Hatton to fight in manchester against Forbes

[Howlin Mad Missy]

Did people b1tch this much when that Lazcano fight was announced? Because Forbes is a step above him IMO.

some did and Forbes IS better than people are giving him credit for.

[belakbox]

I think Forbes is the right opponent for Hatton right now. He's not a push over, has some skills and should Hatton win will be a good confidence builder.

[HattonTheHammer]

I think Forbes is the right opponent for Hatton right now. He's not a push over, has some skills and should Hatton win will be a good confidence builder.

Agree on the whole comeback thing

But should a guy who admittedly only has 2-3 fights left in him waste one of those fights fighting someone who everybody would expect him to roll over??

[ono]

Tricky for Ricky. He's picked someone who he thinks he'll be able to walk through their punches but Forbes did a number on Oscar when he tried to mix it in their fight and Oscar had to settle for outboxing him. Ricky won't be able to outbox him and he'll have to risk getting sparked all through the fight to land enough to get him the decision. I don't think even not having to make 140 will help him too much here. Going for Forbes tells me he Ricky doesn't believe he could beat Khan or anybody decent at 140, this definitely looks like a farewell fight. I'm going for Forbes in a surprise upset.

You've got to be kidding. I don't care how shot Hatton is, there is no way he gets stopped by Steve Forbes. The guy has 7 stoppages in 34 fights, all of which came against inferior competition. Hatton might get outboxed, which I doubt, but he won't get stopped.

I'm going on how Oscar did with Forbes then how oscar did with Manny versus how Hatton did against him. I think Forbes has a good chance of stopping Hatton.

Me too. Forbes will make Hatton eat a fair few combinations and that is something Hatton has never been able to deal with...see Collazo, Mayweather, Pacman.

Plenty said Mayweather didn't have enough power to Ko him or Pacquiao didn't but look what happened. Collazo nearly had him out and he is considered a light puncher.

Don't be surprised if Hatton get's stopped or hurt at some point in the fight.

[yvonne]

This fight does'nt really float my boat but it could do if it draws near!I'd like to see Hatton have a slug fest with Witter instead.Is he fighting Forbes because he is American and that would draw the big t.v boardcastings and make Hatton a few more £££s towards his retirement??

No offence to you great Americans,but fuck having to keep everyone happy Hatton and bloody give us brits that fight with Witter and set the record straight once and for all.There's bad blood in between Hatton vs Witter over the last 6-7 years and their've been slagging each other off something rotten.It would be a awesome fight over here and if Hatton does lose if their did get it on he would still get my respect,but fighting Forbes.........i dont see that much interest in it reallynevertheless i'd like to see Hatton fight before he retires!

[CFH]

This fight does'nt really float my boat but it could do if it draws near!I'd like to see Hatton have a slug fest with Witter instead.Is he fighting Forbes because he is American and that would draw the big t.v boardcastings and make Hatton a few more £££s towards his retirement??

No offence to you great Americans,but fuck having to keep everyone happy Hatton and bloody give us brits that fight with Witter ans set the record straight once and for all.There's bad blood in between Hatton vs Witter over the last 6-7 years and their've been slagging each other off something rotten.It would be a awesome fight over here and if Hatton does lose if their did get it on he would still get my respect,but fighting Forbes.........i dont see that much interest in it reallynevertheless i'd like to see Hatton fight before he retires!

No one in America gives a flying fuck about Forbes and I doubt the networks do either. Hatton wants nothing to do with Witter, that's been made very clear. Before, I'm sure he thought, and probably still thinks, he could beat him but didn't want to risk it (high-risk/low reward fight), now Witter would have a very good chance of beating Hatton. The fight, unfortunately, will never happen.

[fan johnny]

Said all along hatton would go down 2 routes and if this is indeed true he`s taken the wrong one.


This is simply hattons way of bowing out with a win in his hometown against a very ordinary opponent who he`ll have no trouble seeing off as long as he trains properly.

He should of gone down the comeback route at 30 he is still capable of several world title fights and has the ability to end his career on top of the division with a record of 48,49-2 which would stamp his legacy as one of the all time british greats.

• november comeback against a holt/torres in new york or somewhere like that
• Then a bid to claim the WBO against bradley which again would be stateside which hatton should be able to win with the fight happening sometime in may 2010
• massive vegas showdown against a marquez/cotto/berto with the chance to end his career on top of the sport.
• If beaten one last final showdown in late 2010 against amir khan back in the uk

I agree, I think Hatton still has a big show or two left in him.

[Pugilistic]

Why would it be at 147 ?

Both guys can make 140.....i think.

[Kel]

Why would it be at 147 ?

Both guys can make 140.....i think.

Hatton can't make 140 very well these days IMO

[Kirkland Laing]

I thought if Hatton fought Katsidis it could look like Katsidis-Earl. I think people are overestimating what he has left. If he'd turned up at the Wild Card gym in disguise a couple of months before the Manny fight and got himself a job as a Hatton impersonator to spar with Manny he would have been kicked out of the gym after a couple of rounds for being a pale imitation of Hatton. He's not going to fight any differently to the way he did against Manny for the rest of his career.

He's going to have to walk through other fighters to get to them and take a lot of punches, and he can't take punches anymore. I don't think Forbes will spark him but he can definitely stop him in the late rounds. Not having to make 140 will help but all those years of boozing, weight gain, making weight and the accumulation of punches taken over the years mean Hatton isn't anything like the fighter he was.

[Kel]

I thought if Hatton fought Katsidis it could look like Katsidis-Earl. I think people are overestimating what he has left. If he'd turned up at the Wild Card gym in disguise a couple of months before the Manny fight and got himself a job as a Hatton impersonator to spar with Manny he would have been kicked out of the gym after a couple of rounds for being a pale imitation of Hatton. He's not going to fight any differently to the way he did against Manny for the rest of his career.

He's going to have to walk through other fighters to get to them and take a lot of punches, and he can't take punches anymore. I don't think Forbes will spark him but he can definitely stop him in the late rounds. Not having to make 140 will help but all those years of boozing, weight gain, making weight and the accumulation of punches taken over the years mean Hatton isn't anything like the fighter he was.

Agreed on all points.

[holmcall]

Hatton will win but will not look good in the process. Forbes has a granite jaw and is a savvy fighter. Ricky should retire with this one and on a high note.

[Diane]

Why would it be at 147 ?

Both guys can make 140.....i think.

Hatton can't make 140 very well these days IMO

I agree, I think his body just can't do it anymore. The older you get, the harder it gets to lose the weight, and lets face it, Hatton put his body through hell with how often he ballooned up in between fights.

And IMO, he did not look healthy at all, at the Pac weigh-in, he looked worse than usual.

And Forbes makes sense IMO. Hatton just got brutally KTFO, he's nearing, or is at the end of his career, he's made his money, so why would he put himself in with a big puncher. I think he wants a fight that he should be able to win, and do it in his hometown for his fans.

He has sparred with Forbes, so he knows what to expect with him, and he knows that it's highly unlikely that Forbes could knock him out. But, Forbes does have a chance at beating him IMO.

I don't necessarily like the fight, but I understand it.

[donnydarkoIRL]

Makes sense to me...

Ricky and Steve get on very well, they spent a lot of time together in Manchester before Castillo.

so they pitch a fight together, stge it in Manchester, huge crowd, huge profit, close their careers.

[ono]

Hatton: Forbes sounds interesting. Is it a one off then? Or is Hatton just testing the waters for further fights? And most curiously why at 147? Is this an admission that 140 really was too much for him in the end and it was Mayweather and Collazo that pushed him back down?

No he's fighting him 3 times. Then if he wins he has to fight Forbes' Dad.

Very similar to the Klitschko - Haye contract.