No ducking about – Blaney took to pros like duck to water says Hatton

Ricky Hatton knows a thing or two about the fight game and, having watched Chris Blaney in action on Saturday night, ‘The Hitman’ is predicting big things for the Navan man.

The recent Elite finalist made a seamless transition in the professional ranks on Saturday night, knocking out his Czech opponent in under two rounds.

The Navan super middleweight dropped David Bauza twice before a series of heavy hooks forced the Czech’s corner to throw in the towel.

Pre-fight, ‘The Ginja Ninja’ had revealed that former two-weight World champion Hatton had been working on converting him from a successful amateur to a focused professional. Now, having watched Blaney seamlessly make the transition, the British fight legend, who hopes to run more shows in Ireland alongside FS Promotions, was impressed to say the least.

“Chris took the pros like a duck to water,” said the trainer. “He did everything we told him to before the fight and got the guy out of there quickly. I’m made up with his performance.”

“Because he had such a glittering amateur career he’d been used to fighting in that whirlwind style, but we got him to take sit down on his punches more and he put our plan in place perfectly.”

“Obviously this was only his first pro fight and there’ll be tougher fights down the road, but I think he’s given everyone a little taste of his potential. I’m expecting big things from him.”