JAMES ‘Jimmy Joe’ Flint made it 2-0 against Campbell Hatton, winning a unanimous decision after 10 rounds of sweat and guts. Flint had taken a split decision win in their first encounter back in March and he repeated the trick here in more emphatic fashion as the judges all recorded in his favour. Michael Alexander had it 97-94, Bob Williams 96-94 and John Latham 96-95 all for ‘The Young Lion’.
Following a frantic start, Hatton was cut in round two from a head clash and the image of blood flowing from his left eye was reminiscent of his famous father, who suffered a fair few cuts of his own. Hatton piled on the pressure at the close of the third round but Flint landed some clean blows in reply. That sequence summed up the flow of the bout as Flint answered every one of Campbell’s frenzied flurries.
Flint’s accuracy worked for him as Hatton’s stationary head offered an open target and Campbell had been visibly rocked on several occasions.
Encouraged by his vocal corner, Flint was warming into it by the middle rounds, landing spiteful shots inside as Hatton attempted to raise the pace. The heads were clanging together frequently as the sixth round drew to a close.
“Hatton is just running out of ideas here,” suggested former world champion Andy Lee at the end of round seven. Kerry Kayes beavered away on Hatton’s cut around the left eyebrow. In the ring, the 23-year-old ‘Hurricane’ was shipping shots and struggling. A flush right uppercut sent the head spinning in round nine.
With his left eye virtually clamped shut, Flint’s bodywork made the difference over 10 rounds as he dragged his own tiring frame over the line. Flint is now 15-2-2 (3 KOs) while Hatton falls to 14-2 (5 KOs).
