Briton Ricky Hatton retained his IBO light-welterweight title on Saturday with an 11th round stoppage of American Paulie Malignaggi. Referee Kenny Bayless halted the contest 28 seconds into the round when Malignaggi's trainer Buddy McGirt waved the towel in the corner. There were no knockdowns but Hatton (45-1, 32 KOs) hurt his opponent several times.
The victory marked a successful return to the ring in which Hatton had lost his unbeaten record last December, when he was knocked out by Floyd Mayweather Jr in a challenge for the WBC welterweight title.
"I enjoyed this fight a lot more than the last time I was here," Hatton told reporters. In the second round, a big right to the jaw buckled Malignaggi's legs and caused the American to cling on, while another hook in the fourth had the same effect.
Malignaggi (25-2, 5 KOs) did score effectively with sharp jabs in some of the early rounds, and appeared to be back in the contest after a productive fifth, but as the bout progressed, Hatton became increasingly dominant. A series of booming left hooks chased Malignaggi across the ring in the seventh and the English fighter scored again with a left and a right in the eighth.
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Another left hook in the ninth snapped back Malignaggi's head, and although the American poked out his tongue in response, his legs were buckling with almost every punch Hatton landed. "I think you can see things we worked on in camp," said Hatton, who turned to Floyd Mayweather Sr to train him for this fight.
"I slowed down, I was more composed and I used my left jab."
At the end of the 10th, Malignaggi seemed exhausted and when Hatton doubled him over with a body shot in the 11th, McGirt signalled to the referee to stop the contest. However, Malignaggi disagreed with his corner's decision to halt the fight.
"I'm better than this," he protested. "Maybe I wasn't going to beat him on points but I'm better than being stopped. "Ricky fought a great fight, he's a terrific fighter, but this goes as a knockout on my record and it shouldn't be." "The reason we stopped the fight was because we were losing," McGirt said. "My guy was hurting and I wanted him to live to fight another day.
"We had five, six minutes left and I didn't want him to get seriously injured. It only takes one shot. I would rather he be mad at me for stopping the fight than him getting hurt and never being able to fight again." Hatton paid tribute to his opponent and looked forward to future big-money bouts.
"Paulie is a great fighter but this felt like a comeback," the 30-year-old from Manchester said. "I want the big fights now. I only have a couple more years left.