Ricky Hatton with Buddy Mcgirt or Roger Mayweather

Freddie roach will utilize his speed more maybe

 

Freddie could help Ricky come in at angles more

 

doesnt matter its to late.

 

The reason why he has looked worse as he stepped up has nothing to do with him changing the way he fights. It all has to do with him fighting better fighters. Even if he learns to be a better defensive fighter, his offense still isn't great and never was. He jumps on fighters, hits/holds, and swarms them because that's the only way he could be effective.

You can't just go and say "if he had so and so, he would be so much better". It's extremely difficult to suddenly change a fighter completely and improve everything about him. Someone can teach him how to jab well, but it will still be impossible to improve his accuracy. Someone can improve his defense, but he will never have elite level reflexes. You just need to accept him for what he is now, it's way too late to change into a great fighter. Sure, someone like Freddie Roach can improve him a tiny bit and make him more effective, but it's simply impossible for him to suddenly become an A level fighter, especially since he doesn't take care of his body and will be past-prime soon.

 

Hatton is probably as good as he's ever going to get. He's a very good fighter with apparent flaws and flaws that could get him into big trouble with certain styles. I'm afraid that he might be going downhill, although I think he's got 2-3 more good fights left in him.

Graham is a good trainer, but I don't think he has anything to offer Hatton. As Hatton stepped it up to the elite level, his weaknesses became more apparent. He is not a great pressure fighter against the best of the best, he has little head movement, and he isn't a great inside destroyer who gives a multiplicity of angles like his early fights may have suggested.

I feel he reached his potential and has had a very good career thus far. There's no shame in losing to Mayweather.

Had he gone with McGirt, I feel he wouldn't be as effective as McGirt works with good boxers, not pressure fighters. Hatton would likely be more tentative and try to box from the outisde and use his jab more more. And that wouldn't work in his favor as he lacks outside accuracy and long arms. McGirt would sharpen up his defense, however, he wouldn't have employed that defense trying to get inside. He would have been more likely to focus on the improved defense from a longer distance. The same goes for Mayweather or Mayweather Sr.

What Hatton needs is to use his jab more effectively and use more head movement/feints when trying to get inside. It has been his lack of a jab and head movement that has caused him to look worse once he stepped it up in competition. He isn't particurally hard to find and tends to square himself. If he had a trainer who could help him with this in an earlier stage of his career, he would have been better off. Also, he needs to sharpen up his defense on the inside. My take on why he holds and mauls so much is because he gets hit too much when in close and he can avoid getting hit by mauling and using his physical strength.

He went as far as he could with Graham. Freddie Roach would be a good choice if Hatton left Graham as he could improve his defense, have him work his way inside better, and use different angles instead of coming straight in with his hands low and head stationary. But it wouldn't be a huge difference because the main reason Hatton hasn't looked like a vicious whirlwind he once did is because he is fighting the Mayweather's, Castillo's, Collazo's, and Tszyu's. Not the Oliveira's, Pep's, and Stewart's.

The perfect trainer for him would have been Ray Arcel, had he been around and worked with him from the very beginning.

 

Don't write off Hatton going with Roger because Floyd hung out with Ricky days after the fight and the two of them are rumoured to be working together in the near future.

 

Using a lunging jab again and again against one of the fastest and best counter-punchers in the sport was a tad silly, I have to say.

 

Freddie Roach won't happen because of the potential fight with Pacquaio in late 2008

 

Good point

I wouldn't want a Pacquiao-Hatton fight unless Pacquiao beat Juan Manuel Marquez, Joan Guzman, and then stepped it up and beat Juan Diaz. But none of those fights are easy ones for Pac.

 

Easy fight to call...

Pac by KO

 

In all honesty, Hatton is far too strong for Pacquiao. If Pacquiao moved up to 140, he would lose speed and power (the two things that make him great). Hatton has tasted the power of Tszyu @ 140 and Mayweather @ 147, who both hit harder at those weight classes than Pacquiao would at 140. I think Hatton and Pacquiao slug it out on the inside. Hatton would probably let his punches go more against the smaller Pacquiao, but I think he would do his share of grabbling/mauling too in order to wear him down. The pressure, strength, and body punching would take it's toll on Pacquiao. Hatton would be put a beating on Manny.

Hatton TKO5

What do you think about this fight?