Is the end near for Hatton?
Published October 7, 2008 by Martin Bean
Britain’s Boxing hero, Ricky Hatton, is sending out mixed messages ahead of his November 22nd match up with Paulie Malignaggi.
In a matter of days, Ricky has gone from talking of his desire for a rematch with the now retired ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd Mayweather Jr. to saying that he’ll retire should he lose to Paulie Malignaggi, before in the same breath talking of a super bout at Wembley Stadium in 2009 against Oscar De La Hoya or Manny Pacquiao. So what does he really want?
Clearly Ricky loves the game but I think he realizes he now hasn’t got long left. He has just turned 30 and with his all action style and all wrong for a sportsman lifestyle, he was never going to have a long career. But, regardless of the ‘I’ll quit if I lose’ comments, I don’t see Hatton retiring, whatever the outcome of the Malignaggi bout.
Hatton is simply too proud a man (despite his often comical demeanour) to go out on a loss. A loss to a great like Mayweather can be accepted but not to Malignaggi. Don’t get me wrong, Malignaggi is a top fighter and excellent boxer, but Hatton knows that in his prime he would beat Malignaggi every day of the week. Is he still in his prime? We’ll find out November 22nd.
A loss to Malignaggi would more than likely see a rematch but should Hatton win, where will he go from there? As stated above, noises are already being made for the winner of De La Hoya-Pacquiao to face Hatton at Wembley in 2009. If De La Hoya wins, I see that as an event, not a contest (Hatton was too small against Mayweather, let alone against De La Hoya) but should Pacquiao manage to pull of a shock win, a Pacquiao-Hatton match up really could be the stuff of legends. 100,000 fans packed into Wembley, a raucous atmosphere and we’d hope, a Hatton win in a classic. Only that, would be a suitable send off for a British boxing legend.
A loss to Malignaggi? Ricky deserves better to go out like that and I feel certain that with the guidance of Floyd Mayweather Sr. he will claim an impressive victory in November and move on to bigger and better things. The ‘Hitman’ still has a few hits in him left and I am looking forward to the rest of the ride.
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