What will Hatton's legacy be?

[THE THIRD MAN]

Gotta give credit where credit is due, if he beats the Magic Man (which he should). He will be the best 140 lber of this era. I honestly think he will be obscure to casual American boxing fans in 5 years time, but will be remembered fondly by a majority of Mancunians and by far and large most casual boxing fans in the UK. Overall in the scheme of things at 140 a very good case could be made for having him at 3rd or 4th.

Well put, if he unifies at 140lb in 2009 then i have him 4th behind Pryor, Tszyu and Chavez. What worries me is his size, did you see him at ringside next to DLH at the Marquez V Casamayor fight? Looked like he cleaned house at McDonalds!! He must have been close to 160lb

#4? Really? Here's a few other guys who won titles at LWW that you may wish to consider. You could argue that any one of this bunch could have more than held their own against Hatton at 140. Depends how you evaluate them I guess.

Oscar de la Hoya
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pernell Whitaker
Wilfred Benitez
Antonio Cervantes

Yep, i considered them but i have reasons for not including them in the top 5, both DLH and Mayweather were never around long enough at 140lb to make their mark in this division. Pryor cleaned up Cervantes and i see no reason why both Chavez and Tszyu wouldn't do the same. Whitaker was an all time great Lightweeight Champion but would have been hard pressed to beat Pryor and Tszyu. The draw against Chavez was a travesty of justice i'll admit that. Benitez has the best case going for him out of the lot and yes i would place him ahead of Hatton. Sorry about that.

[CGM]

Well put, if he unifies at 140lb in 2009 then i have him 4th behind Pryor, Tszyu and Chavez. What worries me is his size, did you see him at ringside next to DLH at the Marquez V Casamayor fight? Looked like he cleaned house at McDonalds!! He must have been close to 160lb

#4? Really? Here's a few other guys who won titles at LWW that you may wish to consider. You could argue that any one of this bunch could have more than held their own against Hatton at 140. Depends how you evaluate them I guess.

Oscar de la Hoya
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pernell Whitaker
Wilfred Benitez
Antonio Cervantes

Yep, i considered them but i have reasons for not including them in the top 5, both DLH and Mayweather were never around long enough at 140lb to make their mark in this division. Pryor cleaned up Cervantes and i see no reason why both Chavez and Tszyu wouldn't do the same. Whitaker was an all time great Lightweeight Champion but would have been hard pressed to beat Pryor and Tszyu. The draw against Chavez was a travesty of justice i'll admit that. Benitez has the best case going for him out of the lot and yes i would place him ahead of Hatton. Sorry about that.

My point is that the guys I mentioned would beat Hatton at LWW, not how long they stuck around. By the "how long they stuck around" criteria, a guy like Ray Leonard barely rates as an all time WW. IF guys like de la Hoya and PBF stuck around at LWW it would be a different story for sure. The way the top of the line guys (unlike ykw) move through the divisions, it kind of makes an all time LWW ranking pretty meaningless. cheers

[Thread Stealer]

Well put, if he unifies at 140lb in 2009 then i have him 4th behind Pryor, Tszyu and Chavez. What worries me is his size, did you see him at ringside next to DLH at the Marquez V Casamayor fight? Looked like he cleaned house at McDonalds!! He must have been close to 160lb

#4? Really? Here's a few other guys who won titles at LWW that you may wish to consider. You could argue that any one of this bunch could have more than held their own against Hatton at 140. Depends how you evaluate them I guess.

Oscar de la Hoya
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pernell Whitaker
Wilfred Benitez
Antonio Cervantes

Yep, i considered them but i have reasons for not including them in the top 5, both DLH and Mayweather were never around long enough at 140lb to make their mark in this division. Pryor cleaned up Cervantes and i see no reason why both Chavez and Tszyu wouldn't do the same. Whitaker was an all time great Lightweeight Champion but would have been hard pressed to beat Pryor and Tszyu. The draw against Chavez was a travesty of justice i'll admit that. Benitez has the best case going for him out of the lot and yes i would place him ahead of Hatton. Sorry about that.

There's no shame at getting stopped by Pryor at the end of your career, or even losing a decision to a young Benitez. Cervantes stayed around a long time at 140, and was a long-time champ.

[Plopeater]

Hatton like most ex Warren fighters stayed in GB and fought to many poor fighters in his early title fights, plus he had the WBU belt, wtf