Skip to main content

Lee Beard: Matthew Hatton deserves world title

Phil D. Jay 
WBN Editor
Trainer convinced ‘Magic Man’ can claim IBO belt

Matthew Hatton can go on to win and defend a world title in future, according to reunited trainer Lee Beard, who is approaching a third week back in tandem with the former European champion.

Beard, who briefly trained Matthew’s older brother Ricky between 2008 and 2009, is preparing the ‘Magic Man’ for his warm-up bout against Michael Lomax in Manchester next month after the two decided to rekindle their partnership following an amicable split.

“Matthew has just finished his second full week now and is coming along real good,” Beard told World Boxing News. “He has always been a good trainer and is very dedicated and disciplined. 

“He was a little heavy starting off due to his recent time out, but his weight is good now and his strength and conditioning is improving day by day. 

“It has been very easy to get back to the way things where before,” said Beard. “I've known Matthew for years and outside of boxing we are good friends. Matthew knows I do a lot of one-to-one technical work and that it takes time and patience to get things right. 

“I knew it would take a few days to adjust, but things are going real good now and week by week he will improve technically all the time.

The 31 year-old is pitted against southpaw Lomax in preparation for what will be a much tougher challenge in attempting to dethrone IBO belt holder Chris Van Heerden on his home soil in February and Beard is keen to cover new ground with Hatton’s preparation.

“Lomax is a 6ft southpaw and awkward so we've been working on a lot of ways for Matthew to be effective, both on the outside and inside so he can control and dictate the pace of the fight. 

“So far, he has seemed to be loading up with punches all the time and standing in front of me jumping in with punches, a bit over aggressive, but I have been asking him to be more relaxed and be smart, to get his balance and distance right and use his skills. 

“I work a lot on defence and I want Matthew to box smart in the fight.  He must also get his confidence back and although I will not going to go into too much detail, by the time the fight is here I think Matthew will have that in his locker and will be comfortable with the things he can do. “

With two losses in his last the outings, Beard is of the belief that Hatton just has to make sure he regains that winning feeling as the South Africa trip, and a third world title bout looms.

“Of course winning in style would be great, but Matthew had a bad loss last fight (against Kell Brook) and getting the win is the main thing,” he explained. 

“He doesn’t need to feel added pressure to win by stoppage or KO. Getting back to winning ways is the main thing and working on staying the gym to keep improving. At the moment I feel his performance will be good though.”

A win puts Hatton on top billing at a special boxing event dedicated to Nelson Mandela in Cape Town on February 2nd 2013 and Beard sees the contest as a chance for his fighter to finally conquer his world title demons against unknown quantity Van Heerden.

“He's a good fighter, a southpaw with a good jab. He puts shots together real well and has good balance. He's beaten some good fighters recently too and It will be a very difficult fight for Matthew being in South Africa, but he can win that fight.

“I took Argenis Mendez to South Africa in an world eliminator and he won on points, so it being in South Africa doesn't mean he can’t get a decision and that has to go look for a KO. 

“As of now though, the sole focus is on Michael Lomax and we have been working and speaking about the Lomax fight only, there is no other fight but this one October. 

“Our first goal is Matthew beating Lomax and getting the Van Heerden fight, then winning that IBO belt. 

“It would be great for Matthew to win that belt. He has worked really hard over the years and with his desire and dedication, I personally and people who know him will agree he deserves it. 

“After that it would open possibilities for bigger fights,” he added.

Popular posts from this blog

The Tragedy of Billy Collins Jr.

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor  Collins after the fight Williams Ray Collins Jr. or Billy Collins Jr. as he became known, was born to a boxing father in Antioch, Tennessee in 1961. His father William Sr, once fought Welterweight Champion Curtis Cokes and wanted his boy to follow in his footsteps, so decided to train Billy himself. Collins Jr. turned pro in 1981, a welterweight, just like his father before him and impressively won his first 14 professional contests, 11 by knockout with eight inside the first three rounds. It was 1983 and Billy was matched up against Puerto Rican journeyman Luis Resto on the undercard of Roberto Duran v Davey Moore at Madison Square Garden in a ten rounder. Resto wasn’t known for his punching power but Billy took a sustained beating for the full ten rounds, his face, badly damaged and his eyes were almost shut. After the fight, which Resto won on decision, Billy’s father shook Resto’s hand and noticed there wasn’t much padding in his gl...

Ashley Theophane talks US return, Ricky Burns sparring and future fights

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Treasure’ training for August 24 return Former British light-welterweight champion Ashley Theophane is aiming to put the disappointment of his loss to Darren Hamilton behind him when he makes his comeback in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 24. The 31 year-old, who has fought some of the top fighters between 140 and 154lbs, planned to take 18 months out of chasing his world title dream to win a British Lonsdale belt outright and just fell short with points defeat to Hamilton in May after making two defences. The Londoner is now returning to the US to re-establish his headline status on American soil. He fights for the 38th time in his career against an opponent yet to be named at NC Music Factory’s Reelworks Studios and is currently preparing to get back to winning ways. “Training has gone well for this fight. I've been in the gym for nearly nine weeks so I'm in great shape and ready to go,” Theophane told World Boxing News. ...

Rico Ramos captures world super- bantamweight title with KO

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor ‘Suavecito’ scores 20th straight win over Shimoda Undefeated Californian Rico Ramos produced a world-class left hand in the seventh round of his WBA title challenge against Japan’s Akifumi Shimoda to rip the belt away from the older southpaw in his first defence. The 24 year-old looked far from a world champion in the first five rounds, only gaining a foothold in the fight in round six, but ultimately produced the equalizer in the seventh to take the crown. Shimoda, 26, will be furious with himself as he bossed the majority of the fight and was up five rounds to one on my card going into the seventh round. One lapse in concentration with only thirty seconds left in round seven and Shimoda hit the canvas. The champion tried to get up at the count of nine, but stumbled over and the referee counted him out. The now former champion stayed down for a full minute before being helped to his feet and realising he no longer held the WBA belt. Also on the card i...