Hatton vs. the Best Light Welterweights in the World

By Scott Gilfoid: We now know that Ricky Hatton wasn’t in the same league as Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., both of whom took Hatton out without too much fuss. However, I wonder how Hatton would do against one of the top light welterweights in the division. Supposedly, Hatton had a rough camp with his trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. and things didn’t go smoothly, enough so that his father Ray Hatton felt that Ricky would have been better off had he pulled out of the fight.

Okay, I’ll buy that excuse and accept it as a good reason for Hatton’s 2nd round blowout of Pacquiao. So, forgetting completely about Hatton deeply humiliating loss to Pacquiao, could Hatton beat the top light welterweights in the division? I’m referring to Timothy Bradley, Kendall Holt, Victor Ortiz, Ricardo Torres and Junior Witter. If the loss to Pacquiao was caused in part because of training camp woes, then Hatton should at least be good enough to still beat these guys, right?

Below, I’ve listed the fighters that Hatton needs to be concerned with if he decides to keep fight and if he opts to return to the light welterweight division rather than hand picking someone like lightweight Michael Katsidis as his next opponent.

Timothy Bradley: this is a nightmare opponent for a fighter like Hatton, both strong, fast and young. Bradley would very likely knock Hatton out as easily as Pacquiao did. Bradley is a complete fighter, with excellent boxing skills, power and the ability to move well. Bradley can fight well on the outside or the inside, it doesn’t matter which.

I see Bradley as being too fast for the one-dimensional Hatton, and would very likely catch Hatton with a big right hand early on and knock him out. Prediction: Bradley by 3rd round TKO.

Ricardo Torres: A former World Boxing Organization light welterweight champion before losing it in a 1st round head butt knockout loss to Kendall Holt in 2008. Torres has better power and much better speed than Hatton. Torres may have issues with his stamina and occasionally with his chin.

However, I doubt that Hatton would last long enough to test Torres’s stamina or chin, because Hatton would get raked with right hands in the 1st and 2nd round, and very likely put into a coma before long. Prediction: Torres by 2nd round KO.

Junior Witter: this is one of the fighters that has been chasing Hatton for the past few years without any luck. It’s shocking that Hatton refused to fight Witter all these years, because Witter has clearly been one of the most talented fighters in the light welterweight division for the past five or so years now.

Never the less, Witter would be a tough opponent for Hatton, like a poor man’s Floyd Mayweather Jr. Hatton was over matched against Mayweather, picked off with short punches and dominated with short, accurate punches from Floyd.

I expect Witter to be able to do the same, staying away from Hatton and picking him off like a matador when Hatton comes rushing in with his hands down. Prediction: Witter by 11th round TKO.

Kendall Holt: Hatton might have a chance in if he had the chin, but sadly, I don’t see Ricky as having a sturdy enough chin to survive more than a couple of rounds with Holt. This is another fight where Hatton would be badly hurt and knocked unconscious from a fast shot that he never sees.

Although I think Hatton could possibly make it to the 2nd round, my thoughts are Hatton would probably be knocked completely out in the 1st round and likely taken from the ring on a stretcher. It’s not that Holt is a great fighter, because he has a weak chin of his own, but rather Hatton’s glass jaw being too weak, his reactions being too slow and his defense being too poor to last for more than minute or two in the 1st round. Prediction: Holt by 1st round KO.

Victor Ortiz: of the top light welterweights, Ortiz is the one fighter that I think Hatton is still good enough to beat. Ortiz has good power, but he’s not real fast and you can see his shots coming. He’s been put in with some decent fighters, but no one with Hatton’s talent. Ortiz has already been dropped once before in his career by Dairo Esalas last year in May.

I doubt that Hatton would knock him down, but it’s possible. Ortiz gets hit a lot and isn’t really a champion level fighter at this point in my estimation. Prediction: Hatton by 12-round decision.

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