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Hatton overpowers Castillo in Vegas

24/06/2007

Ricky Hatton has claimed a thrilling win against Jose Luis Castillo after knocking out the Mexican in the fourth round of their light welterweight contest in Las Vegas.

Hatton was in imperious form and won the fight thanks to a heavy blow to the kidneys which sent Castillo to the canvas for the first time in his 17-year career.

The 28-year-old started brightly and landed two good uppercuts in the opening round. Castillo touched down but the referee ruled it as a slip and he was not deducted any points.

Hatton continued to work the body of Castillo in the second round and looked composed as he out-boxed his 33-year-old opponent.

Castillo landed with some telling hooks in the third round but Hatton soaked up the pressure and continued to work on the Mexican with jabs and body shots.

Early in the fourth round Castillo was deducted a point for a low blow. With two minutes and 16 seconds of the round gone Hatton seized his opportunity and caught Castillo with a powerful left hook to the body that he could not recover from.

Hatton said: "I trained for 12 rounds of pain tonight. I told everybody that I've never had a training camp like it before and I think it showed.

"I hit him with a left and then another left and it just about cut him in half. I was going for the body from the first round and I've got him with one of the best shots I've ever thrown."

The Manchester fighter is now undefeated in 43 contests and will hope his victory has got him a step closer to a dream fight with welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather.

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