WelshDevilRob Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 'Ricky Hatton isn't Rocky and there'll be no Hollywood ending' By Barry McGuigan I don't regret a thing in my career, not even retirement at 28. Would Ricky Hatton say the same if he goes ahead with his comeback? It is not a wise move. Hatton has nothing to prove. He enjoyed a fine career as one of the most successful British boxers of all time. He does not need the money or the adulation. What is one more win after that victory over Kostya Tszyu? In the fullness of time that is the kind of performance for which he will be remembered. If he were to beat Juan Manuel Marquez it would not make the defeats to Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao any less withering. And who is to say he will put away Marquez at 140lb? We shouldn't forget that Marquez almost beat Pacquiao, took him to the wire in two barnburners at featherweight and superfeather. Hatton would not be meeting Marquez on the terms engineered by Mayweather, who had it all his own way at 147lb. It's a tough fight, an unnecessary risk. Pacquiao was a natural end, if not the fairytale finish he wanted. That's life. My last fight was against Jim McDonnell. The bout was stopped in the fourth round after I suffered a cut in the third. The magic had disappeared. I wasn't in this game to be a journeyman. I didn't want to campaign several notches below my best. I know where that ends. You end up being cannon fodder for up-and-coming kids. I did not want that for me. I thought at the time that I had trained as hard as I ever had, but I realise now that I no longer had the passion. To be honest, it was not a hard decision to get out, even though there were plenty telling me that I retired too soon. Yes, it would have been brilliant to have gone on to another world title shot. That's how Rocky did it. But the real world is not like that. One assumes Hatton still has the desire or he would not put his hand up for the punishing training regime. Hatton gives himself more work than most in that area. He never really did much between fights. He was never particularly disciplined about diet and lifestyle. This left him with plenty to do to get in shape for fights. As he progressed this got harder and harder. He will have to ship three stone-plus if he is to go through with a bout against Marquez. That in itself takes it out of you. Add in the rounds and rounds of training and sparring and that amounts to a whole lot of punishment for an eager young thruster, never mind an old hand like Hatton. I would imagine Hatton spars more than 100 rounds in preparation for a title fight. That takes its toll. It eats away at your resilience. Two years ago, before he fought Mayweather, I argued in this column that Hatton's career had a maximum of 18 months to run. Pretty Boy Floyd and the Pacman underlined the point in Technicolor. The world has moved on, Ricky. It is time for you to do the same with pride. Source: www.themirror.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Top Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 I disagree in a big way there with Barry, theres plenty of arguments around why Hatton shoundnt carry on but his seems to be based on the fact that Hatton cant beat Pacquiao or Mayweather. So what, doesnt look like no one can at the minute, if Hatton lost to Pacquiao and Mayweather 5 years ago would he still be calling for him to retire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telboy66 Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 My answer to your question is yes what difference would five years make they were two devastating defeats at any stage of a boxers career & I think the call would have been just a loud then as now for Ricky to walk away, coupled with his shaky performance against Lazcano showed the writing was on the wall . The win over light punching Maliqnaggi showed he could hold his own if there was no threat of a big punch landing on his whiskers but against the big hitters he no longer has durability his life style has contributed greatly to his demise & at his age it's increasingly difficult to knock off the weight & I feel to do it he will leave any fight he has in the gym Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Top Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 but hattons never been at the level of pac or pbf, i dont think he's slipped that much physically compared to his younger days. He came unstuck against pac and pbf because he's got no defense but that's always been the same, its nothing new Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faulks Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 Sorry Brick im siding with Tellboy on this one, I think Hatton should be retireing. Yes your right theres no discrace to losing to those 2 fighters. They really are both excellent fighters but the way he fights/battles and his lifestyle outside the ring is taking its toll now i believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_budweiser Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 ricky hatton has lead this lifestyle from day 1 so to say its finally caught up with him is a bit premature. hes got plenty left in the tank and im sure he dosnt want to be remembered retiring with a loss . He was winning on hbo scorecard against mayweather untill the ref decided to intervene , then he lost his head. against pacquiao he lost fair n square. i think ricky is more than capable of winning a world title belt at his preferred weight. im sure if ricky comes back it wont be the last fight as hes stated lots he wants mayweather in uk, and mayweather also said he wants to fight in uk before retiring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Top Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 Sorry Brick im siding with Tellboy on this one, I think Hatton should be retireing. Yes your right theres no discrace to losing to those 2 fighters. They really are both excellent fighters but the way he fights/battles and his lifestyle outside the ring is taking its toll now i believe Im not saying he shouldnt retire mate, I said before theres plenty of reasons why he should retire, I just think McGuigans reasons are bollocks. He wants him to retire because he's not at the level of PBF and Mayweather, he wasnt at the level 5 years ago though so by McGuigans judgement he should of retired then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshDevilRob Posted November 28, 2009 Author Share Posted November 28, 2009 Trouble is this is boxing and very few walk away on a high. Hatton if matched right could pick up wins over Witter, Khan, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis and also would probably be too strong for Marquez. If he wins a couple of those fights hes gonna go for bigger fish rather than walk away, so in all likelihood he'll get Ko'd again. We don't know how much he has left cos lets be honest he was shockingly bad against Pacquiao. The outside the ring lifestyle catches up with all boxers - the same happened to Honeyghan. Lennox Lewis walked away at the right time but there are fans that criticise him for not giving Vitali Klitschko a rematch. Lewis knew the motivation had gone and he already had the win. He was 38 years old and in the worst shape of his career - he knew it was the right time to go. Hatton for me still has a few fights but he is not the same fighter that beat Kostya Tszyu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapevine241 Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 unless hes got some serious health issues, i dont see any reason why hatton needs to retire. he needs to keep his weight in check though. theres no shame in losing to mayweather and pacquiao IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telboy66 Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 unless hes got some serious health issues, i dont see any reason why hatton needs to retire. he needs to keep his weight in check though. theres no shame in losing to mayweather and pacquiao IMO But that's just it he does have serious health problems he can't control his weight between fights for a boxer that is serious . It seems to me boxing is only a means to an end for Hatton it just supplies the money for him to get on the lash with his mates he either wants to leave a legacy or be a piss artist he can't be both.A look at Mayweathers or Pacquiaos life outside the ring tell why Ricky will never match their achievements I bet either could fight with 3 weeks notice(not that they would )but for Ricky it's a minimum 3 months it has to take a toll over the length of career he has had Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McBride Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 TBH all this there is no disgrace losing to Pacciow, and Mayweather stuff is bollox. Its the way he lost that matters, no defence, and no resistance to punches. Those faults can and will be exposed by anyone other than a Mallignani, or whatever his name is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironjab Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 i think mcguigan is showing some compassion towards ricky, perhaps in the hope that ricky reads his article and identifies with some of the points that barry brought up about himself and how he felt at the tail end of his career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gemmell100 Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 i hope fatton fights khan! then the winner fights jmm. khan would be way too quick for ricky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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