Matthew Hatton - "Hopefully I'm in the mix now"

The boxing success stories within the Hatton family continue to grow year by year and now it is Matthew’s turn to be in the spotlight.

Last Friday in Bolton Matthew defended his European welterweight title against Ukrainian Yuriy Nuzhnenko. After being on the wrong end of a knockdown in the first round Matthew recovered well to score a unanimous decision over 12 rounds.

BoxRec News caught up with Matthew now the dust has settled to discuss the fight and talk about what has the makings of a very bright future for the Manchester welterweight.

Nuzhnenko came into this fight with just one loss and had previously held the WBA welterweight interim belt and fought for the full title. This bout was a tough first defence for Hatton but he never doubted himself.

“I was very confident going into the fight, obviously he is a quality fighter having been a former world champion. My training camp had gone very well and my confidence was high.

"I think I showed different qualities in Friday’s fight, against Branco it all went very well and I boxed really well. This fight was different because it was the first time I’d ever been down and it did knock me for six a little bit and took me out of my stride but I showed heart and determination getting myself back into the fight. It was a real good learning fight for me. Being knocked down was a new experience for me and hopefully it wont happen again but these sort of things can stand me in good stead for the future.”

Nuzhnenko came out firing in the first round and his attacking style got him the result he was looking for. It was a solid left hand that landed on Hatton’s jaw but was there any danger of it being a KO punch?

“I remember it really well, it was a good shot. It wasn’t as if I was carrying my hands low, the shot just crept around the side of my guard. I recovered instantly and it never really hurt me and didn’t have a lasting effect. I was a little bit embarrassed more than anything. I just put it to the back of my head and got on with the job.”

Matthew is one of those boxers who are never out of the gym. He prides himself on his fitness which he has proved to be top class in his last couple of outings.

“I do get better as the fights go on, I’m a really fit and dedicated fighter. I prepare for my fights a lot better now and Bob Shannon is doing a great job with me now so stamina is never a problem for me.

“I’d prepared really well for the fight and I’d see Nuzhnenko fight before and he tries to come onto you late into the fight and with my conditioning I knew he wouldn’t be able to do that against me. If it wasn’t for that knock down in the first round I think I would have won the fight a lot easier.”

Matthew is well aware, thanks to his elder brother, that "boxing is not a tickling contest" and dealing with injuries is all part of the game. Fight fans watching the bout probably weren’t aware that Matthew suffered an early setback.

“The shot that put me down in the first round was the shot that injured my jaw. My jaw is really swollen so I need to get it checked out to make sure there’s no permanent damage.

“It was causing me a little bit of discomfort during the fight but it’s just one of those things and there’s nothing you can do about it in the middle of a fight, you just have to get on with it.”

Over the last two years the quality and calibre of opponent Matthew faced has increased and it’s clear to see that his performances have improved too. At 29 years old is Matthew hitting his peak now?

“I think physically I’m coming towards my peak. I feel like I wasted a lot of years at Billy Graham’s gym where Billy was putting all his efforts into training Ricky. Finally now I am getting the one on one coaching which is something I have lacked throughout my career. I think that now shows in my performances that are getting better and better.”

Matthew is in no hurry to get out of the sport. “I’m not the sort of fighter that’s says he wants to retire by a certain age. I’m getting better all the time and I definitely think I’ve got a good few years left.” he admitted.

Sometimes in boxing you have to wait patiently to get the right fights or for your big chance to come along and it seems since Ricky has been inactive Matthew has been getting the breaks he wasn’t getting a few years ago.

“It’s just coincidence really that since Ricky has been coming towards the end of his career the chances have just started to come for me like the late notice fight with Branco and the Lovemore N’Dou fight. It’s just the way things panned out really.”

With his first defence of the European title achieved now its time to look for bigger fights with bigger prizes. He is climbing up the WBA rankings and a shot at the title is not a million miles away.

“In an ideal world I’d really like to fight Senchenko for the WBA title. That’s the one I’d really like to go for. He was the only person to beat Nuzhnenko before I beat him last week. I’d like to move on now and fight Senchenko and I can’t see any reason why that can’t happen. That’s the fight I would like so I just hope that Ricky, Gareth and my Dad can make it happen.”

The welterweight division is full of marquee names and Matthew wants his chance to test himself against the best in the world.

“I’m very lucky to be in the welterweight division at this point in time as it’s full of big names and big opportunities for me. I’ve been offered some big fights and lately I accepted a fight with Zab Judah which eventually fell through. I’m always ready and willing to fight anyone and luckily the welterweight division is jam packed with big names and big money fights so hopefully I’m in the mix now and I can get some real big fights.”