Boxing Perspective: The Hitman: Our Very Own Golden Boy

There has been plenty of speculation as to where Ricky Hatton can go following his recent destruction at the hands of Manny Pacquiao.

There was a huge amount of press and fans alike that were immediately of the opinion that Hatton should retire, hang up the gloves and bow out as a former two-weight world champion and the case being that he only ever lost to the two top fighters on the planet.

The world was shocked when Hatton was floored twice in the first round by Pacquiao and put to sleep in the second, well everyone except Freddie Roach.

Most experts agreed that whilst Pacquiao would win, it would be a hard, drawn out battle of will against skill, but what we all saw was something completely different.

As Pacquiao now emerges as arguably one of the greatest fighters the Philippines have ever produced, Hatton’s career seems to be in disarray.

However, there are options out there for Hatton. If he were to retire, he would be remembered for some very special nights, i.e. Kostya Tszyu, or his thrilling stoppage of Jose Luis Castillo and some incredibly gutsy performances on a domestic level like when he out-boxed Jon Thaxton.

These were the sort of nights that secured Ricky his huge crowds, for he was never a brash, loud and arrogant fighter like Floyd Mayweather Jr, nor was he the go in, get the job done Terminator-esque typle like Miguel Cotto.

Here was a man who fought with his heart on his sleeve and a nation behind him. Moreover, the best part of all is that when the night was through, you could find the bar he was in and actually ask him how he felt the fight went over a beer!

It is safe to say that Ricky Hatton will not fight at 147lbs anymore as it is not his most efficient fighting weight, but at 140lbs what is out there for him?

Interestingly enough, several sources have come through recently and exclaimed that should Amir Khan beat Andreas Kotelnik for his WBA light welter strap in a few weeks then it could be Hatton who is being eyed up by Team Khan.

This would be clever matchmaking; it would be a huge money fight for all parties concerned. Both fighters are northerners, so could be fought at the MEN Arena in Manchester, and both camps would probably be very confident going into the fight.

Hatton’s perspective being that he could out-hustle, and bully Khan, eventually landing on Khan’s chin and we all know what happens when Amir gets caught flush. On the other side of the argument, if it is anyone in the game who has Ricky Hatton’s number, it is Mr. Roach.

Khan’s trainer would no doubt come up with a game plan to take the ‘Hitman’ out and subsequently what happened with Barrera will happen with Hatton as Khan’s hand speed is almost not of this world, and Hatton can not handle quick fisted fighters.

There is the old foe Juan Urango, a tricky customer for any fighter, not because of his slick moves and counters as Urango is definitely a methodical plodder, but gave Hatton kittens in January ’07 in a hard fought out unanimous point’s decision.

Most doubt Ricky would want to go back there. And if he did, it would be maximum risk for minimum gain.

A few of my fellow boxing lovers believe that Hatton’s punch resistance has gone, damage that was caused in the Dec ’07 mega fight with ‘Money’ Mayweather, which does make sense.

Even Hatton said that the Mayweather loss was far more devastating than the Pacquiao loss, as Mayweather systematically took him apart over 10 rounds in a boxing clinic. Before that loss Hatton had never been stopped or knocked out.

So with that in mind, we looked on toward Hatton’s next fight against Juan Lazcano in May ’08, which Hatton won via unanimous decision but was rocked at least twice and at one point was worryingly hurt. The signs were there.

The next opponent was the ‘Magic Man’ Paulie Malignaggi, who many thought would get the better of Hatton.

Quick, slick, fast of feet and hand, typically the type of opponent that would give Hatton a few problems if it wasn’t for the fact that Malignaggi has stopped only five of his opponents in a career that spans 30 odd fights, so he was never really going to hurt Hatton anyway.

The opposite happened and Hatton controlled the fight from the first to the eleventh round when Malignaggi’s trainer Buddy McGirt threw in the towel. I believe that stoppage was wrong and that Malignaggi is a good fighter who took a lot more punishment from Miguel Cotto, finished on his shield, and still wanted the re-match.

However, this entire charade not only filled the average British fight fan with anticipation and newfound valour after the Mayweather loss. It made Brits believe in our hero again, as we all put our Hatton-tinted glasses back on, the ones that made us believe he could beat Mayweather, that he could go and take on the best P4P in the world and win and that he was top of his game again…which as we all know now, wasn’t exactly true.

Hatton has started his own promotional company now, as is the case for many ‘retired’ fighters such as Calzaghe Promotions, Roy Jones Jr’s Square Ring Promotions and of course Golden Boy Promotions.

It is a natural transgression for the fighter still in love with the game but not good enough to play it at the top anymore, to now run the show and stay in contact with his beloved sport. However, if there is one thing that we all know fighters do, it is retire and then a few years down the line come back for a final pay-day.

Hatton has a domestic rival in the form of Junior Witter, who has chased The Hitman for years and years, always in Hatton’s shadow and perhaps more skillful than Hatton, as we have seen ‘The Hitter’ being a fast,accurate, effective switch-hitter. But what Witter lacks is Hatton’s heart, determination and grit.

A clash between the two is unlikely to happen as Hatton has already stated in the past that he is reluctant to give Witter his biggest pay-day as Ricky claims Junior has done nothing but bad mouth him and chase him around…make of that what you will.

Nevertheless, the opponent that toppled Witter and in doing so snatched the 140lbs WBC belt from around his waist is Timothy ‘Desert Storm’ Bradley, a fundamentally sound boxer with a wealth of amateur experience and undefeated as a pro.

Although Bradley has had the WBC belt stripped for not fighting mandatory Devon Alexander, this again does not look like a healthy option for Hatton. Bradley is full of confidence, he has a very solid chin, as seen when Kendall Holt floored him in the first round with a monumental left hook I thought he was finished only to see him rise and fully recover to reach the end of the round.

Either way Bradley would be too good, too fresh, too hungry for Hatton to take out and as for Holt, I think he will either be moving up or down in weight to secure some titles if the New Jersey State Athletic Commission re-instates his boxing license, which is another story that I will not divulge into.

There are options for Hatton in the form of Ricardo Torres, Herman Ngoudjo and Marcos Maidana. All these fights are high risk opponents, dangerous until the last bell, and seeing as Hatton has a lot of work with Golden Boy Promotions, and they have a highly touted prospect that needs a bit of limelight after a thrilling six rounds with the former fighter I mentioned, Maidana, in the distance I think we could see a ‘Vicious’ Victor Ortiz fighting Hatton.

Good business for GBP as they own both fighters, it sells in the states and the UK with the outcome not looking so good for our ‘Hitman’ but looking great for Ortiz as he needs the boost now and that’s a mighty fine name to have on the resume.

With Hatton becoming somewhat more of a celebrity figure over the past few years, the future away from boxing, which at some point will inevitably happen, does look bright. As he is in high demand in the U.K for guest appearances or often as an after dinner speaker, obviously not all fighters find this easy, Ricky finds it very easy and is a comedian through and through.

Plenty of people who have seen him have been in stitches. That has always been part of Ricky’s appeal, that he was just a local lad from down the road, never forgetting that it was his loyal army of fans that made him who he is.

Aside from after dinner speaking and guest appearances, he has set up Hatton Promotions with friend and business partner Gareth Williams, who had previously tied up all of the fight contracts and acted on behalf of Ricky countless times.

Word on the street is that they have signed Joe Murray, younger brother of former British Lightweight champion John Murray, and a former Olympian who was sadly outboxed in the first round of the competition. However, the younger Murray has bought home a silver medal in the EU amateur championships and a bronze at the world amateur championships, and is creating quite a buzz as an exciting prospect.

Hatton is also friends with other Manchester based fighters such as Jamie Moore, the current European light-middleweight champion and David Barnes, former holder of both the British light welterweight and welterweight titles. Then of course we could not forget about ‘Magic’ Matthew Hatton, Ricky’s younger brother, who had been rumoured to fight Zab Judah on the undercard of Marquez vs. Mayweather fight. Personally, I think this is risky business as it depends on what Zab steps in the ring. If it’s Zab with his A game, then he beats Matthew hands down, yet if Zab fought Ricky it could come down to something Zab might have been seen to be lacking in a few past fights and what Ricky has in abundance: heart.

Either way, Hatton looks to remain busy in and around the sport, and as afore-mentioned is a bit of a celebrity now with appearances on Friday night with Jonathan Ross, Michael Parkinson, Al Murray’s happy hour and he received an MBE for services to sport in 2007.

Ricky even had his own chat show, which aired for a while last year. All of the signs perhaps point to Ricky turning away from the game, having accomplished everything he had set out to do, doing it well and with dignity. We all however know how hard it is for the fighter to walk away from the game, which is why we will see him again but perhaps not the Hitman we all know and love.

In all honesty, it would be a shame to see Ricky hang the gloves up as he has been the biggest export in our country in terms of the sport, he never shied away from crossing the pond to test himself, he was and will always be remembered for being a brave warrior in the ring and his style of fighting is exciting but by the same token the country does not want to see our golden boy beaten up or stopped dead in his tracks like previous champions have done to him.

With only two losses on record, both coming by way of the number 1 pound for pound champions in the world at the time, Hatton e has nothing to be ashamed about and on paper, he could continue fighting for years to come but as the Ricky Hatton this country has grown to love and cherish like a son, I personally do not want to see him getting hurt or worse, seriously damaged,.

But as Ricky would himself say, ‘This is not a tickling contest’.

Whether he chooses to fight again or not, he will have the support of a nation in whatever he does, that support is unique and you can hear it around the world wherever he goes…’There’s only one Ricky Hatton!’