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If hatton would have fought an easier opponent than senchenko on his return do you think he would still be a a top five fighter today to allow him to ease back into it slowly..
We know his huge flaws in weight but considering his age would he have been able to turn it around at that post floyd/pac stage.
No, he was done in by the yo-yoing of his weight, the switching of trainers, the mileage he had on him already, he had nothing left to give and couldn't take any more punishment.
I don't think so. WW is a murder's row right now. Old hands like Pacquaio, Marquez, Floyd, younger guys like Maidana, Bradley, and murderous up and comers like Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, ect.
He's not cracking that top 5. No chance. That's not a division for someone who's best days were far behind and didn't really have the fire anymore.
Watch the fight again, he looked very good until he just tired. He needed someone who wasnt a world champ first. I know Senchenko wasnt but he had been. He needed a warm up. He did look good then faded.
I agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by ross
He would never beat floyd or pac but he should have an easier introduction back to boxing to get his confidence back.
He looked about 75% of himself n was winning before that guy hit him with the perfect body shot.
Hatton is done at the top level though. He had a great run, but he burned out early.
No, he looked ok for a while, but Senchenko was a guy he would have walked through a few years earlier. It was the right kind of opponent for him to come back with, he just didn't have it anymore.
Exactly. I'm not sure how weak of an opponent they were supposed to find. Hatton ruined his body yo-yoing. He was done and the Semchenko fight showed that. Not every career lasts 20 years and that's okay.Quote:
Originally Posted by p4pking
Which is typically the case with pressure fightersQuote:
Originally Posted by Hulk
Quote:
Originally Posted by El KabongWhich is typically the case with pressure fightersQuote:
Originally Posted by Hulk
And crazy fat little drunks lol
I think all a weaker opponent would have ensured is that he would be guaranteed a harder loss on a higher level shortly thereafter. Name and draw expectations and marketability would make sure he would be on a higher platform to fall from rather than a low key domestic but sensible rebuild.
That was too many words. No. He was done.
I agree, it was the body shot instead of Hatton being finished as a fighter. That body shot was perfect, just like you said.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hulk
Didn't Hatton himself say that fight would be his last if he lost? Hatton impressed me with the way he walked away from the ring.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beenKOedI agree, it was the body shot instead of Hatton being finished as a fighter. That body shot was perfect, just like you said.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hulk
Didn't Hatton himself say that fight would be his last if he lost? Hatton impressed me with the way he walked away from the ring.
It was very very bad luck. Hatton is done at the high level tho even top 10 level at WW.
Hatton was briefly a king among men and a rock star. He needs to cherish those moments, but also move on. Lil fucker can't be tryin to off himself again as that is just madness and insanity.
Needs to change his outlook on boxing and life. I think he has or is moving toward that.
I haven't seen many of Hatton's fights but I've seen the major ones. I thought his balance look off and it seemed he was missing shots he normally wouldn't have. I think Hatton was done and it was better to end it there.
Personally I think prime Ricky Hatton is severely underrated. One of the best fighters in the history of the 140lb division IMO. Fantastic fighter in his prime, but like Kabong and others alluded to, pressure fighters (especially ones with destructive eating/drinking/drug habits outside the ring) don't have a long shelf life.
He could have been a fringe contender, he looked decent against Senchenko, but can you imagine what a lot of these young bombers would have done to him? Senchenko isn't even a player at 147, he'd be lucky to be ranked in the top 15 IMO.
There's no way Hatton would be cracking the top 5.
The only issue I have with Ricky Hatton as a boxing fan is the biggest compliment you could pay to a prize fighter....
I wanted to see him fight more.
Not that I wanted his career to continue to where he was mush mouthed and stuttering and senile, but I wanted to see him get the big all action bouts he could have had when he was still a contender/champion.
Fights like: Freitas, Corrales, Morales, MAB, JMM, Cotto, Gatti, Judah, Witter, Bradley, Khan, etc. I just think the guy had a good style to fight anyone, he had great fans who followed his every move, and every fight he had was an event. Now I am not saying he's the best of the best but he was a good blue collar fighter who gave 100% in the ring regardless of who was in the opposite corner.
Hatton could have and should have taken an easier opponent (as should have Winky Wright when he did his come back) but only as a last farewell fight to the fans. Hatton was never a good welterweight when he was at his peak and he certainly would not have been after the Pac defeat.
Hatton had been out the gym for years when he came back, coupled that with the drugs and booze he'd put into his body in that time and the previous punishment he'd taken there was no way he could get to a good level again. Even if he'd beaten Shechenko, I don't think he could of stayed in shape long term.
So basically it was a good thing he lost, at least he knew he did not have it any more before he really got seriously hurt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
Would you agree someone like Curtis Woodhouse would have been ideal for the British title?
Kick ass post El. I have to look away at times in Ricky threads as he's one of my faves all time. He transcends eras for me. I cant help but read them. I remember driving into Whitehorse to a bar from my cabin to watch the Zu fight. I was the only guy in the entire bar cheering for the pale faced warrior. I'll never forget it.Quote:
Originally Posted by El Kabong
The straw that broke the camels back for me was leaving Graham and for an instant forgetting where he came from.I say that because he was always on the edge of the cliff with his lifestyle and yoyo weight. Once hubris entered the equation it was over. Taking Sr on was the nail.
I don't think an easier route would have been palatable for Ricky or made a difference.
Again great post EL.
You have to know when it is the end, and so many fighters never know when to quit. Hatton had taken some fearful beatings even when he won! Look at his face after the Tszyu fight! Hatton was never going to have a long lasting career well into his 30's and with weight fluctuating like it did then his body was always going to be susceptible. He was winning the fight until that body shot and he just couldn't absorb it. An easier opponent is just bollocks, if he had won then he would've been hailed as the comeback kid. It would've only delayed the inevitable next KO loss. Hatton did the right thing by retiring, he was a very good fighter, top class, no doubt about it.
Hatton-Katsidis would have been a good one to close out his career
How good would Hatton vs Pryor at 140 have been?
Hatton was inspired when he beat Kostya and a fight against Pryor would have been a great action packed fight. Pryor was inspired by the water bottle.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beanflicker
Remember whilst Hatton was winning the fight he was taking heavy punches from Sevencko (spelling) because Ricky had stopped moving his head.
I would have liked to see Hatton go out with a win in England and it could have happened had his management gotten the right opponent. My choices for his farewell fight were mainly other old pressure fighters because it would have been an all action bout and that's how everyone wants to remember Ricky fighting.
Michael Katsidis was the PERFECT candidate for that. Pressure fighter, all heart, had good pop but not big time power. He tended to fade late and he was less durable than Ricky. I think that could have been a Gatti-Ward kind of fight and it's a shame we never saw it.
Juan Diaz
Nate Campbell
Jose Miguel Cotto
David Diaz
Jesus Chavez
Other fighters with different styles would have also been welcome crowd pleasing fights
Joel Casamayor
Joan Guzman
Erik Morales
Marco Antonio Barrera
Humberto Soto
Randall Bailey
And of course the local showdowns
Amir Khan
Junior Witter
Whoever else was around at the time
Etc...of course a lot of the guys I listed are/were smaller than 140 and well that's kind of the point to why he should have had a fight vs one of those dudes because he couldn't carry on at his best because he was just past it and no longer with the same trainer.
Let me ask the forum this....
The year is 2008, Diego Corrales doesn't die in a motorcycle crash but rededicates himself to boxing and tries out 140 where Ricky Hatton is just coming off a defeat to Mayweather. Or 2005 when Corrals has beaten JLC and Hatton has just beaten Mausa ...Ricky Hatton vs Diego Corrales - who wins and how 2008 & 2005?
Hatton in 2008 for sure. 2005 I'd still lean Hatton as Chico wasn't much good above 135. The body was willing but the power wasn't quite there n he got hit often so against bigger guys that was trouble.Quote:
Originally Posted by El Kabong
Woulda been a hell of a match in 2005 though.
this is it
Man that's tough one. Might just depend on what 'rededicate' entails for me as Chico was halfway out the exit door with Clottey in a bloated BS catchweight match he had no business in. That was rough. Absent a comeback and fresh off ko loss to Mayweather though I honestly think its a coin flip fight with slight lean maybe to Ricky on volume and body. We have the advantage of hindsight with Ricky, who frankly found himself in a scrappier than expected return against another former lightweight Juan Lazcano..a fighter in the last start of his career who managed to hurt Ricky late and landed more left hooks than he should have for a bit there. It was a whirlwind show and awesome return by Hatton, active and frontal as ever, but he could always be checked with range and pop. Chico had been struggling for years making weight, he should have moved up well before honestly.Quote:
Originally Posted by El Kabong
Yeah Chico and JLC both should have gone to 140 earlier and I think before their war they both would have offered Hatton the exact same kind of blood and guts fight.
I used to think Hatton-Gatti would have been the best fight but the more I think about it Hatton-Corrales would have been mighty nice for the fans.
Ricky wins 2005 as he was still near his best but loses 2008.Quote:
Originally Posted by SpicoliMan that's tough one. Might just depend on what 'rededicate' entails for me as Chico was halfway out the exit door with Clottey in a bloated BS catchweight match he had no business in. That was rough. Absent a comeback and fresh off ko loss to Mayweather though I honestly think its a coin flip fight with slight lean maybe to Ricky on volume and body. We have the advantage of hindsight with Ricky, who frankly found himself in a scrappier than expected return against another former lightweight Juan Lazcano..a fighter in the last start of his career who managed to hurt Ricky late and landed more left hooks than he should have for a bit there. It was a whirlwind show and awesome return by Hatton, active and frontal as ever, but he could always be checked with range and pop. Chico had been struggling for years making weight, he should have moved up well before honestly.Quote:
Originally Posted by El Kabong
See I'm thinking he loses in 2005 but wins in 2008 because Chico would have been (r.i.p) still reeling from that hammering he took at the hands of Clottey so you didn't know if his head and heart were still in boxing at the time of his sudden and tragic death in 2007.Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
That said....man what an action fight that would have been! It's the junior welterweight version of a Tyson vs Bowe matchup. You've got a taller guy who likes to mix it up on the inside vs a stockier guy who is a pressure fighter so there would just never be 1 second of rest for the two.
As much as we respect the British title, to go from Pacquiao in Vegas to Curtis Woodhouse for the British title would not be be a step that someone with the fighting pride of Hatton could contemplate, comeback fight or not.Quote:
Originally Posted by HulkQuote:
Originally Posted by Master
Would you agree someone like Curtis Woodhouse would have been ideal for the British title?