Ricky Hatton: Don’t Come Back to Boxing
By Damien Norman
There have been all kinds of speculation surrounding Ricky Hatton’s comeback this year but thankfully it has been nothing but that.
Hatton, who was the UK’s Light Welterweight star for many years, had an exceptional boxing career with 45 wins and just two losses. For such a long period of time “The Hitman” was unstoppable and up to 2007 had a perfect record.
He took on and defeated some of the Worlds best picking up many Titles on the way and did his Country and worldwide fans proud but at the end of 2007 went to America and was outclassed by the superstar Floyd Mayweather JR.
After losing this fight everybody called for his retirement with the feeling that he had nothing else to prove. A class act in the ring but no match for the likes of Mayweather… but Hatton boxed on.
In 2008 he fought twice and won twice; a UD victory over Juan Lazcano and an 11th round TKO victory over Paul Malignaggi. He had kept hold of and successfully defended his IBO Title but both opponents were significantly lesser than the likes of Mayweather. Although it was called on after his loss, now really would have been a perfect time to bail out of the sport with his head held high, but again, Hatton Boxed on.
This decision was a terrible one and after already losing to World class operator In Mayweather he did little to convince the World that he could compete with opponents as classy as this.
In 2009, in the same arena that Mayweather had knocked him out Hatton decided to take on and defend his Title against the superior Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao was up there (and in many peoples eyes above) Mayweather and it would seem a near impossible mission to come through this fight as the winner against ‘Pac Man’, and as predicted Pacquiao had way too much for Hatton and knocked him out in just the 2nd round.
It was an awful way for Hatton to go out but at least this time he made the decision to stay away from the sport but with rumors suggesting he is currently in the gym getting into tip-top condition for a return to the ring is there any truth in this and will this be another huge mistake for Hatton?
Ricky Hatton has always enjoyed a pint of lager and kebab, and between fights has been renowned for being particularly out of shape and the truth is that this is murder on your body. Putting on a couple of pounds is ok but when your piling on stone after stone and then losing it dramatically… the affects to your body can be catastrophic and as a labeled “athlete” it does not look good on any front.
The above would seem miniscule in comparison to Hatton’s cocaine shame. It was admirable that he openly spoke about it and checked into rehab and took the correct steps in order to sort out the problem but it is upsetting to see such an honorable sports star going down this route. Of course he is not alone here and the superstar Joe Calzaghe has also walked this path amongst many others.
With all that money, fame and fortune I can only imagine how hard it must be to turn to drugs and alcohol. Throughout the years there has been many famous names caught out for similar reasons and although it is easy to hound them and make an example of them I believe the best thing to do is to forgive their sins and try and remember them for their achievements and in Ricky Hatton’s case it is easy to do this.
I will always be disappointed in him for thinking with his wallet and not brains when he decided not to retire and take on Manny Pacquiao and I know deep down so will a lot of his fans. Lots of people reading this will be screaming ‘but he wanted to prove he was the best pound for pound fighter’… the words ‘pound for pound’ simply frustrate me when I reminisce about that weight division at that particular time. I never for a split second believed Ricky Hatton had any sort of realistic chance against Mayweather and deep down I don’t believe he did either. I appreciate the stick he may have received if he hadn’t of taken on Mayweather and ok, so let’s propose then that he lost to Mayweather, beat Lazcano and Malignaggi and then retired… surely that would have been a perfect way to go out?
I could talk all day about what I think Ricky Hatton should have done but it will not change anything. “The Hitman” was a fantastic servant of Boxing for many years and should be proud of all of his achievements inside the ring.
Financially he hasn’t done too badly either (to say the least) and any thoughts of a comeback would be haunting. I can only imagine how tempting it must be to Box on or to come out of retirement and you only have to look at the likes of Evander Holyfield and Bernard Hopkins to see how badly Boxers want to keep going and proving themselves but there has to be a time when you retire and Ricky Hatton is (and has) been there for a few years now. “Retire whilst you still have your health” is the old saying and it is so very true. There is really no need to risk receiving a severe beating in the ring and damaging your long term health all for the sake of coming back for another fight and you only have to look as far as Calzaghe and Lennox Lewis to see that it can be done.