Ricky Hatton admits he will never return

No suprise here realy that Ricky has finnaly admitted he wont be returning to the ring,

But how will he be remembered?

A genuine world class boxer, an over achiever? i mean losing in your last few fights to p4p no1 & 2 i dont see as destroying his legacy.

personally i feel he will in most peoples eyes be remembered as a slight overachiever always a level below the top class.

And finnaly what if he had carried on? could you of seen many good avaliable fights for him?



http://www.sportinglife.com/boxing/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=boxing/11/04/14/BOXING_Hatton.html&BID=543

I don't think Hagler is coming back either.

As i say no suprise at all i never expected to see him in a ring again , but it did get me thinking what if he had carried on?

Was there any more he could have done in boxing or had he simply reached his limit?

Yep mate..it was a bit of a non-story.

I think he'll be remembered as a very good and successful boxer with a massive domestic fan base not rivalled by many.

I think he was quite a crude fighter but effective in what he done.

Not ever P4P quality in my eyes and would have lost to most of the top names in and around 140ibs in his prime but a good fighter nonetheless.

His two losses have got to be the best losses you could ask with the two being the best of their generation.

Great fighter and alltime great although further down the scale......

Fought the best..had longevity and lost to the two fighters who at the time were p4p the best around...

Can relax knowing he won't die wondering..

Great fighter and great servant to the game..

Wish there were more like him.

Good fighter, gave some quality night's entertainment.

Will he make the HoF?

Big question.

Yeah, I think he will. Fought and beat more quality fighters than Mcguigan and had more longevity at the top.

He's not allowed back anyway because of the whole cocaine thing... kinda been covered...

I think he will be mostly remembered for his fan base and the excitement and interest he brought to British boxing.

It’s sad that his two highest profile nights, where fights he was never going to win, but I still remember the atmosphere and thousands of English fans at the Mayweather weigh in.

I think the Khan v Hatton fight would have been a great event and if it had have happened and Ricky won maybe he could have retired on a positive note and been remembered as a great fighter not a nearly man!

For me a limited boxer who did fantastically well in his career.

Did the basics well enough and a very good body puncher but not blessed with the natural ability of some.

Would deserve to get in the HOF if nothing else just because he was a hero to so many. Easily the biggest fan base since Bruno (in the UK).

Khan has the biggest fan base......

probably one of the unluckiest boxers with the biggest heart in the game. went after the 2 best P4P boxers of our time, if he was born another generation or even at a different weight i think he would have dominated his division for a long time.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Khan has the biggest fan base......

I'm guessing this is a joke.

samevans1 wrote:Yeah, I think he will. Fought and beat more quality fighters than Mcguigan and had more longevity at the top.

I don't necessarily disagree - but I like that McGuigan is used (by nearly everyone, me included) as the low benchmark by which one is assessed as HoF worthy.

Why we don't go on a who-isn't-in-it basis I'll never know.

Curry and Barkley still haven't had the call. Did Hatton really achieve more than them/was he really better than them?

Against him - he never unified (although he was accepted as the man). Wins over Tszyu and a faded Castillo.

I think he'll make it in - mostly because of his popularity and ppvs.

Still a bit commercial for my liking.

eddyfightfan wrote:probably one of the unluckiest boxers with the biggest heart in the game. went after the 2 best P4P boxers of our time, if he was born another generation or even at a different weight i think he would have dominated his division for a long time.

Out of interest which division and which times?

Yes Pacman and Floyd are the best of a generation but I do feel there would always be boxers that could have beaten him, would be interested to know your thoughts to the above question.

Unlucky????

Great yes but as for unlucky....Could have been around in Pryor's, Taylor's, Chavez, Camacho, Whitaker's etc etc time ...so there is only so much rope for that argument..

However bonafide great for me....

oxring wrote:Good fighter, gave some quality night's entertainment.

Will he make the HoF?

Big question.

Good question, and if i'm being honest i don't know if he will get the call, i think considering some of the people in there he deserves to be.

Personaly i think he will make the HoF, due mainly to his heart for the game, when his oppurtunity came to fight the big names he done so with no hesitation, and if he was honest with himself he probably knew they were a level above but still went for it all the same.Will be remembered as a nearly man but still he wa great for the sport imo.

Why should Barkley get the call?????

Barkley?

Hearns twice, long history, 3 weight champ, fought from 154 to HW vs Pedroza and Taylor.

He had too many defeats to garbage I'm afraid....

First Tommy fight he lucked out and Darrin Van horn?????

No one who gets outclassed 9-0 in rounds to Toney should be honored in that way..

curry though cleaned up..beat quality fighters, was undisputed.

Also a p4p no 1..he deserves mentioning.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:He had too many defeats to garbage I'm afraid....

First Tommy fight he lucked out and Darrin Van horn?????

No one who gets outclassed 9-0 in rounds to Toney should be honored in that way..

curry though cleaned up..beat quality fighters, was undisputed.

Also a p4p no 1..he deserves mentioning.

Dont think your giving Toney his dues there. Am sure he was hovering close to being P4P #1 at the time

Why did someone mention Curry with Truss around?

I dont see how Hatton can be considered unlucky. He was in a pretty awful Lightwelter division. Even then he missed out on the biggest threats there until Pacquaio.

I actually think he was lucky to be around at the time he was. Caught Tszyu at a perfect time and most of the quality was at Welter.

He comes up short for HoF material for me as there just isnt enough quality wins on his record and I think his dominance of the LWW division doesnt stand up to close inspection.

manos de piedra wrote:I dont see how Hatton can be considered unlucky. He was in a pretty awful Lightwelter division. Even then he missed out on the biggest threats there until Pacquaio.

I actually think he was lucky to be around at the time he was. Caught Tszyu at a perfect time and most of the quality was at Welter.

He comes up short for HoF material for me as there just isnt enough quality wins on his record and I think his dominance of the LWW division doesnt stand up to close inspection.

Bit harsh Tszyu was unbeaten in 8 years and no one was saying he was on the way out when he stopped Mitchell in 3 before he fought Ricky. HoF certainty for me just for what he did for boxing in this country.

prettyboy1304 wrote:

manos de piedra wrote:I dont see how Hatton can be considered unlucky. He was in a pretty awful Lightwelter division. Even then he missed out on the biggest threats there until Pacquaio.

I actually think he was lucky to be around at the time he was. Caught Tszyu at a perfect time and most of the quality was at Welter.

He comes up short for HoF material for me as there just isnt enough quality wins on his record and I think his dominance of the LWW division doesnt stand up to close inspection.

Bit harsh Tszyu was unbeaten in 8 years and no one was saying he was on the way out when he stopped Mitchell in 3 before he fought Ricky. HoF certainty for me just for what he did for boxing in this country.

I dont think it is harsh. Tszyu was 36 and at the tail end of his career. Hatton was probably as good as he ever was that night. If we are talking timing then Hatton could scarcely have asked for better. Its a good win, nothing wrong with it but for people to say Hatton was unlucky in the timing of his career I think has no basis. He caught the top guy at the right stage and then had a fairly weak lightwelter division which for me, he never stamped his authority on. It was an inbetweener division whle Hatton was there with better quality either side of it at lightweight and welterweight. Hatton carefully plotted a low risk course in order to secure the big fights far more than actually dominating the division as is sometimes suggested.

I accept that theres a good argument for him to be HoF worthy for the kind of draw he was though and undoubtadly he was great for British boxing. If you are talking quality and c.v though he falls short for me.

manos de piedra wrote:

prettyboy1304 wrote:

manos de piedra wrote:I dont see how Hatton can be considered unlucky. He was in a pretty awful Lightwelter division. Even then he missed out on the biggest threats there until Pacquaio.

I actually think he was lucky to be around at the time he was. Caught Tszyu at a perfect time and most of the quality was at Welter.

He comes up short for HoF material for me as there just isnt enough quality wins on his record and I think his dominance of the LWW division doesnt stand up to close inspection.

Bit harsh Tszyu was unbeaten in 8 years and no one was saying he was on the way out when he stopped Mitchell in 3 before he fought Ricky. HoF certainty for me just for what he did for boxing in this country.

I dont think it is harsh. Tszyu was 36 and at the tail end of his career. Hatton was probably as good as he ever was that night. If we are talking timing then Hatton could scarcely have asked for better. Its a good win, nothing wrong with it but for people to say Hatton was unlucky in the timing of his career I think has no basis. He caught the top guy at the right stage and then had a fairly weak lightwelter division which for me, he never stamped his authority on. It was an inbetweener division whle Hatton was there with better quality either side of it at lightweight and welterweight. Hatton carefully plotted a low risk course in order to secure the big fights far more than actually dominating the division as is sometimes suggested.

I accept that theres a good argument for him to be HoF worthy for the kind of draw he was though and undoubtadly he was great for British boxing. If you are talking quality and c.v though he falls short for me.

Not sure fighting southpaw (?) Collazo at welter was the safe choice. Urango went on to win the IBF in Hattons absence, Maussa was the WBA beltholder, and Malignaggi was universally regarded as the best guy other than Hatton at the weight

Michaels, Sean wrote:

manos de piedra wrote:

prettyboy1304 wrote:

manos de piedra wrote:I dont see how Hatton can be considered unlucky. He was in a pretty awful Lightwelter division. Even then he missed out on the biggest threats there until Pacquaio.

I actually think he was lucky to be around at the time he was. Caught Tszyu at a perfect time and most of the quality was at Welter.

He comes up short for HoF material for me as there just isnt enough quality wins on his record and I think his dominance of the LWW division doesnt stand up to close inspection.

Bit harsh Tszyu was unbeaten in 8 years and no one was saying he was on the way out when he stopped Mitchell in 3 before he fought Ricky. HoF certainty for me just for what he did for boxing in this country.

I dont think it is harsh. Tszyu was 36 and at the tail end of his career. Hatton was probably as good as he ever was that night. If we are talking timing then Hatton could scarcely have asked for better. Its a good win, nothing wrong with it but for people to say Hatton was unlucky in the timing of his career I think has no basis. He caught the top guy at the right stage and then had a fairly weak lightwelter division which for me, he never stamped his authority on. It was an inbetweener division whle Hatton was there with better quality either side of it at lightweight and welterweight. Hatton carefully plotted a low risk course in order to secure the big fights far more than actually dominating the division as is sometimes suggested.

I accept that theres a good argument for him to be HoF worthy for the kind of draw he was though and undoubtadly he was great for British boxing. If you are talking quality and c.v though he falls short for me.

Not sure fighting southpaw (?) Collazo at welter was the safe choice. Urango went on to win the IBF in Hattons absence, Maussa was the WBA beltholder, and Malignaggi was universally regarded as the best guy other than Hatton at the weight

Collazo was/is considered a weakish welterweight. Maussa and Urango were/are considered average champions. Malignaggi wasnt neccessarily considered the best lightwelterweight other than Hatton. Witter was ranked 1 contender for the most part of Hattons reign with the likes of Holt, Torres and Bradley all staking claims at various points. Cotto also in his brief stay at the weight.

I dont blame Hatton for the way he went about because he was clearly trying to secure the bigger fights. But he was by no means systematic in taking on the best at lightwelter or in clearing out the division. His goal was try and get big fights with limited risks. He acheived that through careful navigation and decent fight selection.

Collazo was and is an awkward opponent for anyone as the Berto fight showed which in my opinion he won
Holt, Torres and Bradley all staked claims after Hatton was seaking out the likes of Mayweather and Pacquiao.
At the time Malignaggi was considered the best behind him for whatever reason
So you'd rather him to have fought the likes of Holt and Bradley to Mayweather and Pacquaio?

The Mighty Atom wrote:Collazo was and is an awkward opponent for anyone as the Berto fight showed which in my opinion he won
Holt, Torres and Bradley all staked claims after Hatton was seaking out the likes of Mayweather and Pacquiao.
At the time Malignaggi was considered the best behind him for whatever reason
So you'd rather him to have fought the likes of Holt and Bradley to Mayweather and Pacquaio?

Where are you getting this from?

Because at no point did I say I would rather he fought Torres/Holt/Bradley and I specifically say I dont blame him for his course of action.

1) Timing was not against Hatton. The lightwelterweight division was weak at the time at he caught Tszyu at a great moment. Feel free to disagree with me on this but please state why?

2) Hatton didnt dominate the division the way its suggested by some. He was careful in plotting course to Maywather and then Pacquaio. Witter was generally considered the number 2 lightwelterweight who he never fought. Bradley beat Witter and he didnt fight him either. Holt and Torres also held belts there and he didnt fight them. Cotto was in the division for a while and he failed to fight him either. So while its perfectly acceptable to chase the Mayweather fight, it comes at the expense of being able to dominate and unify his own division. Think of the best Lightwelters that were around once Hatton became the man at the weight. Its was generally considered Witter, Cotto, Malignaggi and towards the end, Bradley. As he only fought one of those I find it hard to accept he actually dominated the division. He may well have been capable of it. I would fancy him over Witter and Bradley but just about edge Cotto over him. But he didnt actually do it and none of those fights were gimmes for him. All were would have been real challenges. The Urangos and Maussas were the weaker of the bunch, just like Collazo was the weaker of the bunch at welterweight when you consider the division at the time.

huw wrote:

eddyfightfan wrote:probably one of the unluckiest boxers with the biggest heart in the game. went after the 2 best P4P boxers of our time, if he was born another generation or even at a different weight i think he would have dominated his division for a long time.

Out of interest which division and which times?

Yes Pacman and Floyd are the best of a generation but I do feel there would always be boxers that could have beaten him, would be interested to know your thoughts to the above question.

take just now for example, i think he would could have taken khan, bradley, alexander, maidana, etc

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Unlucky????

Great yes but as for unlucky....Could have been around in Pryor's, Taylor's, Chavez, Camacho, Whitaker's etc etc time ...so there is only so much rope for that argument..

However bonafide great for me....

okay maybe not unlucky but definetly too much courage for his own good. he could easily have been a lot more tactical with fight selection and take out a few more high level opponents.

eddyfightfan wrote:

huw wrote:

eddyfightfan wrote:probably one of the unluckiest boxers with the biggest heart in the game. went after the 2 best P4P boxers of our time, if he was born another generation or even at a different weight i think he would have dominated his division for a long time.

Out of interest which division and which times?

Yes Pacman and Floyd are the best of a generation but I do feel there would always be boxers that could have beaten him, would be interested to know your thoughts to the above question.

take just now for example, i think he would could have taken khan, bradley, alexander, maidana, etc

Maybe he would, maybe he wouldnt have. But they are a level up from the division Hatton operated in which is the point.

People are getting misty eyed if they believe its only the likes of Pacquaio and Mayweather that could beat Hatton. He wsnt unlucky, he just wasnt elite.

eddyfightfan wrote:

huw wrote:

eddyfightfan wrote:probably one of the unluckiest boxers with the biggest heart in the game. went after the 2 best P4P boxers of our time, if he was born another generation or even at a different weight i think he would have dominated his division for a long time.

Out of interest which division and which times?

Yes Pacman and Floyd are the best of a generation but I do feel there would always be boxers that could have beaten him, would be interested to know your thoughts to the above question.

take just now for example, i think he would could have taken khan, bradley, alexander, maidana, etc

I'm not sure as these guys are probably better than most of his CV maybe 3-4 fighters better. There would always be someone new coming along and Hatton had a very good run. He was a world champ and very highly rated in Ring, if he was up and coming now there would still be the likes of Pacman and Floyd around now as well.

Don't really see how taking him out of when he was, where he did exceptionally well and putting him in any other time would have given him better results. Wasn't he only beaten once at his favoured weight? Just don't think he could ever live his career again and do as well as he did.

To be honest, if the undercard of Khan/McClosky is as woeful as they say, Hatton might have to get his gloves on again. Wonder if Junior is available?

DAVE667 wrote:To be honest, if the undercard of Khan/McClosky is as woeful as they say, Hatton might have to get his gloves on again. Wonder if Junior is available?

Hes probabaly closer to John McDermott at this point