Hatton needs to get rid of Graham

Having just watched the fight, I noticed two clear problems with Hatton.

Firstly, his general conditioning and ability to take a punch. He used to walk through punches, but seems to struggle alot. This to me is due in many ways to his lifestyle. His team should be making sure that between fights, and I mean for the next two years, he is in pretty much in a training camp lifestyle with his diet and general conditioning. He should not be abouve 150lbs between fights and should be having virtually no alcohol. This may give his body a chance to do what he wants it to do.

Secondly, his trainers need to take some accountability. Yet again they do not give him a strong plan. I mean what the hell are they saying to him? "your reach is not long enough so we want you to lead with your face" :confused:
I mean where the hell is the jab??? It is not a complicated punch, he used to use it frequently and in his last four fights he has just completely ignored it and lead with his head.

Billy Graham needs dumped imo because he has allowed this to develope. Hatton needs somebody who will tear him to pieces if he steps out of line, both between fights and in training, Graham seems like he wants to be mates and that is just not working.

Well, another frustrating Hatton fight. He will become another Gatti if he isn't careful. Two years of dicipline and he can call it a day on a high, otherwise he will get sparked again. It's a shame, as a person and an entertainer he is great, but as an athlete he is poor, his friends from the United team at ringside, Rio especially, could give him a lesson in the lifestyle required to be physically at your peak at 29 years of age.

Some nice points.
I was making a similar point in a previous post ,about why Ricky clinches alot of late , and i think its as you say his battle with the LBS is taking its toll on his body.
Which in turn is effecting his punch resistance , he was good last night , but wide open to punches .
Like all fighters who are come forward types ( Jeff Fenech etc ) , the wheels generally fall off fast , and Ricky is looking a bit worn now.
I like Hatton alot and I'm sure he will entertain us few more times yet , but it is inevitable that not to far down the road the Hatton bandwagon will come to a grinding holt.

think is hatton has to want to stay fit between fights you cant blame that on billy

i do agree tho i think he should stay fit between fights i think it would help him alot

You can get away with the indiscipline earlier in life but as his body gets older he is not going to be able to keep putting this sort of pressure on himself. He has got a couple of years left in him so why not just make the sacrifice and keep the weight off, and save all the partying until after he has retired. He doesn't have to live like a monk just be sensible about it.

Ricky needs a few more skills he seems to have drifted away from his boxing ability and looks to be just jumping into his shots rather than working his way in like he used to. I am not sure changing trainers at this time of life/career will be a great move, just him and Billy need to sit down and talk about making a few changes in their preparation. Adding some new drills his body is getting too used to doing the same thing over and over, and it is not having the same effect as it used too.

In regard to keeping himself in shape between fights that is down to one person alone and that is Ricky Hatton. Billy is not his babysitter, he is a professional athlete.

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Originally Posted by hackey

Having just watched the fight, I noticed two clear problems with Hatton.

Firstly, his general conditioning and ability to take a punch. He used to walk through punches, but seems to struggle alot. This to me is due in many ways to his lifestyle. His team should be making sure that between fights, and I mean for the next two years, he is in pretty much in a training camp lifestyle with his diet and general conditioning. He should not be abouve 150lbs between fights and should be having virtually no alcohol. This may give his body a chance to do what he wants it to do.

Secondly, his trainers need to take some accountability. Yet again they do not give him a strong plan. I mean what the hell are they saying to him? "your reach is not long enough so we want you to lead with your face" :confused:
I mean where the hell is the jab??? It is not a complicated punch, he used to use it frequently and in his last four fights he has just completely ignored it and lead with his head.

Billy Graham needs dumped imo because he has allowed this to develope. Hatton needs somebody who will tear him to pieces if he steps out of line, both between fights and in training, Graham seems like he wants to be mates and that is just not working.

Well, another frustrating Hatton fight. He will become another Gatti if he isn't careful. Two years of dicipline and he can call it a day on a high, otherwise he will get sparked again. It's a shame, as a person and an entertainer he is great, but as an athlete he is poor, his friends from the United team at ringside, Rio especially, could give him a lesson in the lifestyle required to be physically at your peak at 29 years of age.

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Thats a good post,and completly agree!

Hatton's problem is not his trainer.

He's a limited fighter who's approaching 30 years old and has been in multiple wars and has killed himself to make weight many times. A new trainer isn't going to fix that. Hatton is what he is.

a change of trainer would have no affect on Hatton at this stage of his career.

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Originally Posted by SweetPea

Hatton's problem is not his trainer.

He's a limited fighter who's approaching 30 years old and has been in multiple wars and has killed himself to make weight many times. A new trainer isn't going to fix that. Hatton is what he is.

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Originally Posted by ds91

a change of trainer would have no affect on Hatton at this stage of his career.

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I'm with PEA and DS91. Hatton won't significantly improve fighting for someone else.

Hes had 45 professional fights and 44 wins with Billy. At this point in his career change is not a good thing because even if he makes some mistakes in the ring, hes obviously has a lot of sucess doing what hes doing. He would have lost to PBF no matter who his trainers is and that being his only loss, id say hes done very well with Graham.

I think you hit most of the valid point's on the head Hacky except you can not blame Graham for the outside the ring lifestyle of Hatton. Ricky is going to do what Ricky wants to do, Graham is his trainer not his babysitter.

I understand there are a lot of Ricky Hatton fans on these boards but truth is Hatton is not that good of a fighter. His boxing ability is mediocre at best. It is his ability to keep a grueling pace and absorb a good deal of punishment that has brought Hatton to where he is. Ricky is the type of guy you want to avoid in a street fight but in a boxing ring he can be figured out by top notch boxers.

If Hatton faced any top level boxers of the past like Pernell Whitaker for example that could avoid his bull rush he would lose. He is not really a strong fighter, he uses quantity to break a man down. With his style being that of a guy who needs to be in the mix to win eventually the toll is taken. That is what we are seeing now. A fighter who has taken too much abuse in the ring and a fighter who does not make sure he is kept in top notch condition outside the ring.

There is no one to blame but Hatton himself. Billy has done a great job, Hatton has had great success but it can't go on forever.

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Originally Posted by Put Em' Up

I think you hit most of the valid point's on the head Hacky except you can not blame Graham for the outside the ring lifestyle of Hatton. Ricky is going to do what Ricky wants to do, Graham is his trainer not his babysitter.

I understand there are a lot of Ricky Hatton fans on these boards but truth is Hatton is not that good of a fighter. His boxing ability is mediocre at best. It is his ability to keep a grueling pace and absorb a good deal of punishment that has brought Hatton to where he is. Ricky is the type of guy you want to avoid in a street fight but in a boxing ring he can be figured out by top notch boxers.

If Hatton faced any top level boxers of the past like Pernell Whitaker for example that could avoid his bull rush he would lose. He is not really a strong fighter, he uses quantity to break a man down. With his style being that of a guy who needs to be in the mix to win eventually the toll is taken. That is what we are seeing now. A fighter who has taken too much abuse in the ring and a fighter who does not make sure he is kept in top notch condition outside the ring.

There is no one to blame but Hatton himself. Billy has done a great job, Hatton has had great success but it can't go on forever.

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I agree with pretty much everything here. Good post. I rate his ability slightly higher than you do, but yeh very good post,

When Hatton beat Tszyu I was concerned it was one of those emotional highs that he would never be able to duplicate . He walked through everything trhat night but was he really that good ?

His only impressive win since was over a washed up Castillo and now fighters who arent known as bangers are hurting him like Collazzo and Floyd . i think we may have seen the best of him so blame cant fall on the trainer.

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Originally Posted by ono

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Originally Posted by Put Em' Up

I think you hit most of the valid point's on the head Hacky except you can not blame Graham for the outside the ring lifestyle of Hatton. Ricky is going to do what Ricky wants to do, Graham is his trainer not his babysitter.

I understand there are a lot of Ricky Hatton fans on these boards but truth is Hatton is not that good of a fighter. His boxing ability is mediocre at best. It is his ability to keep a grueling pace and absorb a good deal of punishment that has brought Hatton to where he is. Ricky is the type of guy you want to avoid in a street fight but in a boxing ring he can be figured out by top notch boxers.

If Hatton faced any top level boxers of the past like Pernell Whitaker for example that could avoid his bull rush he would lose. He is not really a strong fighter, he uses quantity to break a man down. With his style being that of a guy who needs to be in the mix to win eventually the toll is taken. That is what we are seeing now. A fighter who has taken too much abuse in the ring and a fighter who does not make sure he is kept in top notch condition outside the ring.

There is no one to blame but Hatton himself. Billy has done a great job, Hatton has had great success but it can't go on forever.

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I agree with pretty much everything here. Good post. I rate his ability slightly higher than you do, but yeh very good post,

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I rate Hatton up there currently not to would make me look like a fool. The man has lost only to the best fighter in the business. I am trying to be honest about him though. I enjoy watching him fight I really do the guy is exciting.

My Father called him a poor mans Aaron Pryor a while back with the way he just keeps coming at you. It is just the shelf life of that style expires if there is not much else to go with it.

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Originally Posted by Put Em' Up

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Originally Posted by ono

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Originally Posted by Put Em' Up

I think you hit most of the valid point's on the head Hacky except you can not blame Graham for the outside the ring lifestyle of Hatton. Ricky is going to do what Ricky wants to do, Graham is his trainer not his babysitter.

I understand there are a lot of Ricky Hatton fans on these boards but truth is Hatton is not that good of a fighter. His boxing ability is mediocre at best. It is his ability to keep a grueling pace and absorb a good deal of punishment that has brought Hatton to where he is. Ricky is the type of guy you want to avoid in a street fight but in a boxing ring he can be figured out by top notch boxers.

If Hatton faced any top level boxers of the past like Pernell Whitaker for example that could avoid his bull rush he would lose. He is not really a strong fighter, he uses quantity to break a man down. With his style being that of a guy who needs to be in the mix to win eventually the toll is taken. That is what we are seeing now. A fighter who has taken too much abuse in the ring and a fighter who does not make sure he is kept in top notch condition outside the ring.

There is no one to blame but Hatton himself. Billy has done a great job, Hatton has had great success but it can't go on forever.

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I agree with pretty much everything here. Good post. I rate his ability slightly higher than you do, but yeh very good post,

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I rate Hatton up there currently not to would make me look like a fool. The man has lost only to the best fighter in the business. I am trying to be honest about him though. I enjoy watching him fight I really do the guy is exciting.

My Father called him a poor mans Aaron Pryor a while back with the way he just keeps coming at you. It is just the shelf life of that style expires if there is not much else to go with it.

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Yeh it's best to take him for what he is, and enjoy him while we can.