Until Mayweather and Cotto moved up,Hatton was a distant third.He is now probably the best at 140(with the right referee allowing his hook and hold technique)presently.:good
Yes, Hatton is the best at 140 right now, but let's be honest-the division isn't very deep right now. Harris, Witter and Malignaggi are all fine fighters, but none of them are elite. Castillo is clearly shot, and guys like Holt and D-Hop probably never will be able to seriously compete with the top 5. I'd like to see Hatton move to 147 (arguably the deepest division in boxing) and fight any of the top 10 guys. Obviously, most of us want to see Hatton-PBF...perhaps we will.
Yeah by default. Only because Cotto and Mayweather left the division. And nobody is even sure that he's the best 140 pounder from your island because he's been avoiding Witter like the plague for the better part of a decade.
That's great, and Butterbean is the greatest 4 round heavyweight fighter of all time. Neither distinction amounts to much considering the competition.
Hatton was the undisputed 140 champ when both were there with him, he was no distant 3rd. Hatton beats Cotto at 140 and Mayweather - Hatton at 140 was 60/40 in Mayweather's favor for me.
He is #1 contender, he needs to beat Witter and Malignaggi right now to prove he is the best. If he beat Malignaggi this will indicate how far/close he is to Cotto.
Hatton the #1 contender? Give me a break....... Hatton is the undisputed champ at 140, what the hell would beating Malignaggi and Witter prove? They have to beat Hatton to prove that they belong among the elite pound for pounders. Cotto is a full fledged welter, Hatton and Cotto don't belong in the ring together at this point due to the size difference. As far as pound for pound, Hatton is at least 2 spots ahead of Cotto. Beating Tszyu and Castillo is more than Cotto has accomplished.