How good was Rick Hatton?

[Beanz]

Credit to Hatton for getting into the ring against the two p4p fighters today. I just don't think his resume warranted getting those shots in the first place. I think it was more of a popularity issue that carried Hatton to those big paydays.

Where Hatton DID rub me the wrong way was when he dared to imply he was fighting for the world's p4p when he was going to face Pacquaio. The nerve. And just bypass all other, much better fighters than himself in the process? Sorry... that's not the way p4p works. You WORK your way toward a p4p fight by beating the top contenders out there. And convincingly... not the way he got the nod against Luis Collazo.

As it turns out, justice was made in the ring... and any talk of world's p4p disappeared with one vicious left cross from hell.

how does beating the worlds p4p champion not make you the new p4p champion ?

Are you suggesting that beating Pac would've made Hatton the world's p4p? I hope not. #1- He hadn't earned the shot. Just like he hadn't earned the shot at Mayweather. #2- There were lots of fighters more deserving of p4p than Hatton at that point in time. #3- Any fighter can have a bad night. Hatton has never come within sniffing distance of world's p4p. Fact.

I am not saying Hatton was p4p champion , im saying if he had beaten PAC the p4p champion at the time, what would that have made Hatton ?
Its a question aimed at you.

Hard to disagree with either of you to be fair. If Hatton had beaten Manny at the same weight class and Manny is P4P Number 1, surely he's got a right to call himself the best P4P?

That said I wouldnt have considered him the best P4P and agree with Tito, it was for the best he got splatted, would have made an already complicated situation even worse

Glad he lost because the admin should he have won would have been terrible

To be clear, I'm not discrediting Hatton or his accomplishments. I'm just stating that he probably would have not gotten the shots against Mayweather and Pacquiao were it not for his inmense popularity. He had not beaten the necessary "stepping stones" to get to that point. So it's hard for me to swallow that some fluke victory (it happens) against Pacquiao would have made Hatton the world's p4p. Boxing is not arithmetic, where if A>B and B>C, then automatically A>C. Not even the most ardent Hatton fans would have felt in their hearts that Hatton was the world's #1 p4p.

Many,many of both Pacquiao and Mayweathers opponents have not fought fighters whom you would no doubt class as necessary stepping stones.