second round and used foot movement to evade Hatton’s incoming shots. In order to negate Abramenka’s foot skills, Hatton cut the ring off and attempted to force the undefeated 24-year-old into the corners. Abramenka’s hook shots looked handy, however, Hatton showed astute head movement to veer away from his opposite man’s fist.

While Abramenka was by no means a push-over, Hatton’s ability to control the tempo and make it his fight ensured he deserved the successive ten scores and, in the third round, that pace was upped as Hatton increased his punch output and varied his target from Abramenka’s body to his head. Hatton’s defence, too, was strong as he either motioned away from incoming punches or parried them away with his gloves or forearms. Midway through the third, Hatton punished Abramenka with a solid body blow. A left hook forced Abramenka away from the inside toward the end of the round.

Still a relative novice, Abramenka had – prior to fight night – only once fought in a 12-round contest before and between rounds three and four the Belarusian was seen breathing heavily; an indication that Hatton’s bodywork had already taken it’s toll. Abramenka’s between round wheezing had obviously been picked up on by Hatton’s corner as he attacked either side of Abramenka’s breadbasket in round four. Hatton also clipped the younger man with hooks and close-range uppercuts.

Round five was again all Hatton and, when Abramenka did decide to let his fists go, he was too cautious and so there was little meaning behind his shots. Hatton was clearly the bigger welterweight and the stronger man and, with each round, broke Abramenka down piece by piece.

A cut opened up above the left eye of Hatton in the sixth round and Abramenka, spurred on by the sight of blood, began peppering the wound with right hands. Any confidence Abramenka gained from opening up a gash on the Englishman would have been short-lived as “Magic” Matthew stuck a five-punch combination onto the head of the Abramenka.

Hatton’s jabbing contained more authority in the seventh but Abramenka continued in his attempt to aggravate Hatton’s cut further by forcing overhand rights onto his brow. In between rounds, Hatton’s cornermen will have worked on the cut with one part Epinephrine (adrenaline) diluted with 1000 parts water: when applied with pressure, this decreases blood flow.

Hatton got vengeance for his own cut by inflicting a mild laceration over the left eye of Abramenka, which the referee ruled as a punch, rather than a butt. By the ninth round, Hatton’s variety of defence was again on show as he positioned his arms into a Philly-Shell in order to thwart any Abramenka onslaught. A head-bound flurry from Hatton in the second minute of the stanza was finished off with a power punch to the midsection.

The technical skill Hatton could call upon was impressive as he flurried at Abramenka again in the tenth. In contrast, Abramenka rarely put more than one punch together. The referee deducted a point from Hatton’s tally due to lowblowing – it was his second warning. Hatton pushed Abramenka onto the outside, circling the periphery of the ring due to his aggression, which had increased with every passing round. By the round’s end, Abramenka was truly on his bike, avoiding Hatton at all costs.

In the eleventh, Hatton caught Abramenka’s punches with his gloves while his own attack caused Abramenka’s eye to look more lairy than it had done previously. Such was the worsening of the eye, by the time Abramenka’s cutman was working it over, the ring towel was transformed from a Persil white to blood red. Abramenka had lagged throughout the contest and required an unlikely knockout to claim the win but in the final round there was no real intent behind Abramenka’s punches. Hatton finished the round – and fight – strongly with a overhand right and left hook combo.

The win and performance was good from Hatton but the victim had little name value, especially after having shared a ring with a beast like Alvarez. There are potentially-lucrative domestic showdowns for Hatton, should he elect to box undefeated Sheffield sensation Kell Brook or current British champion Lee Purdy, however, with the minor IBF trinket wrapped around his waist, Hatton may see that as a backwards step now that he will have climbed the global ranks on the IBF charts. A potential second shot at a major title, this time in his natural weight class, could therefore be on the 30-year-old’s radar.

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Tags: Andrei Abramenka, IBF, Matthew Hatton, Matty Askin, Welterweight