All joking aside, I think it's time he enjoyed his life now. I don't really want to see him box again- he keeps thinking he's got something to prove which really gets at me.
Must have been drunk when he approved it. All jokes aside though, do you not feel this is where he's, partially, gone wrong in his career?
We can argue that till the cows come home but he's maintained that his style of living between fights is what's kept him going. It's a very odd situation where he needs to make himself a mess between fights to wind down so he can then justify working so hard at the gym- knowing that he can enjoy himself again afterwards.
maybe from a results point of view it hasn't helped but that "image" (genuine or not) has been good for business. Of his fights he's won all but 2 and of those 2 would he have won either if he didn't like a drink inbetween fights? I doubt it TBH.
All good points but let's say at 23 he was taken to America and given different sparring, different training and a different lifestyle. Could he have been a better fighter? Could someone have grafted better skills onto an already solid foundation?
yeah man. but you can tell he's still devastated over the pac fight. in two brutal rounds his ego was completely crushed. he's a good guy, he didnt deserve to go through that
Big question mate and I really don't know TBH. My gut reaction is that he's done pretty weill with the skills/ height/ reach etc he's been given. I'm not sure he could have achieved a hell of a lot more, esp. as moving America might have scarificed his ability to build up a fanbase and get him the fights he wanted.
Had he done that would he have had the huge status and following he has built up though? I think you have to appreciate Hatton for all he is: a normal guy with the heart of a lion, never afraid or one to shirk a challenge and, ultimately, one of the best (not THE best but one of) from these shores. Never an all-time great but was the boss of LWW for the best part of 4 years. He's got nothing more to prove, IMO- he's only lost to, arguably, the best two of his generation and gave it his best. Not a bad CV.
No arguments with any of the points made and I totally agree with you about the marketing side of things which has been central to Hatton's success. Let's, for a second, take that side of things away though and look at him from a purely boxing point of view. Look at his strengths. Good chin, respectable power, good foot and handspeed. Look at his weaknesses. Lack of head movement, smothers his work at times, neglects a game plan at times. To me the weaknesses are things that could have been corrected. So from that I draw the conclusion that he could have been a much better fighter with the right training.