Boxing expert Brad Marchetti previews the upcoming fight between Ricky Hatton vs. Jose Luis Castillo. You gotta give it to the boxing fans in the UK, they love their boxing and especially their own boxing hero “The Hitman” Ricky Hatton.
So when Ricky Hatton opened as a -170 favorite at Bodog.com against tough Mexican Jose Luis Castillo, it came as no surprise to Point-Spreads.com. Against Juan Urango over 3,000 Hatton fans made the trip across the pond to root and toot for their boy. With all the Hatton fans that will be flooding the Las Vegas streets by Saturday night expect that -170 to go as high as -250 odds by fight time on June 23rd, 2007 at 11 PM EST from Thomas & Mack Center.
Hatton is the favorite with good reason however. He is 5 years younger, has a great fight resume and Jose Luis Castillo struggled to win his last fight against top-30 contender Herman Ngoudjo. Ricky Hatton also is the faster fighter with better hand speed and agility.
If Hatton makes full use of his boxing skills he should win this fight. That said, Hatton likes to brawl and mix it up and with all his UK fans flying in he will surely be looking to score a KO for the crowd.
Castillo lives for wars. In a brawl there are few fighters superior to Jose Luis Castillo. He is the bigger man here with a 2 inch height and 4 inch reach advantage. In the trenches Castillo might tear Ricky up. Literally. Castillo comes after guys with his fists pumping and his head being used as a third fist.
Hatton cuts easily and I expect him to bleed in this one from either a punch or head butt. Castillo bleeds too, but not at the same rate as Hatton. Both men go to the body looking to remove the spleen from their opponents bodies. Castillo though is the bigger puncher.
Little Ricky might start withering from the brutal Castillo body attack late. Hatton is the HBO house fighter so he might get some help from the judges if this one goes to the cards. Castillo does have a Mexican fan base in Las Vegas though so I don’t see scoring being a big issue. Castillo is too live an underdog to be passed up in this one.
The best bet is to wait until the Hatton money pours in on Saturday and get Castillo at a great price. Castillo at anything above +180 is worth a 1 unit bet.
Bodog.com has posted boxing odds for the Ricky Hatton vs. Jose Luis Castillo 12 round Light Welterweight Fight:
Ricky Hatton: -170
Jose Luis Castillo: +140
Total Rounds:
Over Rounds: 11½ (-200)o
Under Rounds: (+150)u
