The Sporting calendar

Ricky Hatton, was on top of the boxing world. Now, just four Vegas fights later, his boxing career is over.
Boxing is now and always has been, a cruel game.
Every little mistake is there for all the world to see, the glory is all too brief in comparison to the down sides. No matter how good a fighter, there will always be someone better who comes along and takes it all away.

Ricky’s devastating knockout at the hands of ‘Pacman’ in round two of their fight, has undoubtedly blown his fight career apart.
Entering the ring, Hatton looked apprehensive, not his usual jovial self. In the pre fight warm up, shown online, it pictured Ricky and Manny in Ricky’s local pub, playing drts, another photo opportunity maybe, but as Hatton admitted, if he wasn’t fighting the pacman, he would be a fan of his.
The questions arising from the fight are nothing more than incidental, where was Hatton’s defence?
Where was the movement we had heard so much about?
Where was the re found jab?
Where was the ferocious body attack that Hatton used to great effect in his UK title fights?

Wether or not Hatton thought he could win or was feeling the power of Manny in the opening exchanges and decided to get it over with quickly, is irrelevant.
Some fight fans in the crowd stated that Hatton should “fight again to go out on a win” which I totally disagree with, he should retire now, safe in the knowledge that he took on and challenged the very best, and in his own weight catagory, beat them all!
Both of his defeats, came at the hands of fighters who have fought and won many world titles and at weights higher than his own. There is no shame in that at all.

Hatton’s record speaks for itself, a fighter of huge heart and courage, some explosive knockout wins, feared by many in his own weight division, world titles held, respected all around the boxing world.
He has been open and honest with everyone, from the basic fan and local news reporter, to the world press and media, now he needs to be honest with himself.

A wonderful ambassador for the sport, he has never been a swaggering believer of his own self importance, he just wanted to take on the best in the world and had the courage to do just that.

As a trainer he would be a good asset to any fighter, but the track record of great fighters training other fighters, is not a good one.
As a promoter, I think he is too honest for that profession.
I would advise a move into television work within the sport. Not since Jim Watt, has the country had such an experienced voice to explain to joe public the knowledge of the game.

How will Hatton go down in boxing history?
As a lion!
Hatton never dodged any of the top ranked fighters, he displayed humility and courage in all his fights, a refreshingly honest fighter who just strived to be the best in the world, who for a few years, in his own weight division, was exactly that!
Good luck in the future Ricky.

Ricky Hatton is a rare breed of boxer, that cares more for his record than he does for his wages and the glamour.
I like the man, he’s humble, he’s funny, he’s not afraid to laugh at himself, but above all, he’s honest.
In the ring, Hatton will rip out his own heart and beat you with it, if he thought it would swing the fight his way, he is a warrior.

To me when he’s fighting, he is irritating!
I don’t like fighters who pressure, walking forward, easy to hit as they close down the ring space, as Mayweather showed, if you have the power, the counterpuncher will normally win later in the fight, but with Hatton, you get an added bonus, he is a great body puncher!
Nothing is more frustrating than watching a fighter struggling to catch his opponent, as their defence is good, for half the fight and they still don’t use the body shots.

With Hatton, he has a formidable body attack, which reminds me of the great Mike McCallum (the bodysnatcher), which makes Hatton my favourite to win in the later rounds as Manny runs out of steam (the step up in weights must have an effect at some point?)

The problem for me is that Manny isn’t like other fighters, in that as Hatton was forced to take his Mayweather fight at Mayweather’s preferred weight, Manny seems to carry his speed and some of his power over several higher weights.
His speed will cause problems early in the fight for Hatton, but looking at Manny’s fight record reveals that where he’s needed it the power has remained, even at a weight above light-welterweight.

With Mayweather training Hatton, I can see that having a fighter come up in weight to fight, would be to Hatton’s advantage, but many other dangerous world class fighters have thought the same thing and been found out!

This is one tough fight to call, but I am going with Hatton to win by late stoppage or points.
He must get body punches in from the start and mix his attacks, it doesn’t matter how effective a defence, body shots cannot be avoided, this will slow Manny down in the later rounds for Hatton’s power to tell.
The one big advantage for Hatton, is that in his defeat against Mayweather, he learnt a valuable lesson, patience!
Don’t rush in and take your time, or you will be picked off. Without the Mayweather defeat, Hatton’s style would not have changed a bit and he would be fighting the wrong fight come sunday morning.