Should Hatton have fought one of the young guns after Pac?

If he'd wanted to fight on and won his next fight against Kahn/ Bradley/ Alexander then theres no way he would have retired after that fight.

 

It would have had to have been a different Hatton (and not Matt). Ricky obviously had problems outside the ring before the Pacquiao fight so he would have struggled to stay as no 1 at light welter anyway probably. If Ricky had been a little more professional at times away from boxing, maybe he would still be number one in the division and he'd be beating the likes of Bradley, Alexander and Khan.

There's no doubt that a lot of Ricky's career was based on hype though. Apart from the scrap with Tszyu, Hatton rarely looked really impressive at world level and we don't know if he'd have beaten Khan and Bradley at his best, let alone after getting destroyed by Manny.

 

Some would say winning at world level is impressive in itself.....;O)

 

the hatton that fought Mayweather would have beaten Collazo far more convincingly imho.

i very much doubt hatton could of made 140 again, he struggled like **** to make weight for the pacv fight and was dead at it

 

He wouldn't have beaten any of them. They would have all out boxed him. If he had somehow beaten Bradley it would have easily been his best win, young hungry Bradley tops old faded Tsyzu.

 

Ricky had already proven himself as no1 lww, and as he said often his only remaining goal was to beat the best p4p.

No point. He'd made his intentions clear and stuck to them. Had he won he might have fought on, but he didn't he was the man 140 and one the best of british all time. It's sad he gets so much hate.

 

I agree I think he had all 3 of there numbers stylewise it just depends whether he had enough left in the tank.

 

With the shambles of a training camp he had and the necessity to change head coach, a lay off was always gonna be needed to assess things.

The option of rolling into another fight was never there.

 

By beating an old past it Tszyu and ducking Cotto and Witter for people like Maussa and Lazcano?

The LWW division is tougher now, if Ricky was forced to fight at 140 now, prime or not he gets beat a couple of times. Malignaggi was considered the 2nd best in the division when Ricky was around late 2008 and now Paulie isn't even regarded in the top 7 or so (or wasn't before he moved up to WW). The flood of talent came right after Ricky fought Pac and got destroyed. Ricky did well to retire when he did, so he wouldn't have to face any of the young, slick up and comers, thus preserving the myth he ruled 140 with an iron fight for 4 years.

When Ricky was around there were tough fights he could have had to prove he was the man Cotto and Witter being the main two. He fought neither.

He only stepped up in competition when he was offered high rewards for doing so (Pac and Mayweather), but that doesn't give him a pass on ducking legitimate contenders to the 140 throne. If he fought Cotto instead of Cotto's sloppy second in Maussa, he would have never got his shot v Floyd or Pac because he would have been beaten back to the WBU.

 

Totally agree but be careful because some on this board would string you up for heresy for making such comments about Hatton. I would also add that if the fight against a faded, semi-retired Tszyu (Hatton's greatest win....) had happened in the U.S. with a neutral ref. (i.e. not DAVE PARRIS), Hatton would have been disqualified for some of the WWE crap he pulled that night. Another Frank Warren masterlass in stacking the deck.

Hatton's whole career was built on the back on that 'win', without it he would have continued to headline Frank Warren cards making '10,000' odd meaningless WBU title defenses :deal

 

The Maussa that had sparked Vivien Harris?

 

I agree. I'd maybe favour the prime Ricky over the underdeveloped Alexanders and Khans, but he certainly wouldn't walk through them like everyone thinks. People on here often go over the top in painting Ricky as some sort of monster at 140, when in fact, he only looked as good as he did because he was feasting on lesser skilled opponents on home soil, where he was free to use his mauling tactics. Tell me, would Ricky be having the same success against an Alexander in St Louis? Not saying he would lose. But he most definitely wouldn't walk through him.

As for the Ricky that lost to Pac, I think he would have gone on to be beaten by Alexander, Khan and Bradley. It's a good job he didn't go after them, because his legacy would have taken more dents. At least now he can retire and say "ah well, I only lost to two ATGs.

I also think the current Timothy Bradley beats a prime Ricky Hatton.

 

Good post. Some will consider it a little harsh, but there are a lot of truths in this.