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posted May 23, 2008 at 13:47 in Other Articles

Ricky Hatton, last seen by BetUS online sportsbook boxing bettors losing to Floyd Mayweather, will undertake to earn more big sports betting money paydays down the road, but first he must get by Juan Lazcano in a scheduled 12-round matchup that is set for Saturday afternoon (U.S. time) in his hometown of Manchester, England. The fight is a sellout at the City of Manchester Stadium and will be seen in the United States on the Versus Network. The fight is billed as for the International Boxing Organization (IBO) light welterweight (140-lb.) title.

BetUS Boxing Betting Odds:

IBO Light Welterweight (140-lb.) Title

May 24 -- Manchester, England

RICKY HATTON -1200

JUAN LAZCANO +700

OVER 10.5 ROUNDS -130

UNDER 10.5 ROUNDS -110

Specific Fight Outcome

HATTON by KO, TKO or Disqualification -120

HATTON by Decision or Technical Decision +120

LAZCANO by KO, TKO or Disqualification +1000

LAZCANO by Decision or Technical Decision +2200

Draw or Technical Draw +3000

For online boxing betting purposes, let's size up the contestants:

HATTON (43-1, 31 KO's), the -1200 favorite in the BetUS boxing betting odds, is one of the bigger attractions in the sport. Early on he was steered toward that end. In March of 2001, after 22 bouts without a loss, he won the vacant 140-pound title as recognized by the World Boxing Union, which is banished from the United states but well-regarded in Britain. He made 14 successful defenses of that title, including wins over Vince Phillips, Eamonn Magee, Ben Tackie and Ray Oliveira. During this time, Hatton was relatively unknown in the U.S. and somewhat unproven, having not fought a grueling schedule of opponents. But that changed in June 2005, as he scored a stoppage of Kostya Tszyu to win the IBF light welterweight title and opened everyone's eyes. From there, he annexed the WBA welterweight belt with a decision over Luis Collazo in which he did not look particularly good, but got the job done. Eventually he went in against Mayweather for the WBC 147-pound title, and was stopped in the tenth round. That was last December, and he hasn't fought since. But if Hatton wins against Lazcano, there is going to be a shot at the IBF 140-pound title against Paul Malignaggi, who is also defending his crown on this card.

LAZCANO (37-4-1, 27 KO's), the +700 underdog at BetUS who is known as the "Hispanic Causing Panic," won the lightweight title of the lightly-regarded World Boxing Federation in July 1997, but was anonymous until he won the NABF crown over Wilfredo Vasquez on a ninth-round TKO in June 2000. He followed that with wins over Jesse James Leija, John John Molina, and perhaps his most solid pro victory, an 11th-round TKO of former world champ Stevie Johnston in September 2003. With that, he earned an opportunity to fight for the WBC belt and lost a 12-round decision to Jose Luis Castillo in June of '04. Lazcano has hung around since, posting wins over the likes of Courtney Burton and Ben Tackie, but was slowed up with a 12-round decision loss to Vivian Harris in February of 2007. That was an eliminator for a WBC super lightweight title shot. He has been out of action since.

Lazcano is a decent all-around fighter, but I wonder how much he really has left right now. Let's put it this way - I can tell you that Hatton is the type of fighter who has the ability to apply tremendous pressure to an opponent. he may not be a huge puncher, but he can "chop down" an opponent with an accumulation of blows. If you are not sharp you are not going to be able to keep up the pace. Hatton's aggressiveness will make an opponent fight every minute of every round, and you can be a little more assured that he is in shape, since, in a nice move, this fight is being contested for the IBO 140-pound title, which will force him to get down to a lean and mean weight. Can Lazcano fight for three minutes a round, after more than fifteen months off? I think not.

He doesn't really have the kind of talent that will make that happen. Sure, Hatton was out of his league against the superior Mayweather, but there is obviously a big gap between that and Lazcano, who even as a contender was more garden-variety. Of course, laying -1200 doesn't appeal to us much, but we see an opening in the props, especially the one where we can lay -120 that Hatton will stop Lazcano inside the distance. Lazcano has been halted only once - by Golden Johnson in 1998, but ring rust has a way of hurting stamina, and I couldn't see Hatton letting up when over 50,000 fans are watching him.

So we will lay -120 on Hatton to win by KO, TKO or disqualification in the BetUS boxing betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: HATTON BY TKO (-120) ***

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

Betting on boxing has never been so easy and you can get your bets in now in the BetUS sportsbook. Go to Other Sports: Boxing. Find tons of props on the fight and the fighters in the Future / props section as well!

(Charles Jay of www.ebookies.com is a former manager, matchmaker and color commentator in professional boxing. He currently pulls no punches in the BetUS Locker Room)