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03/30/2004 Archived Entry: ""Hitman" Hatton in tough with Pinto Saturday Night"
"Hitman" Hatton in tough with Pinto Saturday Night
Press Release
In an excellent match-up featuring two hard-hitting young men, World Boxing Organization (WBO) No. 4 contender Ricky Hatton will take on No. 1 contender Kelson Pinto for the WBO Interim 140-pound title Saturday, April 3, at 11 ET/PT* on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. Hatton and Pinto will battle for the interim title made available when the International Boxing Federation’s (IBF) 140-pound champion Zab Judah opted to move up in weight. In the co-feature from MEN Arena in Manchester, England, Sharmba Mitchell will make the first defense of his IBF Interim 140-pound crown when he faces IBF No. 3 contender and mandatory challenger, Mike Stewart.
The world championship fights represent the fifth and sixth of the year for SHOWTIME, which in January unveiled its new, fan-friendly scheduling strategy of providing viewers and fans with the best possible event on the first Saturday of every month. Frank Warren's Sports Network, in association with Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, will promote the doubleheader, which kicks off the second-quarter of boxing on SHOWTIME.
Hatton (34-0, 25 KOs), of Manchester, England, is coming off of a career-best 12-round unanimous decision over granite-chinned former world title challenger Ben Tackie, Dec. 13, 2003, on SHOWTIME. Hatton, who displayed patience and poise, easily outpointed Tackie by the scores 120-109 twice and 118-110. The victory over Tackie came in the 11th title defense of his World Boxing Union (WBU) title won on March 26, 2001, with a fourth-round knockout over Tony Pep. The 25-year-old Hatton is a former WBO Intercontinental and British 140-pound champion. In addition to his WBO ranking, Hatton is the World Boxing Association (WBA) No. 2, World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 4 and IBF No. 6 contender.
Pinto (20-0, 18 KOs), of Salvador, Brazil, turned pro at age 24 on Jan. 27, 2001. One of boxing’s most prolific punchers, the tall and rangy 27 year old won his initial seven starts by first-round knockout, and has fought a total of just 56 rounds in his career (2.8 rounds per bout). A former North American Boxing Organization (NABO) and WBO Latin American 140-pound titleholder, Pinto is coming off of a second-round TKO over José Octavio Da Silva on Feb. 27, 2004. During a sensational amateur career, Pinto was a four-time Brazilian national champion and went 94-4 with 60 knockouts. He defeated Miguel Cotto in the gold medal match of a 1999 tournament.
Mitchell (53-3, 30 KOs), of Takoma Park, Md., won the IBF Interim belt in his last outing when he registered a 12-round unanimous decision over Lovemore N'dou Feb. 7, 2004, on SHOWTIME. Mitchell, who also is currently ranked No. 3 by the WBA, won the hotly contested, exciting bout by the scores 118-110, 117-112 and 115-113. The victory was the two-time world champion’s sixth in a row (including the last four on SHOWTIME) since losing to Kostya Tszyu in a world title unification bout Feb. 3, 2001, on SHOWTIME. During that bout, Mitchell could not come out for the eighth round because of an injury. The seventh-round TKO loss ended a six-and-one-half-year run in which the former WBA champion won 16 consecutive contests.
Stewart (35-1-2, 19 KOs), of Columbia, Tenn., has won seven consecutive contests, including the past four by knockout since suffering his lone defeat on a 10-round split decision to Dorin Spivey on Feb. 15, 2002. The hard-working boxer-puncher captured the United States Boxing Association (USBA) 140-pound crown on March 21, 2003, and made two successful defenses. In his initial defense, Stewart scored a spectacular one-punch, third-round TKO over former IBF champion Terronn Millett on June 27, 2003. Stewart’s other USBA defense came in his most recent outing when he tallied an eighth-round TKO over Ivan Robinson on Nov. 11, 2003. Stewart, who also is the WBO No. 6 and WBA No. 13 contender, represents the IBF’s highest-rated contender at 140 pounds. The two spots above him are vacant.
