Thread: Hatton a living legend?

why should hatton step up? he obviously isnt a living legend yet but what makes george foreman as an earlier post suggested ! this man is the best 140 fighter in the world why should he move up ?

Originally Posted by JonesJrMayweather

I feel his best bet is to become a living legend @140 and make anyone who wants to fight him come down or up.....I wouldn't move seeing as how 140 is where all of his assests are maximized..he has the speed, power, strength, endurance, work rate, everything and if he moves up or down he loses his advantages....Think about it his record could be like 70-0 if he just wipes out everyone at the 140 from no 1. to the bottom...much more impressive than going up to 147 and lose...IMO

he needs alot more to be a living legend. Funny how a fighter is talked about being a legend only after a few fights. Even Floyd Mayweather who has not really fought many other legends except Delahoya is said to be a legend. If it was that easy everyone would be a legend. Floyd is good and I picked him to beat Oscar, but he has to do more to be considered a real legend. He is a good fighter. Exceptional. But not a legend. The fights are not there yet. If he fights Mosley and Wright and beats Cotto then that would be a step in the right direction. And Hatton still has alot to do. He has to show this dominance in another 5-10 fights.

The 140lb division during the Tszyu era was probably the strongest in boxing, he unified the title, fought the best out there and was good enough to be avoided by the likes of DLH and Mosley like the plague.
Hatton is the new king at 140 and there is no-one left for him to fight..Witter, Harris or Malignaggi do not pose a threat to him. The big fights are at Welterweight and that means Cotto or Margo or Mosley!
Hatton has a real chance of becoming the greatest fighter to ever come out of the UK, big statement i know but the opportunity is there. He is young enough and tough enough to do this, his detractors are mainly from the US who are judging him on two ordinary fights last year.
Hatton may very well lose to Cotto but what a fight it would be! Cotto would have witnessed the Castillo fight and will have some doubt planted in his head about those body shots of Hatton.
To early to call him a legend, he needs a Cotto win before that accolade is bestowed upon him.

Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

The 140lb division during the Tszyu era was probably the strongest in boxing, he unified the title, fought the best out there and was good enough to be avoided by the likes of DLH and Mosley like the plague.
Hatton is the new king at 140 and there is no-one left for him to fight..Witter, Harris or Malignaggi do not pose a threat to him. The big fights are at Welterweight and that means Cotto or Margo or Mosley!
Hatton has a real chance of becoming the greatest fighter to ever come out of the UK, big statement i know but the opportunity is there. He is young enough and tough enough to do this, his detractors are mainly from the US who are judging him on two ordinary fights last year.
Hatton may very well lose to Cotto but what a fight it would be! Cotto would have witnessed the Castillo fight and will have some doubt planted in his head about those body shots of Hatton.
To early to call him a legend, he needs a Cotto win before that accolade is bestowed upon him.

I think Hatton is on his way to being a great fighter. I just think we have to look at fighters like Tyson or Curry or McGuigan. Guys who looked great and then crashed. But he proved alot on Sat. I think his defense is better than Cotto, which is good since he cannot have bad defense against a puncher like Cotto. That would be a grueling fight. Hopefully Hatton would get used to the weight before he takes on Cotto. He might be a little too small for Welt.

Living legend?

He may be endeared to his homeland fans but he has not really accomplished enough to be considered a legend.....A win over Kostya Tszyu...Castillo and a couuple of close calls at 147 does not make a legend....Legends need that one fight to call great to go along with the other accomplishments....EG

Leonard/Hearns

Holyfield/Bowe trilogy

or to dominate other great fighters in thier prime....

Oh hell no!

Living legend?

I say, Not yet.

He must fight atleast 5 or 6 big names and win convincingly.

Big names are in welterweight and lightweight. It means he has to move up in weight, or go back down.

I think Hatton should get to fighting top top guys now. He is such a good high energy fighter now that if he gets just 2 or 3 years older it will not be there for him anymore. Too bad he cannot hold 147 like he can 140 or he would be right there in the mix. Although the really great fighters can usually move up and fight well without the weight being a factor. But that is usually the great ones who can do it. Maybe that is how he will prove his greatness. That is the one thing which lacks with the career of Marvin Hagler. Marvin should have moved up and fought Michael Spinks. Alot of people will say, well Spinks was too big. Well that is why it is a challenge. Hagler was too big for Hearns also and Hearns fought him. Virgil Hill was too big for Hearns also. Rosario was too big for Chavez maybe and Chavez overwhelmed him. That is why they are challenges. The fight Hatton should fight now is Mayweather. He would probably lose on points but that would not really hurt him in the long run. It would be a big fight and exciting.

Originally Posted by LegendBoxing65

I think Hatton should get to fighting top top guys now. He is such a good high energy fighter now that if he gets just 2 or 3 years older it will not be there for him anymore. Too bad he cannot hold 147 like he can 140 or he would be right there in the mix. Although the really great fighters can usually move up and fight well without the weight being a factor. But that is usually the great ones who can do it. Maybe that is how he will prove his greatness. That is the one thing which lacks with the career of Marvin Hagler. Marvin should have moved up and fought Michael Spinks. Alot of people will say, well Spinks was too big. Well that is why it is a challenge. Hagler was too big for Hearns also and Hearns fought him. Virgil Hill was too big for Hearns also. Rosario was too big for Chavez maybe and Chavez overwhelmed him. That is why they are challenges. The fight Hatton should fight now is Mayweather. He would probably lose on points but that would not really hurt him in the long run. It would be a big fight and exciting.

I don't see why he can not hold 147??..Self admittingly he walks around sometimes as high as 170-180 depending on how long a layoff he has...He weighed in comfortably at 140 even and all he needs is a couple extra pounds remember 140 is the limit of the Jr welters at 141 you are a welterweight and the limit for that is 147...If he so choose he could compete at that weight

I reckon Ricky must now be the biggest boxing star britain has ever produced - I know Turpin beat Sugar Ray but Hatton has really taken the US by storm. He has stopped two greats in Tszyu and Castillo. Love to see him fight Cotto - wow.

as strong as Cotto is at 147, he is yet to prove himself a destroyer of great fighters. Good ones yes, great ones no. Alot of people seem to think that Cotto would destroy Hatton at 147 but I'm not sure what gives them this Idea. Hatton at his best has been equally as devastating as Cotto, only against opposition of a higher pedigree.
In all honesty, a fight between the two would be an 8 rounder with a coin flip as to who the winner is, but it is nearly impossible to say that Hatton is massively better than Cotto, or vice versa. To say that Hatton can not cut it with Cotto only highlights the fact that you have not really watched him fight.

Julio Cesar Chavez, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, Wilfredo Gomez, Wilfred Benitez, all those are living legends, Cotto and Hatton haven't done enough in their careers to be called legends, IMO Hatton will lose to all the elite fighters 147 and up, so him calling out PBF and even more so DLH is crazy

Originally Posted by Memphis

I dont think so. For a long time now Hatton V Cotto has been a mouthwatering prospect and it needs to happen. Rick should be the one to step out of his comfort zone and tackle him head on. If he loses so be it, but he loses safe in the knowledge that he took on the toughest challenge available. Id rather he do that than wipe the floor with good, but not exceptional competition at 140lbs.

Memphis I'm just gonna say I second the motion here.
I agree 100% and these are me thoughts exactly...

He's not there yet, but a few more quality wins & who knows

Originally Posted by DaxxKahn

Originally Posted by LegendBoxing65

I think Hatton should get to fighting top top guys now. He is such a good high energy fighter now that if he gets just 2 or 3 years older it will not be there for him anymore. Too bad he cannot hold 147 like he can 140 or he would be right there in the mix. Although the really great fighters can usually move up and fight well without the weight being a factor. But that is usually the great ones who can do it. Maybe that is how he will prove his greatness. That is the one thing which lacks with the career of Marvin Hagler. Marvin should have moved up and fought Michael Spinks. Alot of people will say, well Spinks was too big. Well that is why it is a challenge. Hagler was too big for Hearns also and Hearns fought him. Virgil Hill was too big for Hearns also. Rosario was too big for Chavez maybe and Chavez overwhelmed him. That is why they are challenges. The fight Hatton should fight now is Mayweather. He would probably lose on points but that would not really hurt him in the long run. It would be a big fight and exciting.

I don't see why he can not hold 147??..Self admittingly he walks around sometimes as high as 170-180 depending on how long a layoff he has...He weighed in comfortably at 140 even and all he needs is a couple extra pounds remember 140 is the limit of the Jr welters at 141 you are a welterweight and the limit for that is 147...If he so choose he could compete at that weight

well let's see how effective he fights there. Seems like the problem is not the weight as much as the size. He seems to be an average 140 pounded , if not more on the small side of 140.. that is the problem with fighting a guy like Margarito. Margarito would have a pretty big advantage in size. But it would be interesting to see if Hatton could overcome what all great fighters had to.

Mayweather fight CAN'T happen imo, Mayweather is too big now. If Hatton wants to become a great he does need to move up to 147, but I think Cotto has the edge at 147 and Mosely will be way too strong - after all he has been fighting 12 rounds with the likes of Winky - Tony Not sure?