Welcome back ricky....

[AdamGB]

So you're saying you want their baby weights?

Never seen that on Tale of the Tape before...

[Althugz]

Remember folks, this is the same guy that said, "There's no way Floyd can knock me out, he must be mad" and "I was winning the 2nd round by a country mile!" in a fight where he was steamrolled

By the ref yes! Also hatton is better suited to LWW. All the odds were in floyd's favour that night, the ref, home town, his division! Cortez played a big part in that fight! Floyd beat's ricky 9 times out of 10 but a hatton who is allowed to 'dog it up ' (Which was hatton's Modus operandi after all!) on the inside give's floyd a much harder night! Hatton pre-tszyu (not the UK media darling fighting in the US) gives floyd a rough night IMO.

Barry Mcguigan: "Joe Cortez was very biased I thought" I agree. Also mcguigan stated before the fight "Cortez will have a crucial role to play in determining how the fight develops. I just hope the referee Cortez allows [Hatton] to get inside because that will be his best tactic"

Hatton pleaded with referee Cortez to let fight flow beforehand in an interview too, so he was aware of the influence joe would have prior to the fight. Compare cortez's interference with the hatton/castillo fight (HARDLY INTERVENED!) and then watch him in the mayweather/hatton fight (He broke the two when they touched for more than a split second and took a point from Hatton for an illegal punch that didn't even land LOL!)

Check out cortez in the Whitaker vs. Savarese fight! He told Savarese to get up. I think if he hadn't whitaker would have won by KO.

So sorry but cortez ruined that fight for hatton. It seemed like cortez ignored a lot of floyd being the one who was holding on in clinches and was using his forearm-elbow push off constantly and wasn't really warned about it. Stopping ricky from fighting on the inside is like taking wladimir klitschko's jab away!

That old chestnut

I love the guys who keep holding on to this bullshit notion that had another ref been in charge (Ohhh, I dunno, maybe someone legit like Dave Paris? ) that the fight would have been different..I guess we weren't watching the same fight where Floyd was owning Ricky inside and out? Watch round 8 again if you want any indication of how every round would have gone had Ricky been able to use his illegal, ugly tactics. There was barely any interference in that round and we all saw how that round went for Ricky.

Funny though, I very rarely see any Ricky fans mention that the fight between he and Tzsyu might have been different had we had a legit referee for that fight?

Hatton fans like to look at him through those Ricky tinted

[Althugz]

Remember folks, this is the same guy that said, "There's no way Floyd can knock me out, he must be mad" and "I was winning the 2nd round by a country mile!" in a fight where he was steamrolled

By the ref yes! Also hatton is better suited to LWW. All the odds were in floyd's favour that night, the ref, home town, his division! Cortez played a big part in that fight! Floyd beat's ricky 9 times out of 10 but a hatton who is allowed to 'dog it up ' (Which was hatton's Modus operandi after all!) on the inside give's floyd a much harder night! Hatton pre-tszyu (not the UK media darling fighting in the US) gives floyd a rough night IMO.

Barry Mcguigan: "Joe Cortez was very biased I thought" I agree. Also mcguigan stated before the fight "Cortez will have a crucial role to play in determining how the fight develops. I just hope the referee Cortez allows [Hatton] to get inside because that will be his best tactic"

Hatton pleaded with referee Cortez to let fight flow beforehand in an interview too, so he was aware of the influence joe would have prior to the fight. Compare cortez's interference with the hatton/castillo fight (HARDLY INTERVENED!) and then watch him in the mayweather/hatton fight (He broke the two when they touched for more than a split second and took a point from Hatton for an illegal punch that didn't even land LOL!)

Check out cortez in the Whitaker vs. Savarese fight! He told Savarese to get up. I think if he hadn't whitaker would have won by KO.

So sorry but cortez ruined that fight for hatton. It seemed like cortez ignored a lot of floyd being the one who was holding on in clinches and was using his forearm-elbow push off constantly and wasn't really warned about it. Stopping ricky from fighting on the inside is like taking wladimir klitschko's jab away!

Besides you highlighted my "steamrolled" comment - I wasn't even talking about the Floyd fight in that quote. Ricky mentioned that about the 2nd round of the Pacquiao fight where he got his lights turned out. Nice guy but utterly deluded and needs some solid team members to be totally honest with him.

[Beanz]

Remember folks, this is the same guy that said, "There's no way Floyd can knock me out, he must be mad" and "I was winning the 2nd round by a country mile!" in a fight where he was steamrolled

By the ref yes! Also hatton is better suited to LWW. All the odds were in floyd's favour that night, the ref, home town, his division! Cortez played a big part in that fight! Floyd beat's ricky 9 times out of 10 but a hatton who is allowed to 'dog it up ' (Which was hatton's Modus operandi after all!) on the inside give's floyd a much harder night! Hatton pre-tszyu (not the UK media darling fighting in the US) gives floyd a rough night IMO.

Barry Mcguigan: "Joe Cortez was very biased I thought" I agree. Also mcguigan stated before the fight "Cortez will have a crucial role to play in determining how the fight develops. I just hope the referee Cortez allows [Hatton] to get inside because that will be his best tactic"

Hatton pleaded with referee Cortez to let fight flow beforehand in an interview too, so he was aware of the influence joe would have prior to the fight. Compare cortez's interference with the hatton/castillo fight (HARDLY INTERVENED!) and then watch him in the mayweather/hatton fight (He broke the two when they touched for more than a split second and took a point from Hatton for an illegal punch that didn't even land LOL!)

Check out cortez in the Whitaker vs. Savarese fight! He told Savarese to get up. I think if he hadn't whitaker would have won by KO.

So sorry but cortez ruined that fight for hatton. It seemed like cortez ignored a lot of floyd being the one who was holding on in clinches and was using his forearm-elbow push off constantly and wasn't really warned about it. Stopping ricky from fighting on the inside is like taking wladimir klitschko's jab away!

Besides you highlighted my "steamrolled" comment - I wasn't even talking about the Floyd fight in that quote. Ricky mentioned that about the 2nd round of the Pacquiao fight where he got his lights turned out. Nice guy but utterly deluded and needs some solid team members to be totally honest with him.

Maybe with all your massive boxing experience you should offer to be that "solid team member"

[AdamGB]

Yeah, what put me off him was after the Tyzu fight... It seemed like he was surrounded by yes men making him believe the hype that he was this unrelenting force who could just walk through anybody.

It was part of his down fall. He'd make a meal out of stopping a guy like carlos maussa... and it would never make anybody think 'a change of tactics is needed' or 'we need to refine his skills on an elite level'. No... It was always 'ricky had a cold during training, that's we he struggled a bit', then back to thinking that he could just smash and grab anybody.

..and yeah, for fans of a guy who is meant to be 'humble and down to earth', it's ironic when people won't just give Floyd props for the W.

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

I have no problem with the mayweather outcome for the dude whining about chestnuts, however it is pretty clear cortez played his part! Such is boxing...

Stop hating on the hitman, he's a legend.

[TitoFan]

Yeah, what put me off him was after the Tyzu fight... It seemed like he was surrounded by yes men making him believe the hype that he was this unrelenting force who could just walk through anybody.

It was part of his down fall. He'd make a meal out of stopping a guy like carlos maussa... and it would never make anybody think 'a change of tactics is needed' or 'we need to refine his skills on an elite level'. No... It was always 'ricky had a cold during training, that's we he struggled a bit', then back to thinking that he could just smash and grab anybody.

..and yeah, for fans of a guy who is meant to be 'humble and down to earth', it's ironic when people won't just give Floyd props for the W.

It was this same hype that introduced Hatton to Pacquiao's straight left in the 2nd round of their fight.
After that, the "yes men" slinked quietly away.

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

Yeah, what put me off him was after the Tyzu fight... It seemed like he was surrounded by yes men making him believe the hype that he was this unrelenting force who could just walk through anybody.

It was part of his down fall. He'd make a meal out of stopping a guy like carlos maussa... and it would never make anybody think 'a change of tactics is needed' or 'we need to refine his skills on an elite level'. No... It was always 'ricky had a cold during training, that's we he struggled a bit', then back to thinking that he could just smash and grab anybody.

..and yeah, for fans of a guy who is meant to be 'humble and down to earth', it's ironic when people won't just give Floyd props for the W.

It was this same hype that introduced Hatton to Pacquiao's straight left in the 2nd round of their fight.
After that, the "yes men" slinked quietly away.

Well done floyd. Happy?

What 'yes' men? I am a fan have i slinked away? No! I though it would be a tough ask to beat mayweather and i was proved right. What is wrong in supporting a fighter? Theres no 'slinking away 'going on with ricky hatton, never has been! The guy lost, it happens.

Mate, im quite happy to accept floyd is a great fighter (personally i prefer pacqiauo, sergio martinez and amateur legend vasyl lomachenko!) I will admit though that floyd is special (like calzaghe and marciano were!) Losing to floyd (especially with the odds stacked against u) is nothing to be ashamed of, however i do think cortez played his part and il stand by that!

Problem with floyd is his EGO and his unwillingness to fight the two best P4P fighters of his era (sergio and manny!) Fighting a 40 yr old oscar and shane is not a thing of greatness!

[Beanz]

The same people who moan about fighters taking easy fights and how every opponent in Hatton's career up to Tyzu were easy, walk in the park, b-grade fighters, are exactly the same people that criticise him for daring to think he had chance against, what by their exacting standards would constitute credible opposition. Of course they are not haters simply fight fans with a distaste for those who would seek to challenge themselves and exceed the same peoples low expectations of them.

And yes Ricky talked a great fight and then went into the two big challenges of his life trying to take off the heads of two supposed demi-gods. It hardly seems worthy of the contempt that many seem to have of him. It is even more weird coming from British Boxing fans. Yes he had limitations but he gave far more to the sport than any other boxer in the UK since Lennox Lewis. So yeah you may not be a fan of his but to take such gratification in seeing his career end the way it did is a bit much. It is almost as heartless as Pacquiao who after nailing him ignored the fact the guy for a moment looked in real danger on the canvas.

He played an important part in both Pacquiao and FMJ careers by exposing them to a new sector, a new audience who may not have watched them before and Floyd refers to him as a true warrior not a chump, but hey lets just focus on the negative and dismiss his achievements as if he were a nobody.

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

The same people who moan about fighters taking easy fights and how every opponent in Hatton's career up to Tyzu were easy, walk in the park, b-grade fighters, are exactly the same people that criticise him for daring to think he had chance against, what by their exacting standards would constitute credible opposition. Of course they are not haters simply fight fans with a distaste for those who would seek to challenge themselves and exceed the same peoples low expectations of them.

And yes Ricky talked a great fight and then went into the two big challenges of his life trying to take off the heads of two supposed demi-gods. It hardly seems worthy of the contempt that many seem to have of him. It is even more weird coming from British Boxing fans. Yes he had limitations but he gave far more to the sport than any other boxer in the UK since Lennox Lewis. So yeah you may not be a fan of his but to take such gratification in seeing his career end the way it did is a bit much. It is almost as heartless as Pacquiao who after nailing him ignored the fact the guy for a moment looked in real danger on the canvas.

He played an important part in both Pacquiao and FMJ careers by exposing them to a new sector, a new audience who may not have watched them before and Floyd refers to him as a true warrior not a chump, but hey lets just focus on the negative and dismiss his achievements as if he were a nobody.

Good post.

[beenKOed]

Ricky's fearless attacks, full steam ahead, rough 'n tumble fighting style was what made him exciting to watch, and in the end led him to being KOed! Floyd and Manny didn't have to guess about what Ricky was going to do. RICKY WAS GOING TO BE ATTACKING, full steam ahead and piss on any other way! If somebody wants to fault him for that, fuck 'em. Apparently, they don't recognize a courageous spirit that only knows one way to fight! Now, should we blame Floyd or Manny for taking advantage of Ricky's fighting style? Hell no, that's what boxing is all about! I'm not going to blame the ref for Ricky's defeat either.

[AdamGB]

Hey look... Having the balls to get in with floyd and pac took balls... Nobody is being retarded enough to say otherwise?

My gripe is that I believe he could have beaten pac... Watch the first round, he looks like he might get on top at some point, he's walking pac down and applying educated pressure... Then BHAM, pac clips him and instead of shaking it off he gets pissed and boxing goes out the window. I suspect, had he not had so much hype about being some sort of ungodly pressure fighting machine that he may have recomposed himself, not taken the battering that he did in the rest of the 1st and then who knows? Maybe not end up a sitting duck for that monstorous shot in the second.

If I thought he had no chance at all, then I wouldn't critique him would I?

I think after the Tyzu fight he was misstrained - the focus just on conditioning (he knew this himself, why do you think he ended up leaving graham?), not developing his skills... Which had bu no means peaked lol.

He had the footspeed to trouble floyd in terms of ring generalship, just bothing else... Had he had a bit more in his toolbox he would have at least made it the full 12.

So no... I don't think he 'was a fool for thinking he could beat those guys'. Don't fet it twisted, his lifestyle and the hype he was given stopped reaching his true potential in my eyes... and that is frustrating as a BOXING FAN.

I have no problem with the mayweather outcome for the dude whining about chestnuts, however it is pretty clear cortez played his part! Such is boxing...

Stop hating on the hitman, he's a legend.

You'll hear no complaints about the likes of Vann being lax with Hatton for hitting and holding or clinching excessivley though, such is boxing...

[imp]

Hatton would have been 25% extra better fighter if it werent for his fat diet between fights.
Ricky has the heart of a lion and he has my support as he seems like a nice guy.
Lets not confuse the beaten ricky hatton that fought pac with the undefeated hatton that fought floyd.
After hatton fought floyd everything after that didnt matter and we all know it is..but lets hate on floyd anyway!

[Beanz]

Hey look... Having the balls to get in with floyd and pac took balls... Nobody is being retarded enough to say otherwise?

My gripe is that I believe he could have beaten pac... Watch the first round, he looks like he might get on top at some point, he's walking pac down and applying educated pressure... Then BHAM, pac clips him and instead of shaking it off he gets pissed and boxing goes out the window. I suspect, had he not had so much hype about being some sort of ungodly pressure fighting machine that he may have recomposed himself, not taken the battering that he did in the rest of the 1st and then who knows? Maybe not end up a sitting duck for that monstorous shot in the second.

If I thought he had no chance at all, then I wouldn't critique him would I?

I think after the Tyzu fight he was misstrained - the focus just on conditioning (he knew this himself, why do you think he ended up leaving graham?), not developing his skills... Which had bu no means peaked lol.

He had the footspeed to trouble floyd in terms of ring generalship, just bothing else... Had he had a bit more in his toolbox he would have at least made it the full 12.

So no... I don't think he 'was a fool for thinking he could beat those guys'. Don't fet it twisted, his lifestyle and the hype he was given stopped reaching his true potential in my eyes... and that is frustrating as a BOXING FAN.

I have no problem with the mayweather outcome for the dude whining about chestnuts, however it is pretty clear cortez played his part! Such is boxing...

Stop hating on the hitman, he's a legend.

You'll hear no complaints about the likes of Vann being lax with Hatton for hitting and holding or clinching excessivley though, such is boxing...

Great post. I am not sure if Ricky could ever have beaten Floyd or Manny. Even if he had taken better care of himself between fights. He would have been a different person and all the variables involved with that may well have meant the fire and belief he had would not have burned so bright. It sounds trite but a huge part of his attraction was that every man persona, however bad an example that was, and however detrimental to his health such behaviour was, it brought in many fans who before watching Hatton would not have even described themselves as casual fans. His feet were always good and he had a pretty sound understanding of how to get an opponent to open up or be drawn into his kind of fight but there was like you say a ceiling on that, a limit that would prevent him getting to the very top without embracing more technical attributes and aspects into his style.

Having the following that he did helped him enormously in providing the belief drive and confidence that in some ways meant he actually overachieved. Winning breeds confidence but he knew exactly how to feed off that and not let doubts creep in. His mental game was good until Floyd and while a more judicious and nuanced approach may
have helped him see the 12th it could equally have exposed his flaws and meant an even earlier exit. Cortez was not the reason Ricky lost but Cortez was poor in that and a few other fights mainly in his inconsistencies and yeah as you have pointed out so was Vann but ultimately one can not say Floyd only won because of Cortez without then saying the same about Dave Paris and Ricky beating Tszyu. That did not look like Ricky when he got in the ring with Manny and I think he knew it, far from believing the hype he looked desperate. He looked beaten before a punch was thrown and I think his carelessness was due to fear. He thought only the wild card would win him that hand, he thought if he did not throw everything at Manny he would get stopped anyway and so he was reckless and it cost him.

[JonnyFolds]

Hey look... Having the balls to get in with floyd and pac took balls... Nobody is being retarded enough to say otherwise?

My gripe is that I believe he could have beaten pac... Watch the first round, he looks like he might get on top at some point, he's walking pac down and applying educated pressure... Then BHAM, pac clips him and instead of shaking it off he gets pissed and boxing goes out the window. I suspect, had he not had so much hype about being some sort of ungodly pressure fighting machine that he may have recomposed himself, not taken the battering that he did in the rest of the 1st and then who knows? Maybe not end up a sitting duck for that monstorous shot in the second.

If I thought he had no chance at all, then I wouldn't critique him would I?

I think after the Tyzu fight he was misstrained - the focus just on conditioning (he knew this himself, why do you think he ended up leaving graham?), not developing his skills... Which had bu no means peaked lol.

He had the footspeed to trouble floyd in terms of ring generalship, just bothing else... Had he had a bit more in his toolbox he would have at least made it the full 12.

So no... I don't think he 'was a fool for thinking he could beat those guys'. Don't fet it twisted, his lifestyle and the hype he was given stopped reaching his true potential in my eyes... and that is frustrating as a BOXING FAN.

I have no problem with the mayweather outcome for the dude whining about chestnuts, however it is pretty clear cortez played his part! Such is boxing...

Stop hating on the hitman, he's a legend.

You'll hear no complaints about the likes of Vann being lax with Hatton for hitting and holding or clinching excessivley though, such is boxing...

I Picked Hatton to win, 30 seconds into the fight after Pac landed his first Right Hook, I knew it was over. Hatton's complete expression changed, and it was clear that the speed had a blinding effect on him. I have no idea how anyone could say he was in the Pac fight whatsoever.

Hatton:
-was using drugs drinking & overeating long before the Pacquiao fight
-so little to prove at this point, and so little he could prove
-will never get a fight with a Top 5 p4p-er again even if he won out the next 2-3 years
-could only hope to become a paper champion
-he will never be able to make 140 again

Good luck in retirement!