Hatton fight just a week away. Thoughts?

[TitoFan]

I saw a very good, very candid interview. You can't fault Hatton for wanting to come back and end his career in a better way than he did against Pacquaio, for not wanting that to be his last memory of the sport. But looking beyond boxing, you have to hope that once the boxing is truly over, that he does not return to the suicidal, cocaine-snorting ways of the past. He's geniuinely likeable, and one has to believe he can have a very successful career as a coach of young fighters. As for the comeback itself, I wouldn't set my expectations too high, and the danger remains that he might once again become deluded and/or misled into thinking he can hang with the "big boys" again. Those days are clearly over. Physically he's definitely in shape, although I couldn't help noticing that he looks a bit haggard. That may be due to the constant ups and downs in his weight, or it may be due in part to some of the off-the-ring struggles he's had.

As a fan I would be delighted if he could just pull off a win here and then call it a day with pride intact. This is a comeback fight off of 3 years out and his opponent isn't a novice. If the footwork and stamina is intact then I would like to see him stop Malignaggi and really then possibly put it to rest. Hatton's good footwork was what Paulie couldn't handle. If the footwork and tenacity has slipped though Hatton will need to curb his hopes and end it here. Like you say though, Hatton builds it all up and already he has mentioned Mayweather and Pacquiao. I wince when I hear that. Baby steps first, Ricky. We don't know what he has and until this fight is done Hatton is only guessing himself. He isn't shy of making grand statements.

There's two "Ricky"s. There's the one who opens the interview by saying that... win, lose, or draw, he wants to look in the mirror and say he got himself in shape and gave it a go. That is the likeable, realistic Ricky who most people root for, because he's trying to get his life back in order.

The "other" Ricky, the one that is mentioning Pacquiao and Mayweather, is the deluded Ricky who apparently suffers from amnesia, and has forgotten the frightful KO he was handed by Pac in two rounds. I don't know whether it's him, or whether it's his team putting these things into his head. But this is the side of Ricky I definitely don't root for. It reminds me of when he claimed to be fighting for the world's p4p (against Pac). He wasn't... and that was proven soon enough. It's ok to be confident, but you have to have a sense of reality.