Q and A with Ricky Hatton

www.fightnews.com

May 11, 2006

By "Irish" Patrick Kelley

Photo: Emily Harney
Monday evening I was invited to be an in studio guest on the "Mouthpice" boxing radio show, which is aired from the 1510 AM radio station in suburban Boston. It was immediately apparent that the hosts of the show were more than pleased to have a Fightnews scribe join them, as they informed me that they would be having a special guest on the show that night. I was excited enough about doing the broadcast, arriving at the studio about a half hour early to go over final preparations for the broadcast. However, it wasn't until I finally discovered who the actual guest would be that I realized how truly fortunate I was. The elevator doors opened and there stood before me the evening's important invitee, Ricky "Hitman" Hatton.

Hatton, the unbeaten former IBF / WBA junior welterweight champ, had also arrived early, thus giving me the chance to speak with the champ without the throng of people one might typically expect around the champ. Astonishingly enough, the man who has always impressed me so much with his dominant and entertaining performances within the ring, impressed me even more in person. Hatton was truly one of the friendliest and down to earth people I have ever met. Hatton actually takes pride in the fact that his personality has never been affected by his ring success, stating, "Despite everything that's changed in my life, I'm still the same person and I'll always be this way. It would kill me if people ever thought different." His soft-spoken and happy demeanor would never even offer one a hint that this is the same man who, inside the ring, can be such a devastating and tenacious human being.

This Saturday night Ricky Hatton's alter-ego, "Hitman" if you will, will present itself once again, when he takes on WBA welterweight champ, Luis Collazo, at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. In the 12-round world championship bout, Hatton will be making his long awaited American headlining debut. It will be his first bout on American soil, since his second round knockout of Gilbert Quiros back in 2000, and just the third of his career.

Hatton, a lifelong Manchester, England resident, began boxing at age 10, and amassed 70 wins in 75 fights while winning eight national amateur titles. After hooking up with trainer Billy Graham, Hatton took to the pro ranks where he has now stockpiled an astounding record of 40 wins, no losses, and 30 knockouts. He captured the WBU junior welterweight title in September, 2001, and made 15 successful defenses of his crown. Then, in June 2005, Hatton did the unthinkable when he forced the long reigning champion Kostya Tszyu to resign on his stool following the eleventh round, thus earning himself the IBF championship and world-wide recognition. Last November Hatton's challenged WBA champ Carlos Maussa for his junior welterweight title. Hatton would dominate the fight until his ever powerful left hook would force Maussa to the canvas in the ninth round. Maussa would be unable to beat the ten-count, and "Hitman" would add yet another belt to his waistline.

While Hatton is undoubtedly favored in Saturday's title fight, the southpaw style of the taller, naturally bigger, and lankier Collazo will offer the "Hitman" a legitimate challenge in his quest to earn the super welterweight title. Here is what Ricky Hatton, the Ring 2005 Fighter of the Year, had to say about his trek to America and his upcoming bout with the WBA welterweight champion, Luis Collazo...

How do you feel to be headlining your first fight in America, at the Garden in Boston?

Absolutely over the moon! It's the second time I've been here, a little over four weeks ago for the press conference. It's a great city with a great boxing tradition, and it's a great fight town here. Maybe not so much in recent years, so it's nice to try and bring big time boxing back to Boston. So, I hope it's a big night and a great success. I'll give you one hell of a show, that's for certain. Maybe Boston can come in to it's own, so that it can compete with New York and Las Vegas and places like that.

Is this fight a means of showcasing your talent to the American boxing public?

Yeah, definitely. I won the American Sports Writers' Fighter of the year, I've been The Ring champion, and the first ever Brit to win The Ring's Fighter of the Year, and I've achieved all this without actually fighting big fights in the states. And I'm just hoping that me career should go on to be even bigger than it is already.

How important is it to you that you perform well in your first big fight in the U.S.?

More than anything in the world. I'm a British fighter, and me popularity is quite big in England, so the next plan is to try and become as big over here in the States. I want to be a fighter who is as popular in the States as he is back home.

What do you know about Luis Collazo?

He's a good fighter, good boxer. He's very versatile. He can stand in and mix it up, and he can also jab and move and show good angles. He showed he can dig deep, as well, in the fight with Rivera in which he won the title. He's probably one of them guys who are difficult to look good against, but Ricky Hatton's got the tools to do the job. You want to keep him on the ropes, cut the ring down, keep him working. You can't just run steam into someone who's got the ability of Luis Collazo, because he can pick you off and outbox you. There's got to be a bit of a method to the madness, and I know I can do that. I don't think Luis knows I can, so it might shock him.

How will you handle his southpaw style?

Well, there's not a lot of southpaws out there, so it does make it a little bit more tricky, especially in the first couple rounds. I mean I had 80 fights as an amateur, which is quite a lot back in England, and forty fights as a professional and I've always handled southpaws very well. So, no I'm not worried. Obviously, it will probably cause one or two headaches or problems being in with a southpaw, but no I'm not too worried.

Collazo is a bit taller, and has a longer reach. Does that change anything, since your style typically calls for you to get right inside on your opponent?

Well, a lot of people are thinking that, and Luis is thinking that. He thinks I'm just going to come in and throw the body punches and attack, and stuff like that. Don't get me wrong, that is what I do best, so when I can do it against a certain style of opponent I always try and do that. But, I've shown against fighters like Ben Tackie, Eamonn Magee, and Ray Oliveira where I've just outboxed them round after round, broke them open, then stopped them. There's a lot more to me than what everybody thinks. They think the way I fought Carlos Maussa and the way I fought Kostya Tszyu is the way I fight all the time, but it's not the case. Those were the tactics against that style of opponent. A different style of opponent deserves different tactics, and I can show I've got different tactics in me. I like the way Luis saying that I only know one way to fight, and if he's thinking that it's going to be a shock to his system.

How much different do you feel your training went with the extra seven pounds allotted to you?

If the training's anything to go by I think I'm going to be a better welterweight than I was a junior welterweight, which is absolutely fantastic. Time will tell when the bell goes, because they are going to be naturally bigger than what I've been used to.

Do you think you will carry even more power as a result of the move up?

Yeah, I feel a little more powerful, and faster. But, having said that, the guys I'm boxing are going to be naturally bigger than them at 140, but I'm not worried. I pick me physically, strength-wise, over any welterweight out there.

What will determine at what weight Ricky Hatton fights next?

It doesn't matter. This was a sensible move, because there's so many big names moving up to welter from junior welter, so I think this fight against Luis is a good move. A win here should open up matches against the other big names in the welterweight division, like Mayweather, Gatti, Judah, and people like that. To be honest, I can do both weights, so if a fight with Cotto was offered back at 140, or the winner of Castillo - Corrales, or something like that, then I'd move straight back down. I'm not really bothered by what weights the fights are at now, it's more about who they're against. The size of the challenge is more important to me.

Billy Graham says he keeps waiting for you to reach your peak, yet you continue to get better every training camp. Do you feel as though you are in your prime right now?

Yeah, I mean as well as I've done it boxing. Twenty-seven is round about the age where you should come into your prime, your best. So, if last year was supposed to be a good one, by all the accolades I won, this year I'm expected to be better then.

After all your accomplishments thus far, do you ever have a hard time motivating yourself?

You know, people always say 'has any complacency has set in, have you still got the hunger?' Of course I have the hunger! I want to become champion at two different weights, I want to fight in the United States, like I'm doing Saturday. I want to do Madison Square Garden, Las Vegas. I want to fight the best pound for pound in boxing, like Mayweather and De La Hoya and people like that. So, I've got plenty of hunger there!

What's your prediction for Saturday's fight?

Forty-one and "0". Forty-one fights, forty-one wins. No disrespect to Luis, he's a great fighter, he's very very tricky, and he's going to give me a few headaches in there, but if I box to the best of my ability I don't think it matters what Luis can do.