What will Hatton's legacy be?

I was reading another thread and saw a post by Lefty saying if he beats Malignaggi, "...his legacy will be set" or something similar. That got me to thinking about what exactly his legacy will be, and I couldn't really come up with a concrete answer.

My initial thought was that he'd go down as arguably a top 5 LWW, but the more I think about it the less sure I am that the majority of other people share that opinion.

So, assuming he beats Malignaggi, and maybe Bradley, how will Hatton be remembered?

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Originally Posted by CFH

I was reading another thread and saw a post by Lefty saying if he beats Malignaggi, "...his legacy will be set" or something similar. That got me to thinking about what exactly his legacy will be, and I couldn't really come up with a concrete answer.

My initial thought was that he'd go down as arguably a top 5 LWW, but the more I think about it the less sure I am that the majority of other people share that opinion.

So, assuming he beats Malignaggi, and maybe Bradley, how will Hatton be remembered?

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I think you got it spot on really a top 5 LWW of all time, who's best win was against Kostya Tszyu, who was old and ring rusty but still a good fighter. And probably one of the best British fighters of all time aswell, i think he has had a good career personally but he shouldn't have called out Mayweather and should of stayed at LWW........

I think Hatton will always be remembered by the British fans even the non hardcore ones he has a massive fan base over here similar to how Bruno, Benn, did. Maybe not as much outside the UK but i still think he will be remembered by the American's because he has fought over there few times.

I Suppose he might have a legacy not unlike Barry McGuigan? Beat a long time champion who was probably on the downside. won a couple of inconsequential fights after that.

Top 5 LWW? Nah maybe top 10 though. Aside from all those who fought at LWW who would have kicked his ass (IMO of course), one should also consider those who leapfrogged from lightweight directly to welterweight as comparisons. Such as Mosely and Duran, among others. Otherwise a top all time LWW ranking really doesn't mean squat.

Hatton needs a real Marquee win against his name to cement his legacy.
Beating an old Tszyu isn't enough, he was totally outclassed against Mayweather and Hatton needs a win against a Pac or Marquez.
He blew his chance of fighting and beating Witter in what would have been the biggest fight in recent British history, so he will fight and beat Malignaggi who is well short of the 1st division. So where does that leave Hatton? Up shit creek without a paddle!

Gotta give credit where credit is due, if he beats the Magic Man (which he should). He will be the best 140 lber of this era. I honestly think he will be obscure to casual American boxing fans in 5 years time, but will be remembered fondly by a majority of Mancunians and by far and large most casual boxing fans in the UK. Overall in the scheme of things at 140 a very good case could be made for having him at 3rd or 4th.

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Originally Posted by killersheep

Gotta give credit where credit is due, if he beats the Magic Man (which he should). He will be the best 140 lber of this era. I honestly think he will be obscure to casual American boxing fans in 5 years time, but will be remembered fondly by a majority of Mancunians and by far and large most casual boxing fans in the UK. Overall in the scheme of things at 140 a very good case could be made for having him at 3rd or 4th.

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Well put, if he unifies at 140lb in 2009 then i have him 4th behind Pryor, Tszyu and Chavez. What worries me is his size, did you see him at ringside next to DLH at the Marquez V Casamayor fight? Looked like he cleaned house at McDonalds!! He must have been close to 160lb???

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

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Originally Posted by killersheep

Gotta give credit where credit is due, if he beats the Magic Man (which he should). He will be the best 140 lber of this era. I honestly think he will be obscure to casual American boxing fans in 5 years time, but will be remembered fondly by a majority of Mancunians and by far and large most casual boxing fans in the UK. Overall in the scheme of things at 140 a very good case could be made for having him at 3rd or 4th.

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Well put, if he unifies at 140lb in 2009 then i have him 4th behind Pryor, Tszyu and Chavez. What worries me is his size, did you see him at ringside next to DLH at the Marquez V Casamayor fight? Looked like he cleaned house at McDonalds!! He must have been close to 160lb???

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#4? Really? Here's a few other guys who won titles at LWW that you may wish to consider. You could argue that any one of this bunch could have more than held their own against Hatton at 140. Depends how you evaluate them I guess.

Oscar de la Hoya
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pernell Whitaker
Wilfred Benitez
Antonio Cervantes

He goes down as one of the most popular and exciting boxers in British history

Who pulled it all out of the bag to beat Kostya

as far as all time great and or even top 5 I don't think he had the competition go guarantee a spot there

Unfortunately for Hatton 140 has been a bit sparse of talent since KT and the move to welter never suited him if he could have got hold of Zab or Cotto a few years ago he would have a much more impressive resume

Still one of my favourites

After Hatton beats Paulie he will also go down as coming back well from a loss. After getting knoked people will say oh he came back and won a world title against the number 2 ranked prime fighter in the division. That looks good. A true champion is someone who can rebound from a loss. Unlike a certain someone *cough* Naseem ;)

At this point in time he would be remembered like Naz... his career to this point is almost a mirror image.

beating some old legends
beating some present champs
some easy defences.

splitting up with his promoter then his trainer.

getting beat by a prime p4p.

BUT.. this next fight is a key fight... if he loses he will be forgotten pretty quickly, and if he wins its all down to what he does from there.

the only difference with him and Naz is Naz was hated and Ricky is loved to bits by his fans.

and lefty has a point about Naz quitting BUT once he lost he couldn't get the kinda money he was used to and gave up... RICKY STILL CAN see the sellout last fight.

and also with Naz it was around the 9/11 and that would have played a big part on him not fighting on with the tention around that time ;)

So for me at this point he is on a par with Naz maybe just under ;)

Well lets have it right Naz lost to Barrera then he had another fight then retired Felix Trinidad did the same he Lost to Hopkins 1 more fight retired then cameback beat Mayorga lost to Winky and retired again but not much gets said about him doing it.Regarding Hattons legacy i dont know because he beat a 35 year old Kostya who never fought again after this fight so sort of says where he was at in his career.Then he fought Maussa who really wind milled his way to The WBA title vs Harris then he was nearly beat by Collazo a lot thought he was lucky to get it Then his struggle with Urango then he stopped Castillio who was a faded force really the stoppage of Castillio looked good on paper but as i say he is a faded force right time and place fight for me.Then got KO'd in his biggest fight vs Mayweather then cameback with a win over Lazcano and he weren't that impressive really so some are saying top 5 of all time i say top 10

It is a key fight indeed for Ricky and i think he'll do well (better sparring etc and a far better trainer so i think we'll see more strings to his bow plus he simply can't fight at the same pace anymore..he was clearly blowing out his ass by the 7th in his last fight);D
If he comes through it as i think he will then he will imo meet Oscar or Pac hopefully at Wembley with 90,000 people and you can bet your house that'll sell out in a few days (maybe less).
Do hope so:cool:

He'll always be remembered for DUCKING Witter. Fact. ;D

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Originally Posted by Fenster

He'll always be remembered for DUCKING Witter. Fact. ;D

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Maybe you, 10 years from now people will say "Who was Witter?"

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Originally Posted by killersheep

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Originally Posted by Fenster

He'll always be remembered for DUCKING Witter. Fact. ;D

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Maybe you, 10 years from now people will say "Who was Witter?"

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And if i'm still here i'll be telling them the truth - "he's the guy Ricky Moneybags was shit scared of." Fact. ;D

Hatton will and should be remebered as an immensely popoular fighter that fought with spirit and aggression.

His ranking is yet to be affirmed, but it is true to say that he may be bordering on great in terms of the light welter division, perhaps as a result of lack of competition, Duran, Chavez, Hatton and Tszyu have very view acclaimed fighters rivalling them in this division.

He's a damn good fighter, my favourite.

I think Welfred Benitez is the greatest LWW i think he boxed all the top guys ears off i do not think he gets enough credit he should get more.

Top 5 junior welterweight ever?

I don't know about that.

Julio Cesar Chavez, Aaron Pryor, Kostya Tszyu, Antonio Cervantes, Nicolino Locche

Then you have guys like Duilio Loi and Carlos Ortiz who campaigned at both lightweight and junior welterweight. Other, more talented and skilled fighters like Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya, campaigned too short at junior welterweight so I don't think either rank highly at 140 all-time.

Hatton's win over Tszyu was very good. Tszyu may have been aging but he was still highly regarded and coming off of a very impressive win a few months earlier. Hatton had some other solid wins over guys like Jose Luis Castillo, Carlos Maussa, and Juan Urango in title fights. His resume on the way to the title is often criticized. He beat a solid of veterans and solid pros, just no real world-class, top of the line junior welters around that time.

Even if he doesn't beat Paul Malignaggi, I think Hatton will still get into the Hall of Fame. You can debate all day on if he deserves to, but let's not forget it is the Hall of FAME, not Hall of All-Time Greats.

Thread Stealer you do not think that Benitez belongs up there. Youngest champion at the weight and he beat some good names. Pluse if were going off skill to i pick him to beat any of the names you listed also i pick him big time over Hatton i think he give him a boxing lesson if they fought.

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Originally Posted by Mr140

Thread Stealer you do not think that Benitez belongs up there. Youngest champion at the weight and he beat some good names. Pluse if were going off skill to i pick him to beat any of the names you listed also i pick him big time over Hatton i think he give him a boxing lesson if they fought.

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I'm not too sure about Benitez's standing in each weight. It seems like didn't spent too much time in one weight division. 3 defenses at 140, 2 at 147, 2 at 154. His win over Cervantes was very good, but I'm not too sure about his all-time standing in each division.

Yeah, El Radar wins a clear decision over Hatton IMO.

Guess what i was saying is i think skill wise he was at the top.

i think ricky hatton might be good enough to be a top 5 lww although im not sure yet i have to look at some other fighters before i decide but as of now i got him at 5

Id go ahead and say that he might crack the top 10 but i dont think he gets in the top 5

Impassable to say right now, we'll see when the roads run.
Right now he's an "almost"
But he could still change that

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Originally Posted by CGM

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

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Originally Posted by killersheep

Gotta give credit where credit is due, if he beats the Magic Man (which he should). He will be the best 140 lber of this era. I honestly think he will be obscure to casual American boxing fans in 5 years time, but will be remembered fondly by a majority of Mancunians and by far and large most casual boxing fans in the UK. Overall in the scheme of things at 140 a very good case could be made for having him at 3rd or 4th.

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Well put, if he unifies at 140lb in 2009 then i have him 4th behind Pryor, Tszyu and Chavez. What worries me is his size, did you see him at ringside next to DLH at the Marquez V Casamayor fight? Looked like he cleaned house at McDonalds!! He must have been close to 160lb???

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#4? Really? Here's a few other guys who won titles at LWW that you may wish to consider. You could argue that any one of this bunch could have more than held their own against Hatton at 140. Depends how you evaluate them I guess.

Oscar de la Hoya
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pernell Whitaker
Wilfred Benitez
Antonio Cervantes

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Yep, i considered them but i have reasons for not including them in the top 5, both DLH and Mayweather were never around long enough at 140lb to make their mark in this division. Pryor cleaned up Cervantes and i see no reason why both Chavez and Tszyu wouldn't do the same. Whitaker was an all time great Lightweeight Champion but would have been hard pressed to beat Pryor and Tszyu. The draw against Chavez was a travesty of justice i'll admit that. Benitez has the best case going for him out of the lot and yes i would place him ahead of Hatton. Sorry about that.

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

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Originally Posted by CGM

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

Well put, if he unifies at 140lb in 2009 then i have him 4th behind Pryor, Tszyu and Chavez. What worries me is his size, did you see him at ringside next to DLH at the Marquez V Casamayor fight? Looked like he cleaned house at McDonalds!! He must have been close to 160lb???

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#4? Really? Here's a few other guys who won titles at LWW that you may wish to consider. You could argue that any one of this bunch could have more than held their own against Hatton at 140. Depends how you evaluate them I guess.

Oscar de la Hoya
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pernell Whitaker
Wilfred Benitez
Antonio Cervantes

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Yep, i considered them but i have reasons for not including them in the top 5, both DLH and Mayweather were never around long enough at 140lb to make their mark in this division. Pryor cleaned up Cervantes and i see no reason why both Chavez and Tszyu wouldn't do the same. Whitaker was an all time great Lightweeight Champion but would have been hard pressed to beat Pryor and Tszyu. The draw against Chavez was a travesty of justice i'll admit that. Benitez has the best case going for him out of the lot and yes i would place him ahead of Hatton. Sorry about that.

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My point is that the guys I mentioned would beat Hatton at LWW, not how long they stuck around. By the "how long they stuck around" criteria, a guy like Ray Leonard barely rates as an all time WW. IF guys like de la Hoya and PBF stuck around at LWW it would be a different story for sure. The way the top of the line guys (unlike ykw) move through the divisions, it kind of makes an all time LWW ranking pretty meaningless. cheers

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

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Originally Posted by CGM

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

Well put, if he unifies at 140lb in 2009 then i have him 4th behind Pryor, Tszyu and Chavez. What worries me is his size, did you see him at ringside next to DLH at the Marquez V Casamayor fight? Looked like he cleaned house at McDonalds!! He must have been close to 160lb???

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#4? Really? Here's a few other guys who won titles at LWW that you may wish to consider. You could argue that any one of this bunch could have more than held their own against Hatton at 140. Depends how you evaluate them I guess.

Oscar de la Hoya
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pernell Whitaker
Wilfred Benitez
Antonio Cervantes

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Yep, i considered them but i have reasons for not including them in the top 5, both DLH and Mayweather were never around long enough at 140lb to make their mark in this division. Pryor cleaned up Cervantes and i see no reason why both Chavez and Tszyu wouldn't do the same. Whitaker was an all time great Lightweeight Champion but would have been hard pressed to beat Pryor and Tszyu. The draw against Chavez was a travesty of justice i'll admit that. Benitez has the best case going for him out of the lot and yes i would place him ahead of Hatton. Sorry about that.

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There's no shame at getting stopped by Pryor at the end of your career, or even losing a decision to a young Benitez. Cervantes stayed around a long time at 140, and was a long-time champ.

Hatton like most ex Warren fighters stayed in GB and fought to many poor fighters in his early title fights, plus he had the WBU belt, wtf

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Originally Posted by Saddo

BUT.. this next fight is a key fight... if he loses he will be forgotten pretty quickly, and if he wins its all down to what he does from there.
)

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i dont think he will be forgot in a hurry especially not in england

I guess it depends whose history you are talking about.

Outside of the UK he won't have a great deal of longterm historical signficance but within the UK he will be remembered as one of the best, and most popular British boxers of alltime.

As to his place in a mythical all time ranking, it's irrelevent.

I've never heard anyone rate any British fighters in such a way with the exception of Lewis and maybe in the future Calzaghe.

Our most fondly remembered fighters are the likes of Benn, Eubank, Bruno, Henry Cooper etc, and when mentioned in the British media their all time ranking in their respective divisions is never brought up, debated or even mentioned.

We just remember them for being great fighters, being involved in great fights, and creating some of the best British boxing memories.

Being a great and popular former fighter is more about that warm nostalgic feeling and fond rememberence than alltime p4p ratings.

Only those fighters close the the top 10 or so of all time get their records heavily analysed and scrutinied and their objective worth quantified.

For the rest we just remember them and thank them for them memories they gave us, which perhaps is the way it should be.