Hatton: “I don’t think Mayweather’s seeing the whole picture”

In an interview yesterday, Ricky Hatton mentioned that Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn’t entirely focused for their bout, that he’s not “seeing the whole picture,” referring to Mayweather’s constant self promotion of himself and his nonstop assertions that Hatton is not a worthy opponent. Hatton, 29, feels that Mayweather doesn’t realize whom he’ll be up against on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, even though Mayweather has repeatedly said that he never takes anyone lightly. Certainly, from a media point of view, Hatton appears to be working out harder than Mayweather, who seems to be almost casual about his workouts in comparison’s to Hatton’s Rocky-like grueling training regimens.

Of course, we could be missing all of the sweat that Mayweather is pouring out, since he closes the doors for his sparring sessions, leaving many of us guessing how hard he is training. However, if Mayweather is listening to the media, it’s no surprise that he’s overlooking Hatton, for most of the media feel that Mayweather will defeat Hatton by unanimous decision, though most feel that it will be a tough bout. Mayweather, however, has never gone up against a fighter of Hatton’s magnitude, having fought less intense pressure fighters like Jose Luis Castillo and Arturo Gatto, neither of which are in Hatton’s class as an intense inside fighter.

While Mayweather can bring in sparring partners to mimic Hatton’s style, none of them can come close to the type of heat that he’ll bring in the ring on Saturday night. The real difference, however, is what will happen in the second half of the fight, when Hatton keeps coming on and firing full power.