How Good was Ricky Hatton?

Solid enough, overachieving world class 140lber and a mediocre welter.

Never looked convincing as a champion to me, with skills that steadily deteriorated from reasonably educated pressure fighter to almost an unwatchable jab, grab and maul style, once he started fighting world opposition, though he was probably right to employ the roughhouse strategy he did against an old Tszyu.

Tough to deal with for sure for fighters at and below B level due to his strength and awkwardness, but imo lacked the inside chops,or durability to be successful with his style against most of the notable junior welters throughout history.Generally just lacked the offensive prowess and sharpness needed to take him beyond being a decent but forgettable champ.

He's probably going to be remembered very favourably strictly as a British great due to the Tszyu win and world title reign, but i don't really agree with that either.He would struggle to make British all-time top 30 for me.I preferred that other overacheving champion Jim watt over him to be honest.

 

Until everyone that matters retires, we will not truly be able to tell.

I think though, his resume will show in time that he was very much on the fringes of becoming a true top 15/20 140lber, some may even have him slightly higher.

 

Well he was/is a nobhead completely, but that's for another day.

I saw his career like this. When he beat Tszyu he was on a genuine platform to establish himself (or attempt to actually) as an all time great light welterweight, as in top ten. Instead the money went to his head and he opted to go for massive money paydays which he had zero chance of winning, rather than the type of legacy enhancing fights that would be recognised in a place such as East Side's Classic forum (haha). He had a win over a top contender in Ben Tackie at the time, which i for one rate, he then got a win over the likes of Maussa and Urango here and there. Not the best, but these are the kind of wins which stack your resume provided the better rated men are added as well. The massive negative was not adding the scalp of Junior Witter to his record, instead going for Castillo, Mayweather and Pacquiao, some fo the greatest of the era, and we know what happened next.

 

Pretty much the way I would summarize his career, although his KOs of Castillo and Maussa were somewhat noteworthy.

Personally, I think he might possibly have stayed at the top longer if he didn't continually balloon in weight between fights and then have to suck himself back down. That's the kind of thing that a fighter can get away with for a short while, but it eventually takes a heavy toll on their bodies. That's what happened to Jorge Paez as a featherweight IMO.

 

I don't think Hatton ever showed the ability to threaten a top 10 junior welter position, anymore than someone like Paul Hodgkinson or Jim Watt did when they became world champions in their respective weightclasses....you could just see that level of talent wasn't there, though feather and light are deeper than junior welter.
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The stars really were aligned perfectly for him to come in at a time when many of his opponents were declining (Tszyu, Castillo, Phillips, Lazcano etc.) and as a result, he ended up getting hyped way beyond his true measure.

A good fighter for sure, but with glaring limitations which were often hinted at even in bouts he won, before the demise of his own prime set in.

 

Not sure if you've ever seen my posts on the Hatton-Witter situation, but i'd rather not get into it now, too draining an experience making the posts. I'm not really bothered personally about who would have won, and i wouldn't particularly be rooting for either, but the fact he didn't face him and how he went about not facing him, was a disgrace.

 

Well, I posted this in the other part of the forum but I'm too lazy to go find it. Here ya go: my thoughts on Ricky now and his future.

What's Next for the Hitman?

Even after well over three months from a devastating loss to the hard punching Manny Pacquiao, Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton still doesn't know what is next for his career. Hatton, who was reduced to tears in a meeting with Muhammad Ali recently, still seems no closer to deciding if he'll return to the squared circle any time soon, a place where he's only suffered two losses in 47 career fights.

Speaking to the AP:

"I've had a lot of fights and sometimes, when you've been in this game as long as I have, running in the morning, training in the afternoon, dieting, I've reached the stage that I've had enough now, I want a bit of a rest," he said.

Well, Hatton seems like a candidate for being able to take all the time he wants to decide. He fought the way fans wish all fighters would fight. Despite his apparent flaws, Hatton bulldozed his way through all comers to an impressive 43-0 before splitting his last two fights against the sport's P4P elite (Pacquiao and Mayweather).

Unlike fellow countryman Joe Calzaghe, Hatton came over to America in his prime and battled against other great fighters in theirs. Hatton's tough-as-nails approach and affable demeanor made him a sure commoditiy, and his raucous Brit following always made his fights must-see-tv.

Ricky Hatton is only 30 years old. Heck, most fighter don't start really slowing down until around 32 or 33 anyways. But pressure fighters like the Hitman burn bright and burn fast. They come onto the boxing scene in a bewildering swirl of aggresive menace and leave just as quickly as if swirling down the drain with the havoc they created.

Here's hoping Ricky Hatton makes the decision that is best for him. In my opinion, he's already a sure fire hall of famer. His impressive ledger of accomplishments, coupled with his willingness to fight the very best, make Ricky Hatton a legend in his own time.


If you ask me, though, it sure looked like he could come back and be more successful in future fights. He has only lost to the very, very best. And in hindsight, maybe a change in approach to training wasn't his best move before the fight with Pacman.

In any event, here's to Ricky Hatton and what ever his future holds.

(If you want to see him at his very best, check out the way he mauled Kostya Tszyu into submission in 2002...)

 

In short, I think he's a hall of famer right now. He is only 30 and I can see him getting some more good wins on his resume to enhance his reputation even more.

 

I respect your view and standpoint on Ricky Hatton in general.

Just so you know mine, here is the last post i made on Hatton. I was asked about him by a poster named Socrates a while ago, a rare moment i ventured into the General forum. Anyway, here's my reply to him.

Socrates i've really gotta go out, so i know you're going to ask for an explanation, so i'll just so this now for you.

Ricky Hatton 'man of the people', wow, Felix Trinidad and Roberto Duran would be sick to their stomachs if they knew the ins and outs of that one.

As a purist boxing fan, i believe that all fighters, on deserving fights the proper way, by winning, should get their opportunity as much as the next man. I understand that boxing politics play a part in the outcome of such careers, but i hate that. Ricky Hatton and Junior Witter should have fought at domestic level, donkeys years ago, before either won an established title. Junior Witter repeatedly called out the man he had a right to face off against, Witter the man with no great fanbase that is. Hatton with the massive army of football fans, knew all along he was in the position of power, and ****in taunted him over it.

Now here's the hypocrisy.

Hatton after beating a past prime, ex best LIGHTWEIGHT of the era in Jose Luis Castillo, 'you've just seen more action in them four rounds than in the whole of Floyd Mayweather's career'. Mayweather enraged, gets the fight made and takes care of business. Now Junior Witter, languishing in the shadows for what seemed like an eternity had done all he could to tempt Hatton into fighting him. What does Hatton reply with, 'he hasn't earned his shot', 'his slagging me off won't do anything'.

But Hatton talking absolute **** about Mayweather is good enough to get him a shot, and as we all know, Hatton should never have shared a ring with Mayweather.

**** me, people still talk about how terrible it was that Charley Burley never won a title due to boxing politics, look at what is happening right here and now.

I'm no Witter fan, i'm no Hatton fan, i'm simply a boxing fan. And what i know is that when you slog your ass off for years in what is the hardest of games, and you earn that number one contender shot the hard way, you should get that shot. Sorry to bang on but i find it absolutely disgusting.

Meanwhile Hatton laughs about the Witter situation, openly.

I hope Khan beheads him and leaves him no excuse this time, no trainer, no ref, just another beating outright

 

Well said, fair,constuctive & OH SO TRUE:smoke

 

Why thank you.