Ricky Hatton retains his IBO and Ring Magazine light welterweight titles with an 11th round TKO of Paulie Malignaggi.

Judges Jerry Roth, Duane Ford and Glenn Trowbridge all scored the bout 99-91 for Hatton through 10.

Hatton threw 516 punches, landing 124.
Malignaggi threw 342 punches, landing 91.

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Round 11: RH doing some good work inside. PM’s corner has thrown in the towel. Buddy McGirt stepped into the ring to stop the fight. PM is disgusted. He’s in disbelief as he pushes McGirt out of frustration. The TKO comes at 28 seconds into the 11th.
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Round 10: PM flicks the jab but isn’t landing. RH presses forward but doesn’t find a stationary target. RH lands a glancing hook. More wrestling. More holding. Short uppercut inside for RH. PM ties up RH every time he gets close. The fighters bump heads but none is worse for the wear. Not much to choose from but RH is dictating the pace and pressing the fight. RH 10-9.
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Round 9: PM lands a jab. RH lands a big lunging left hook. Bayless stops the action to have RH’s glove taped. Time in. RH lands a couple of lefts to the body. More holding. RH presses the action and lands a left for his effort. An uppercut for RH lands. PM retreats and flicks the jab. It isn’t enough to keep RH off him. PM lands a jab. RH looks frustrated as he isn’t able to land cleanly. He shakes his head as he walks back to his corner. RH 10-9.
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Round 8: RH surging ahead. PM in full retreat. PM lands a left-right. RH is following PM around the ring. RH lands a left flush to the face. PM grabs RH against the ropes. RH lands a straight left. Bayless separates the fighters. RH didn’t do much, but it’s hard to give PM a round for circling and holding. RH 10-9.
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Round 7: RH throws and misses. PM flicks the jab in retreat. PM lands a right as RH lunges. RH is stalking and winging punches. RH puts a combo together that stuns PM. PM staggers a bit and hangs on. RH lands a jab of his own. PM lands a check hook and a counter right - his best effort of the night. RH lands another jab, followed by a left hook. RH lands a lead left before the bell. RH 10-9.
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Round 6: RH comes out gunning. RH walks into a jab, and another. PM on his bicycle. RH’s doing more pushing off than punching. A RH right lands. RH lands a leaping left. PM sticks the jab. Best round of action thus far. RH slips a jab; not the second. RH feints on the way in. RH 10-9.
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Round 5: Both men hit and hold. They’re all tied up. PM is elusive, but not very offensive. A good PM jab snaps RH’s head. More holding by PM. A PM hook lands. PM snaps off another jab. RH pushes ahead but is unable to land. It’s anyones round to steal. PM 10-9.
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Round 4: PM jab lands. Another. RH swings and misses. RH is pressing the action. PM isn’t running, but he isn’t holding his ground. RH left lands flush. RH’s hook beats PM’s. PM jab. Both shoot uppercuts and miss. Both hold. RH 10-9.
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Round 3: PM jab. More wrestling. PM jab snaps RH’s head. PM moving a bit more this round. More wrestling. Body shot by PM. Better body shot by RH. Left hook by RH is the best punch of the round. Close round. RH 10-9.
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Round 2: PM lands a counter to open the second. RH lands and the crowd erupts. Bayless has his hands full tonight. RH is displaying some upper body and head movement tonight as he plows forward. RH lands a right hook. PM is jabbing in retreat. PM is rocked by a RH right. Another right has PM in trouble. RH 10-9.
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Round 1: PM lands the first blow of the night - a straight jab. RH lands a hook to the body. They’re wrestling more than they are boxing. RH digs another shot to the body. A short uppercut for RH. RH throws a right - PM ducks under. PM lands a straight right. A tight first round of action. RH 10-9.
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Kenny Bayless has given his instructions and the bell is about to sound.

Ricky Hatton enters the ring Ricky “Fatton”. He’s wearing stuffing under a make shift robe all the while dancing away and sweating to the oldies.

Paulie Malignaggi is making a slow stroll to the ring. Draped in blue, he enters the ring to a chorus of boos. “Who are ya?” the Brits want to know.

We’re moments away from the fight. Referee Kenny Bayless is in the ring. The drums are a banging and the crowd is on its feet. “There’s only one Ricky Hatton”, according to the Hitman’s legion of fans inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

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Update: James Kirkland TKO victory 1:45 of round 8.

Kirkland dropped Vera twice in the second. The first followed a right-left combination that put Vera on the canvas. The second came moments before the bell.

Halfway through the fight and Vera has absorbed a tremendous amount of punishment. He’s landing just enough counter rights to continue.
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Update: Matthew Hatton UD victory over Ben Tackie.
98-92
97-93
98-92
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What kind of fighter gives Ricky Hatton fits? Gifted boxers who can hit and not get hit. Crafty Luis Collazo nearly pulled off the upset against Hatton in 2006 when Hatton first tested the waters at welterweight. The difference in the fight may have been a 10-8 first round for Hatton. Floyd Mayweather Jr. was up big in their 2007 mega-fight before stopping Hatton in the 10th. The check-hook that floored Hatton was a thing of beauty but it was an accumulation of punishment that did in the Hitman.

Paulie Malignaggi is a boxer who can hit and not get hit. A skilled boxer who has fast hands and tireless feet, Malignaggi dominated the scorecards in wins over top jr. welterweights Edner Cherry and Lovemore N’dou in 2007. Against “The Black Panther”, Malignaggi won every round on two of the judges’ scorecards to capture N’dou’s IBF light welterweight title. But more than being a gifted boxer, Paulie Malignaggi is the strongest type of fighter. He is a mentally tough pug who knows he is in for the long haul most every time out. Malignaggi knows he doesn’t pack one-punch power; he has just five KOs in 26 outings. He also knows he is one damaging punch away from being a one-handed fighter (Malignaggi has a history of hand problems). Yet he prepares himself mentally and physically to face the biggest punchers in the division for 12 long rounds.

But is Paulie Malignaggi slick and strong enough to defeat Ricky Hatton? The same Ricky Hatton who did the unthinkable when he forced then IBF light welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu to retire on his stool? The same Ricky Hatton who out-toughed WBA Champion Carlos Maussa in 2005? Who mugged strongman Juan Urango for the IBO belt in 2007? Who overwhelmed long time lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo inside four rounds?

TSS Nation – you tell us. Will Malignaggi outbox the Hitman or will Ricky power past Paulie? On Saturday, Nov 22 we will bring you ringside, round by round coverage of the Ricky Hatton v. Paulie Malignaggi IBO jr. welterweight championship fight from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. Fight coverage will begin at 10pm ET / 7pm PT.