Quote Originally Posted by Althugz View Post
Why are the two fights Ricky had at 147 perceived to mean that he wasn't comfortable there? He fought Luis Collazo and Floyd Mayweather, two fighters who probably would have beaten him at 140 as well. I don't see the Floyd fight going any differently if it was at 140. Floyd was still an offensive beast at 140 who wasn't afraid to let his hands go. I predict it would have ended earlier at that weight.

I'm a die hard Hatton fan and always will be but I never used the weight as an excuse as to why he lost to Floyd and why he struggled against Luis. However there is no doubt in my mind that Cortez pulled a hack job in that fight. Quite possibly the worst job I have ever seen. Thats not an excuse but a fact and if the rolls were reversed I'd being saying the same thing. Would it have changed the outcome? Of course it would have and I'm not saying that Ricky would have won. Collazo as you rightly point out was/is just a bad style for Ricky and he's a southpaw to boot.

Collazo would have been trouble for Ricky Hatton in any weight division. Ricky will always struggle with slick, thinking boxers who aren't intimidated or bullied by him. That's just how it is. (I'm sure Philosopher can scour BoxRec to find some slick boxers like Carlos Maussa that Hatton defeated in the past but Ricky will always struggle with upper echelon slick boxers).

So where did this myth come from? Was Ricky expected to beat Collazo and Floyd with ease or something? I'm confused. These are two world class fighters we're judging him on.

Most people even non Hatton fans believed Hatton would beat Collazo convincingly. I don't really know any Hatton fans that suggested Ricky would beat Floyd with ease on any forum.

I feel that he and his fans think 140 was his best weight because 1) He could bully his opponents a bit more by drying himself into the weight (inducing herpes and all sorts usually on his mouth come weigh-in time!).

Again, I don't think weight is a valid excuse for his failings. One could easily argue that given his ballooning in-between fights that 147 is actually safer.

2) He never fought fighters like Collazo or Floyd at 140. Kosta Tsuyu was still game when he fought Ricky and of course, that was his best performance..but on the flip side he also got brutally KO'd at 140 by Manny Pacquiao so it could easily just be said he struggled with his higher calibur opponents.

No I cant agree with that entirely. That Manny fight was a train wreck the moment he hired Sr and fired Graham. Ricky became star struck and left the most important tool in the box back in his dressing room namely his head. In a nutshell he fought stupid and paid the ultimate price.

I'm trying to come at this as neutral as possible and I have the utmost respect Ricky for getting rid of Warren at the right time to pursue the toughest challenges in America (Something JC never did until his very last, meaningless fight). Never ANY shame in losing to the absolute best like he did. I just wonder whether Ricky and fans look at him with rose-tinted glasses.

As stated earlier the success imo effected Ricky when his appeal crossed the pond and it had a trickle down effect ending with his performance. Not sure who Calzaghe could have fought that he didn't at 168. Simply put there was really no threat to Joe when he peaked at that weight on these shores. Lacy was the best of the lot and was supposed to take Joe out but we all know what happened. Shortly after of course Lacy was given bum status. No idea how Ricky views himself. Would like to think that I can be fair and objective where he is concerned.

What are your thoughts? Will you change your mind if Ricky puts on a performance in his comeback at 147 in November?

I wanted him to stay retired and I think he will definitely show some ring rust. I'm not expecting to much but hoping for the best.


Those are my thoughts.