"What makes it so exciting is the big difference in our fighting styles. Ricky is rough and tough; an all-action fighter who takes advantage of everything he can to get the win. You're never going to see a Hatton fight that doesn't keep you on the edge of your seat. Most of my fights have been boxing matches.
The excitement was dictated by how aggressive the other guy wanted to be. If they brought it, they got it back times 10. I know I'm at the top of my game right now and that's what it takes to have a chance against a great champion like Ricky Hatton."
In an interview with boxingtalk.com Malignaggi the Magician’s tune has clearly changed:
"I wouldn't be surprised if I knocked Ricky Hatton out. It's something that people are going to read and think I'm ridiculous, but if you look beyond what you see with naked eye, every time he gets hit clean he's hurt. He cannot take a punch. To the head, to the body, I've been saying this for years.
He cannot take a punch and that's why he fights the way he does. He's always looking to hold because he's trying to prevent his opponents from extending their punches so they can get maximum power on them." It would appear that Malignaggi has had too many blows to the head and is suffering from a case of amnesia.
Malignaggi refused to out-right criticise Hatton's performance against Lazcano as it fell on the back of Hatton’s crushing KO loss to Floyd Mayweather, but did manage to dismiss it as "very average".
Emanuel Steward, former trainer of Lennox Lewis and Thomas Hearns, defended Hatton in the Mayweather fight: “I’ve seen that happen to a boxer before. They get too excited and over-anxious and that moves on down the line to their performance. Ricky Hatton is a very brave fighter who went in there and got careless. Why did he get careless? I think he was too wired up. He wanted to fight for the crowd and a crowd can work against you just as they can work for you. This crowd worked against him. A boxer has to have controlled aggression and I didn’t see enough of that from Hatton’s corner. I saw naked, crude aggression.”
Malignaggi’s comments about Hatton could have been partially fuelled by Malignaggi’s ego-deflation in the unimpressive UK fight against Lovermore N’Dou. In the eighth round of the fight against N’Dou the Magician had to make his long, stringy braids disappear, and broke his hand which failed to impress the British public. Malignaggi explained: "I have a broken middle metacarpal, basically the bone behind the right knuckle is broken. I have a cast on at the moment, and I have to go through the healing process but November is plenty of time away and I'll be ready for the fight with Hatton.”
Malignaggi also had some lip for Manny Pacquiao, who has been calling out Hatton in the build-up to his WBC lightweight world title fight with David Diaz.
"If Manny Pacquiao wants to get that ass whooping, once I'm done with Ricky, I will gladly tear that ass up all over the place," Malignaggi said. “Tell Manny to stop disrespecting the Magic Man, stop saying you want to fight Ricky because Ricky is not getting by the Magic Man. If he wants to fight a junior-welterweight, once I beat Ricky's ass I will gladly tear his ass up all over the place." If nothing else can be said it is clear that Malignaggi has a fixation with “tearing up asses”.
The Hitman appears to be keeping quiet, laying in wait, stockpiling ammunition for the big MGM fight in Las Vegas. Hatton is not giving anything away. He is keeping the Magician in his sights while Malignaggi tires himself out with a smoke and mirrors display coupled with excessive bursts of hot air. Be there in Las Vegas when the Hitman puts Malignaggi’s mouth where it belongs. Sign up to get your Hatton vs. Malignaggi tickets here.