Ricky Hatton vs Marco Antonio Barrera LIVE: Fight reaction and undercard results after Natasha Jonas and Frazer Clarke wins
Ricky ‘The Hitman’ faced Marco Antonio Barrera in an exhibition in Manchester 10 years after retiring
Ricky Hatton added to his famous story with one final dance in Manchester as the legendary British fighter shared eight rounds with Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera. The Hitman maintains the bout enabled him to transform his lifestyle, lose weight and gain a better grasp of his mental health.
With no judges for the exhibition, the pair, friends away from the ring, embraced to much fanfare from those in attendance. The famous band and iconic songs immediately showered Hatton after his Blue Moon ring walk.
And Hatton displayed neat skills and a surprising amount of venom in his punches, while Barrera gave as good as he got, bruising up Hatton’s right cheek with both men retaining a degree of honesty despite an obvious lack of mean intentions compared to their spiteful days as professionals while competing for world titles.
Hatton was thrilled by the result: “Everything and more, I wondered how it would go, we're friends, but we're proud men. I thought it might be heated, it was good and entertaining, everything we wanted. When I won my world title here, my fights in Vegas, brilliant, I’ve done so many things, but this is up there with the best.”
Natasha Jonas won the world title earlier in the evening, edging out Marie Eve Dicaire on points to spark conversation over a super fight in 2023.
Frazer Clarke vs Kamil Sokolowski
Frazer Clarke moves to 4-0 after beating Kamil Sokolowski on points (60-54)
Frazer Clarke vs Kamil Sokolowski
Good work from Clarke, six competitive rounds to add to a resume badly lacking experience after pull-outs and injuries to opponents.
Frazer Clarke vs Kamil Sokolowski
Big swelling under Sokolowski’s eyes. There is a cut under his right eye too.
Attritional impact from Clarke, but he only has a round and a half to put away the hardened Sokolowski.
Frazer Clarke vs Kamil Sokolowski
Not many openings for Clarke and time running out to make that statement.
Sokolowski is very experienced, 11-26-3, Clarke now pivoting off the back foot and moving clockwise.
Remember we have Dalton Smith vs Kaisee Benjamin for the British lightweight title next.
Round 5 coming up...
Frazer Clarke vs Kamil Sokolowski
Liam Smith and Ben Whittaker taking in the action at ringside.
Into the third, can Clarke start to chip away at Sokolowski’s hardened shell.
The Pole punches out a jab or three, he dips to his right and throw it from a low angle.
Clarke now looking to vary his power and speed, still light on his feet in the third.
Frazer Clarke vs Kamil Sokolowski
A decent opener from the former Olympian, Clarke boxing nicely with plenty of pop in those shots.
A crisp left hook looks like the biggest threat to Sokolowski.
Now leading off with the left uppercut, Clarke faced with a puzzle here as Sokolowski covers up and gets low in round two.
Frazer Clarke vs Kamil Sokolowski
We’re underway!
Frazer Clarke with a mini step-up here against an experienced campaigner.
Tyler Denny beats Bradley Rea on points, defends English middleweight title
It’s been a cracking night of boxing in Manchester so far.
We’ve seen a brilliant domestic-level fight for the English middleweight title.
Tyler Denny defended his title on points against Bradley Rea, it’s the kind of fight we need more of, closely-matched, up-and-comers risking their ‘0’.
Extraordinary Natasha Jonas resumes ‘crazy journey’ with big-money fights on horizon
Natasha Jonas is possibly the most extraordinary boxer in Britain at the moment.
This Saturday in Manchester, she will fight for her third version of the world light-middleweight title in a consecutive sequence of fights that is remarkable. Some in the boxing game call it super-welter, by the way.
Jonas jumped up in weight over 20 pounds, leaping over three full divisions to win the WBO version of the title in February; seven months later she added the WBC version and on Saturday she fights Marie Eve Dicaire for the IBF version.
Back in 2012, Jonas lost at the London Olympics to Katie Taylor and, four years later, she watched the Rio Olympics from her home in Liverpool; she had retired and had a child. Her boxing days and nights were over.
Extraordinary Natasha Jonas resumes ‘crazy journey’ with big-money fights on horizon
The 38-year-old takes on Canada’s Eve Marie Dicaire with a super fight on the line should she emerge victorious
The Independent’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings
The boxing landscape is arguably as intriguing as it has ever been.
The past few years have seen heavyweight epics for the ages between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, they have seen Saul “Canelo” Alvarez establish himself as the face of the sport in the eyes of many fans, and they have seen frequent displays of technical brilliance from champions in lighter weight classes.
There have been upsets, title unifications, and there has been no shortage of drama – Anthony Joshua’s defeats by Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk standing out as prime examples.
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