Lots of threads on Hatton losing but I think he could have done himself a great service by taking an easier opponent 3 and half years out. He was winning and looking good in spots and just lost to an opponent with better timing due to being a more active fighter. When he started to miss wildly, he also started to tire a lot. He would have beaten senchenko with a proper tune-up. But he has a big heart for wanting to take the challenge.
Hatton is a warrior. He didn't want to take the Joe Cal route. Beating a scrub wouldn't have told us anything about his current state, anyway.
The Lazcano fight?? Where he won pretty much every round? Anyway, I agree with the OP, why didnt he just fight a couple of easy tune ups against stiffs. He hadnt fought in 3 years! Why jump right back in against a world ranked fighter??
Hatton is too old to continue fighting with his brawling style. A look at boxing history will tell you that brawling fighters rarely last past age 30. Ricky retired in the last of his prime and made an ill advised decision to come back without adapting his fighting style.
He should've just finally given Witter the shot he's been after all these years. It would've made more money (since that was a hotly demanded domestic clash for some time) than importing some little-known foreigner - and he probably could've beaten today's Witter with the tools he brought into the ring evident in rounds 1-5. In addition to making dollars and sense on its face and perfectly easy to make since Witter's never stopped gagging for it and both are currently at welterweight - it would set up a potentially even bigger money clash with Fun Time with Witter being their recently vanquished common denominator & yardstick.
Thing is even if he did, tonight clearly showed he's shot so he may of ended up fighting someone with more pop a fight or two later thinking he's "back" and got seriously ****ing hurt. Tonight was a blessing in disguise for him.
Where he went pretty much life and death every round, against a guy who was shot to **** and flabby and was OK but never about to conquer the world even in his prime.
Hatton would have been buying time if he had fought a true tomato can. I think this fight saved him from a brutal KO. Had he won and built up confidence to take on the top tier at 147 he might be knocked out cold again.
