Lovemore N'dou and Matthew Hatton fought to a draw in England. N'dou retained his IBO welterweight title. (Photo via images.sportinglife.com)

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Lovemore N'dou retained his IBO welterweight title today after drawing with Matthew Hatton in England. Official scores were 115-114 N'dou, 115-114 Hatton and 114-114. Bad Left Hook (between Brick and myself covering about half the fight each) had it for N'dou 116-112, but from what I could tell, the draw isn't really controversial.

Truth be told, neither man looked particularly sharp or anything close to world class. N'dou (47-11-2, 31 KO) hadn't sparred in five weeks after suffering a cut in training that threatened to cancel the bout, and Hatton (37-4-2, 14 KO) just wasn't able to show that he's made any truly major strides under Lee Beard. There is no doubt that the 28-year-old Hatton has gotten better, but he remains a rather ordinary fighter, a journeyman-type with a famous last name. He's got heart to burn and is a quite likable sort, but it's just not there. Neither he nor Ricky are particularly naturally skilled, but Ricky has/had far more power and just picked up on things better, it would seem.

I'm not bashing Matthew at all. Again, I like him and have nothing in the world against him, but N'dou is 38, looked rusty in there, and is the sort of fighter one should beat if one is going to make any great leaps in boxing. Hatton couldn't do it.

It wouldn't surprise me at all to see a rematch come about. The fight had trouble just getting made from N'dou's side, and Lovemore showed guts sticking with the fight and having it come off. Both will probably feel there's unfinished business. I'd have to favor a properly-trained N'dou were a rematch to come about, because I don't see Matthew getting any better than he is, and he was able to benefit from Lovemore being sloppy in there.

On the undercard, a fight between knockaround guys Cello Renda and Phil Samuels stole the show for the evening. Samuels (20-7-2, 12 KO) was knocked down in the first, but both of them went down on mirror left hooks in the second round, the ever-rare double knockdown. Samuels stormed Renda and stopped him in the third. It was all action. Terrific fight. Renda is now 18-8-1 (11).

In a crossroads bout, Scott Lawton (27-5-1, 6 KO) scored a rare stoppage by getting Derry Matthews (21-4, 11 KO) out in the sixth. Matthews, 26, has now lost four of his last five, all by knockout. To say he's hit a rough patch is a great understatement.

Gary Buckland (17-1, 6 KO) was sensational in a first-round stoppage of Istvan Hangy (12-6, 7 KO).

This show starts in a bit over 20 minutes on Sky Sports in the UK, and Bad Left Hook will bring you live results, round-by-round coverage and scoring, and instant analysis on the main event between Lovemore N'dou and Matthew Hatton, as well as whatever comes up on the undercard. The show actually has a quite nice undercard, but I'm never certain what Sky's going to actually put on TV.

Should be a fun fight, really, as I expect even if he's outgunned (as some expect), Matthew's going to leave it all in the ring trying to grab a title. Remember, to the Hattons, the IBO title is legit. Ricky's held their belts on numerous occasions, while always being more than willing to give up any other body's belt to pursue what he felt were better opportunities than their mandatory challengers.

LOVEMORE N'DOU		MATTHEW HATTON
	Main Event

Matthew Hatton and Lovemore N'dou meet tomorrow in Stoke. (AP Photo/Andrew Matthews)

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Magical night for Hattons (Sky Sports)
Matthew Hatton intends to show just how good he is on Friday night when he bids to take the IBO welterweight title from Lovemore N'dou.

Lovemore is king of the ring (The Daily Telegraph)
Australian boxing's ultimate road warrior Lovemore Ndou was born on the date Elvis Presley died - August 16 - and, like the King, he made his name in Las Vegas.

Hatton all set for IBO title bout (BBC Sport)
Matthew Hatton says preparations for his IBO welterweight title bout against Lovemore N'Dou have gone well.

Hatton out of the shadows (Manchester Evening News)
Matthew Hatton insists he's never been jealous of older brother Ricky's success.

N'dou ready for Hatton (Fightnews)
IBO welterweight champion Lovemore "Black Panther" Ndou has arrived in England and is ready to defend his title against Matthew Hatton.

Haye's win over Valuev doesn't end doubts (FOX Sports)
Oli Smith talks about David Haye's win over Nikolai Valuev. Title speaks for itself, really.

Legendary boxer Chávez opens restaurant (AZCentral.com)
Hundreds of fans came from all over to see one of Mexico's icons, Julio César Chávez, a six-time world champion boxer, during the debut of his dining and family entertainment venue.

DMX Steps Out, Coolio Takes Over in Celebrity Boxing Match (The L Magazine)
Long story short: DMX had an MMA fight scheduled in Alabama, home of all the world's classiest fight events, then demanded that the fight be fixed. As promoters refused to back down, DMX was pulled from the event and replaced by ... Coolio. You have a collect call from Coolio!

This Friday, Matthew Hatton gets the chance to step out of his brother's shadow a bit. He faces Lovemore N'dou in England. (Photo via images.sportinglife.com)

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In the enormous shadow of Saturday's Cotto-Pacquiao mega fight, it would be hard for the boxing world to pay much attention to any other fight this weekend. But on Friday from England on Sky Sports, a promising scrap will take place.

In Stoke, it will be Lovemore N'dou (holder of the semi-recognized IBO welterweight title) taking on Matthew Hatton, younger brother of the world-famous Ricky, in a fight that won't lack any for heart or determination, even if it doesn't pit the talent or fame of the Vegas main event the next night.

N'dou (47-11-1, 31 KO) is a 38-year old South African who lives in and fights out of Australia these days. He is likely best known to American fans as a former 140-pound contender and titleholder. In 2004, he lost a fairly competitive decision to a then-unbeaten Miguel Cotto, and had two televised fights in 2007 and 2008 against Paulie Malignaggi. Malignaggi routed N'dou the first time, but as the incoming titlist exercised his rematch clause. You probably recall that the second fight was infamous for Malignaggi's ill-advised hair extensions and a far more competitive bout than the first go-'round, paired with Ricky Hatton's comeback in Manchester against Juan Lazcano. That fight led to Hatton-Malignaggi, of course.

N'dou is fighting with the hope of landing Matthew's brother (a longshot) or his countryman, welterweight titleholder Isaac Hlatshwayo. He also had strong words for his Friday opponent:

"I don't think he's anything special. I'm going to expose him next Friday and make him realise he's still a donkey and he doesn't belong in the ring with me," Ndou said.

The younger Hatton (37-4-1, 14 KO) is simply not his brother. Never has been, never will be. At 28, he's certainly improved over the years, but those improvements have made "Magic" a C+ fighter at best.

Still, there's no denying his heart, courage or passion. He was set to take on the far more talented Zab Judah on two dates this year, but Judah for one reason or another pulled out. Hatton then looked to N'dou for a chance at a trinket and a potential bigger fight on down the line.

Last November, N'dou moved up to 147 pounds to take on the returning Kermit Cintron in Tennessee. The fight was off television on the Jermain Taylor-Jeff Lacy undercard, and from all live reports, was a truly ugly affair. But N'dou was one of but four men who have lost to Cintron yet gone the scheduled distance with him as well, proving his chin at the higher weight. In July of this year, Lovemore fought Phillip N'dou (no relation), beating his fellow South African on the cards.

Hatton's best work has been in his last few fights. With wins over veterans Ben Tackie, Ernesto Zepda and Ted Bami, he's made his case as ready to take that next step up. N'dou represents that. It's now or never for Matthew. He has also felt better training with Lee Beard than he did for years with Billy Graham:

“When you look at my record I’ve had four defeats,” he says, “but I only feel I’ve been legitimately beaten once and that was against Craig Watson last year. I don’t blame anyone but myself for that but I wasted a lot of years training with Ricky at Billy Graham’s gym. I enjoyed training with Ricky but Billy was doing nothing with me. I was almost training myself.

“So after the Watson defeat I thought, ‘I’m going nowhere here. I’ve got to do something for myself now’ and I left the gym and joined Lee Beard. I’ve had four good wins since the move and feel my career is just starting.”

Neither man is quite world class, but neither can afford the loss, either. Expect spirited action, a potentially fitting lead-in for the main course on Saturday. Bad Left Hook will bring live coverage of N'dou-Hatton starting at 5pm ET on Friday afternoon.