Hitman shows his armoury with fine win

Ricky Hatton insisted his win over Ray Oliveira showed he has more than just brute strength as he successfully defended his WBU crown for a 15th time.

Hatton tore into his opponent from the first bell at the ExCel Conference Centre in London, and floored the 36-year-old American in the first round.

However, "Sucra Ray" was too proud to melt under the pressure, and Hatton had to display his full array of skills to eventually finish the contest with a knockout right blow to the side of Oliveira’s head halfway through the 10th round.

“It’s difficult to tell sometimes how you are doing during the fight, but I felt I was winning comfortably,” said Hatton.

“I’ve made a couple of mistakes in a few fights, but I put those right tonight, and I used my jab a little bit more.

“My first right hand shocked him a bit, and I’m confident of beating anybody.”

Hatton was always in control of the fight and on several occasions had Oliveira on the ropes with a series of devastating combinations.

After the contest, the American admitted that he had never come up against anything quite like Hatton’s trademark body shots in his 14-year professional career.

“He did a lot of things I didn’t think he was capable of doing, and he didn’t just slug away, he moved and he boxed,” said Oliveira.

“He seems to improve with every fight and he’s definitely the best man I’ve ever fought. The kid was strong in every round and he is just very smart.”

Oliveira hung on until the 10th round despite suffering a burst eardrum earlier in the bout, and he knew he was staring defeat in the face from the early stages of the clash.

“I didn’t even know what round he stopped me in,” said Oliveira. He’s one hell of a hitter and his punches seemed to get harder and harder. He picked his shots, he worked the body and my head and he got through my defence, which I think is one of the best in the world.

“It doesn’t bother me that I was knocked out, because I’m healthy and I feel okay. I hope Ricky gets his big fight, and then I can come back and have another go.”