Matthew Hatton Vs Chris Va Heerden - Post-Fight report

@PriceyJ97.

Hatton falls short in South Africa

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

On March 2^nd British welterweight Matthew Hatton (43-, 17 KO’s) travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa to take on IBO world champion Chris Van Heerden in what could be his third and final attempt at winning a world title.

Unfortunately for the tough 31-year old his challenge was not successful. The talented youngster that stood opposite him was just a little too fit, smart and tough for Hatton’s rough tactics. Early on Hatton attempted to work on the inside and wear Van Heerden down, but surprisingly the South African met him head on and started to push him back. Hatton seemed a little flustered by this and allowed Van Heerden to gain momentum in the fight.

Referee Howard John Foster had his work cut out in what was a frustrating clash-of-styles fight for both men. They were both looking to march forward and get to their opponent but most of the work was being smothered and there wasn’t much landing clean. Both fighters suffered cuts above the right eye early on, Van Heerden’s slightly worse, and as the fight progressed it became scrappier and scrappier, with the ref repeatedly having to split them.

Matthew Hatton Vs Chris Van Heerden - Fight Preview

By Jack Sumner @Jack_Sumner_

Matthew Hatton will attempt to finally step out of brother Ricky’s shadow this weekend, when he competes for world honours for the third time in his career at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The belt on the line may only be the lightly regarded IBO strap, but a win for Hatton would seal a long and hard ascent through the less trodden paths of the welterweight ranks.

His opponent isn’t regarded so lightly however. In the opposite corner on the night will be 25-year-old South African Chris ‘The Heat’ van Heerden (18-1-1 10 KOs), who in the rainbow nation at least is being marketed as a rising star and by some observers is touted for a bright future.

There’s no denying it’s a tough task for Matthew with a recipe for some home cooking perhaps if it goes the distance, but Hatton’s had it tough on the road many times before and won’t be phased by entering the lion’s den.

Proksa drops EBU title, Murray Vs Marie looking likely...



Proksa with the EBU title.

British-based middleweight prospect Grzegorz Proksa has done what was expected and relinquished the EBU middleweight title. As I said, this doesn't come as a shock as Proksa is fully occupied with his highly anticipated bout with Gennady Golovkin, which is potentially the biggest fight of his career.

 

It is now looking very likely that the EBU title will be put on the line for the fight between Martin Murray and Julien Sainte Marie (if it happens). The EBU have set a deadline of September 26th for negotiations such as purse bids and agreement to be finalised.

 

Proksa will be in the ring this Saturday night in New York where he will challenge the highly regarded Gennady Golovkin for the IBO & WBA "regular" titles.