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Hey all, I wrote this about Rick's comeback and retirement.
There's nothing new in it, I suppose we all felt Ricky hadn't made the most of his opportunities three and a half yeas ago when he lost to Pacquiao. I honestly think he should have had a tune-up first off the bat, but there you go. It's sad, and I hope he can learn to live with it.
Let me know what you reckon.
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tune up or no tune up... i dont know.... in my opinion hatton has more than enough(still) to beat senchencko and have a very interesting fight v mallignaggi... I tihnk he could beat mallignaggi if he did certain things... but to me it looks like he doesnt have the mental abilty to change his style... he needed to fight like he was 35 he still has a lot of strengths but he threw them all away with the way he fought and it just looks like he cant change.. So in my opinion he has had all the physical attributes to be one of the greatest he just didnt have the mental attributes to go with it... I think he had the career his overall ability justified..
Good points palmerq, but I reckon he could have achieved more had his training camps not been so heavily geared around cutting weight. Let's say he shows up to camp only 10 pounds above fighting weight, instead of two or three stone - he could immediately get down to working on new techniques. He could always be learning, rather than just doing the things that got him success when he was younger, stronger and fitter than everyone else.
Hatton had to torture himself in training because his lifestyle was so bad IMO. I don't believe in being born with gifts and then being stuck with them throughout your career. Hatton had the potential to be a very, very good boxer, and I think - had he been able to hone that side of his fighting and not abuse himself with fatty foods and piss between fights - his career could have been a lot different.
People will say there is no way Hatton could ever be as good as Floyd or Pacquiao - I say, Hatton gave Floyd a pretty good fight for a few rounds.
Imagine, if Hatton was as dedicated to the sport and had as clean a lifestyle as those two had?? He might not have beaten them, but imagine what kind of machine he would have been if had a cleaner lifestyle, given how fearsome he was anyway??
Power ballads suck balls.
As for Hatton, who is to say that his lifestyle outside of the ring didn't inform who he was in the ring? Maybe if he hadn't been the person of extremes, he would have been the same buzzsaw who would never take a backwards step even if it meant walking through five punches to land one.
That is one thing that has bothered me a little bit in the million autopsies of Hatton's career that have taken place since Saturday - the idea that the person inside the ring and the person outside of the rig are discreet entities. I'm not certain that is always the case.
That's not to excuse the way Hatton lived, it undoubtably took a massive toll on his body and mind, but maybe it couldn't have been any other way.
I dunno, just musing...
Hmmm... yes, you make a very good point there. I suppose my article doesn't take into the account that, perhaps, without the reward of a good piss-up and curry binge after a fight, maybe he doesn't expend as much of himself in training to do what he does well.Quote:
Originally Posted by CFH
Still - maybe that buzzsaw he was in the ring, as you put it, just isn't the best way too fight. Let's look at another famous British pressure fighter Barry McGuigan. McGuigan led a very healthy lifestyle away from the ring, and he was finished even earlier than Hatton was.
Cmon mate, everybody likes a good power ballad!!;D
Regardless , about talent you have to live the life, Ricky would put on a large amount of weight in-between fight's he liked a drink.! Coming into this fight he had lost 70lbs, in weight longer-term
this has not done him any good. Hatton has had a very good carer, a 2 weight World Champion
plus he has made a lot of money. Also very popular with the public, a large travelling army of fans,
for what talent he had, more so his iron will to win. Ricky is a humble guy, good luck to him I wish
him well.:)
I think Hatton made the most out of what he had ... He was beating guys until he reached that peak level of competition where he just wasnt good enough ... A good career overall ... Fighting prime floyd and pac is something that most wouldnt have even done, let alone beat them
Best of luck to him
He stopped Technical improvement at 20.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrap
Hatton just chose the wrong comeback fight. He should have taken a 10 rounder against a Mexican or a Columbian, or something like that- maybe even another Eastern European, without such a background behind him.
Hatton very well may have fought a future champion, peaking. Wrong fight for him. He was doing well, but faded. Wrong comeback fight!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greig
Great read Grieg, I like your style.
I agree fully with you, but that has nothing to do with the other fact stated.Quote:
Originally Posted by ykdadamajaQuote:
Originally Posted by Scrap
Hatton just chose the wrong comeback fight. He should have taken a 10 rounder against a Mexican or a Columbian, or something like that- maybe even another Eastern European, without such a background behind him.
Hatton very well may have fought a future champion, peaking. Wrong fight for him. He was doing well, but faded. Wrong comeback fight!
Scraps right in that Ricky is one dimensional regarding technique he has always been a kill or be killed fighter more than a boxer who can adjust to an opponent.
I think he's over achieved anyway. He can't be upset with how well he's done when you consider his skill set. He's done alright for a little scally from Denton.
At 18 He had very good Lateral movement, with Depth and Distance.Quote:
Originally Posted by AndreI agree fully with you, but that has nothing to do with the other fact stated.Quote:
Originally Posted by ykdadamajaQuote:
Originally Posted by Scrap
Hatton just chose the wrong comeback fight. He should have taken a 10 rounder against a Mexican or a Columbian, or something like that- maybe even another Eastern European, without such a background behind him.
Hatton very well may have fought a future champion, peaking. Wrong fight for him. He was doing well, but faded. Wrong comeback fight!
Scraps right in that Ricky is one dimensional regarding technique he has always been a kill or be killed fighter more than a boxer who can adjust to an opponent.
I remember, he looked like a crab going after his prey.Quote:
Originally Posted by ScrapAt 18 He had very good Lateral movement, with Depth and Distance.Quote:
Originally Posted by AndreI agree fully with you, but that has nothing to do with the other fact stated.Quote:
Originally Posted by ykdadamajaQuote:
Originally Posted by Scrap
Hatton just chose the wrong comeback fight. He should have taken a 10 rounder against a Mexican or a Columbian, or something like that- maybe even another Eastern European, without such a background behind him.
Hatton very well may have fought a future champion, peaking. Wrong fight for him. He was doing well, but faded. Wrong comeback fight!
Scraps right in that Ricky is one dimensional regarding technique he has always been a kill or be killed fighter more than a boxer who can adjust to an opponent.
You can basically argue that every fighter in history underachieved. There's always an excuse for losses, bad perfomances and dips in form.
Hatton's out of ring activities is just another bog standard excuse when we're trying to find meaning in something. He could have spent his career living like a monk and still have lost against Floyd and Pac.
Everyone is different. He could booze and live "bad" and yet still have a great career. Some people embarrass themselves after drinking two pints of beer, others act perfectly sober after ten.
I doubt there's ever been a human that didn't wish they had a chance to do things different. It doesn't mean it would have been right though.
Hard to believe, but I had never seen Ricky Hatton fight until he took on Mayweather. Before that fight I had a look on you tube and I thought his chin was wide open to left hooks and this would be his undoing at the top level.
There were other flaws that I didn't pick up on, but the crux of hatton's problem was that he had serious flaws and bad habits that were ingrained too early in his career. Flaws are extremely difficult for any fighter to get rid off. They're ingrained in motor memory. He was right to fire billy graham, as his trainer should have addressed this, but he should have had a better trainer way earlier than this. By the time he fought Mayweather it was too late.
I really respect Ricky Hatton for his attitude, tenacity, and courage. He took on the best and very few top fighters are willing to do this. He had some great attributes as a boxer - speed of hand and foot, great workrate BUT he was overly aggressive, impatient, leapt in too much, and was either unable or unwilling to exercise smarter tactics and pressure.
So yes, it was a talent wasted - by bad training, bad trainers, and a bad diet. He achieved a lot in spite of this, and he can hardly be considered a waster though.
He came back wrong. I thought he had great movement for the first 4 rounds or so. He was also slipping punches better than I have ever seen him- he just faded at about the 9th, then it was all she wrote!Quote:
Originally Posted by AndreI remember, he looked like a crab going after his prey.Quote:
Originally Posted by ScrapAt 18 He had very good Lateral movement, with Depth and Distance.Quote:
Originally Posted by AndreI agree fully with you, but that has nothing to do with the other fact stated.Quote:
Originally Posted by ykdadamajaQuote:
Originally Posted by Scrap
Hatton just chose the wrong comeback fight. He should have taken a 10 rounder against a Mexican or a Columbian, or something like that- maybe even another Eastern European, without such a background behind him.
Hatton very well may have fought a future champion, peaking. Wrong fight for him. He was doing well, but faded. Wrong comeback fight!
Scraps right in that Ricky is one dimensional regarding technique he has always been a kill or be killed fighter more than a boxer who can adjust to an opponent.
Thanks a lot for the feedback guys.
Thanks Andre, hope you are well mate, how's life on the Peninsula? I ran the Melbourne Marathon this year - nearly killed me;D
I think Scrap makes a very good point about how Hatton stopped his technical development at 20. I always hark back to the Kelly Pavlik/Bernard Hopkins fight, where afterward Hopkins told him that all he needs to do is to develop some slickness, 'like a black fighter' I believe were Hopkins words...
So, my question is, is it that easy? To develop skills like Hopkins and Mayweather have? Or is there something in Hatton and Pavlik's genetics that does not allow them to fight in this way?
If Hatton had grown up in Philadelphia, and had Bouie Fisher training him from day dot, would he fight like Bernard Hopkins? We're getting into some serious questions about human nature here, but how much is behaviour learned or genetic? ;D
Every stinking one of us have underachieved. I would not want to meet the person who has always performed at their top level. That person would be a scary SOB, not a person I'd want to hang out with or one who would want to hang out with me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenster
Really good read Greig but the thread title bugged me a bit and I mean no offense by that. If anything Hatton has been an overachiever based on lifestyle. He would not be the Ricky Hatton we know if he was say a mormon.Quote:
Originally Posted by Greig
he should have fought katsidis like the early rumours were suggesting :S katsidis is finished too and a bigger name ... but hats off to hattons team I think their plan was to go after mallignaggi so they took this senchencko fellow on to see how hatton would compare...Quote:
Originally Posted by ykdadamajaQuote:
Originally Posted by Scrap
Hatton just chose the wrong comeback fight. He should have taken a 10 rounder against a Mexican or a Columbian, or something like that- maybe even another Eastern European, without such a background behind him.
Hatton very well may have fought a future champion, peaking. Wrong fight for him. He was doing well, but faded. Wrong comeback fight!
Should've, would've, could've. It is what it is, Hatton did what he wanted and it didn't go his way. He said he got an answer to that question in the back of his mind, and I'm not going to second guess him anymore.Quote:
Originally Posted by palmerqhe should have fought katsidis like the early rumours were suggesting :S katsidis is finished too and a bigger name ... but hats off to hattons team I think their plan was to go after mallignaggi so they took this senchencko fellow on to see how hatton would compare...Quote:
Originally Posted by ykdadamajaQuote:
Originally Posted by Scrap
Hatton just chose the wrong comeback fight. He should have taken a 10 rounder against a Mexican or a Columbian, or something like that- maybe even another Eastern European, without such a background behind him.
Hatton very well may have fought a future champion, peaking. Wrong fight for him. He was doing well, but faded. Wrong comeback fight!
Enjoy retirement from the ring. Good luck, peace and thanks for the memories.
Even as I say this Hatton is one of my favourite fighters, but he did throw a lot away. The ego grew and insread of boosting it with new tricks in his time off, he would pig out for a couple of months. Just look at Collazo perched in as Hattons only fight of 2006. What was the man doing in his time before and after? Honing his skills for weeks a time or else thinking "I'm not busy" might as well have fun. It was at this point the warning signs came out. Hatton by blowing up was showing that his only hungriness was in the belly. Very little in the way of staying shape outside the ring, working on new thingsseemingly a sideshow.
Since Tszyu, there is little you can put on Hatton as being new. Castillo told us nothing as it was too short. Lazcano did as Hatton was being forced to win his rounds. Urango did as the final half saw Hatton holding on just to let an early lead give him the win. A hodge poge stew really. Nothing truly impressive.
Once Hatton was fighting twice a year he began to slide. Weight gain became a bigger hurdle and Hatton was not learning new skills. It was almost regression and finally we saw Tyson against Danny Williams. Hatton clearly in the Tyson role.
The very best version of Hatton would've never beat Mayweather or Pac. Hatton was a genuine proven world-class performer but those guys are special and whooped him to easily to believe he could have done better.
So who could he beat at 140/147 to strengthen his record?
Mosley, Cotto, Margarito? Reckon those three KO him. Judah? He might have beat Judah. Could just as easily see him getting beat though. In fact there was no-one "special" at 140 during Hatton's time. I think he did just about as good as he possibly could.