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Coldwell: It’s Hatton-Tszyu II
- Updated: September 22, 2016
David Coldwell is expecting Anthony Crolla to produce another magical Manchester night like Ricky Hatton’s unforgettable win over Kostya Tszyu.
The trainer and member of the Sky Sports team was at the Manchester Arena back in 2005 when The Hitman left the world’s number one pound-for-pound fighter on his stool before the final round on an emotional night.
Coldwell will be at the same venue on Saturday when Crolla takes on three-weight world champion Jorge Linares, live on Sky Sports.
Manchester’s new favourite is defending his WBA world title and aiming to pick up ‘The Ring’ lightweight belt against the Venezuelan in what many people are expecting to be the steepest test in his roller-coaster career.
Crolla is the bookmaker’s favourite, but Coldwell has got him down as the underdog, along the same lines as Hatton back in 2005.
“Ant is the sort of kid who on nights like this, will just refuse to be beaten – just like Ricky Hatton against Kostya Tszyu,” he said.
“I know Tszyu was an absolute legend and a step above but in comparison, this just reminds me of that.
“Even though Tszyu was coming to the end of his career, Ricky Hatton was a solid prospect and WBU champion but he’d never done anything extraordinary or hung around at that level, but the timing was absolutely perfect.”
Tszyu had only …
