Hatton Should Fight Khan or De La Hoya and Then Retire
May 4th, 2009
By Dave Lahr: Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KOs) proved one thing last Saturday night in his 2nd round loss to Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand, namely that Hatton can no longer take a big punch like he used to. Perhaps it was Hatton’s 10th round knockout loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in December 2007 that may have permanently affected Hatton’s ability to take a shot. The warning signs were already there in Hatton’s 12-round decision victory over Juan Lazcano last year in May, a bout in which Hatton was staggered in the 8th round by Lazcano after running into a left hook.
Hatton was able to survive the round and win the fight, but it showed that Hatton’s chin wasn’t as sturdy as it once was. In Hatton’s next fight, a weak puncher Paulie Malignaggi was selected, allowed Hatton to dodge having his chin tested against some of the bigger punchers that he would have had to have faced if he had opted for another top light welterweight opponent.
Now, obviously, Pacquiao’s victory over Hatton seems to show that Ricky doesn’t have the whiskers to take a big time shot anymore. At 30, it’s doubtful that Hatton will be sticking around much longer, and even if he does my guess is that Hatton will suffer more and more knockout losses like the one he suffered last Saturday night against Pacquiao.
This is why I feel that Hatton should focus on fighting one or two more times against Amir Khan or Oscar De La Hoya, both if possible. Khan would be the ideal next opponent because numbers #1, he’s British and right about now Hatton has pretty much worn out his welcome in the United States.
Sure, he could continue to fight here but the audiences and interest would be much less than it was before. It would be better for Hatton to retreat back to Britain and fight Khan over there. What makes Khan such a good opponent is because he has a chin even worse than Hatton’s and it would be a fight that Hatton would have a good chance of winning without getting knocked out again.
However, Khan is now trained by Roach and unless Hatton fixes his nonexistent defense, I can see Roach teaching Khan how to take advantage of Hatton’s crude caveman attacks and knock him out much in the same way that Pacquiao did.
One good thing that could come out of this fight is that Hatton could effectively retire Khan if he knocks him out early. Khan wouldn’t retire, of course, but the loss to Hatton would probably finish Khan as a fighter as for as the boxing public goes. With a victory over Khan, Hatton then could retire with some of his dignity intact.
Another option for Hatton would be to lure De La Hoya out from retirement. This fight could be billed as the victims of Pacquiao or something to that effect. I think there would be some interest in the fight, even though both are tainted due to their knockout losses to Pacquiao. I suspect that De La Hoya would have too good of a chin and too much power for Hatton and would take him out at some point in the fight.
De La Hoya and Hatton could get another good payday, and De La Hoya could then retire with his head held high. As for Hatton, this obviously would mean that he would have to hang around a little longer to try and lure Khan or some other shaky-chinned fighter into a bout with him.
If I was Hatton, I wouldn’t go after a top level fighter that wasn’t flawed in some major way because other than Malignaggi, I can’t see Hatton beating any of the top fighters in the light welterweight division. He could cherry pick a lightweight to fight, but that probably wouldn’t be worth the negative feedback Hatton would receive for doing so.
Tags: 38 Responses to “Hatton Should Fight Khan or De La Hoya and Then Retire”
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hatton is a great fighter no matter what the fact is floyd mayweather was 2 blame when hatton lost 2 floyd hatton wanted 2 be like the pretty boy so he took on snr thats where he went wrong ok he beat the magic man but lets be honest a bum could!! hatton should keep going on he should have billy graham back go back and sit down and get ya style right he should of won that fight wiv the pac man he was very unlucky walked stright into it! rematch rematch with graham back in his cornor!!! hatton will win 7th rd all the way if hes going 2 quit after 2 losses then hes not the champion he says he is because come back bigger and better and demand a rematch get the title you dream of because u know it and all your fans know it u can win!!! win win win win win
ur all fools hatton aint got no glass chin did u see that punch?!!? no one would have stayed on there feet from that no one it was one of the best punches ever hatton v khan that woud be a good fight but ricky would ko khan so easy so prob not worth boxing khan go for rematch with pac man and box properly this time and ricky would win he is a better fighter full stop.
Hatton Witter would be an infinitly better fight, much more bad blood, much more interesting, more unpredictable
hatton khan what a shame that would be if ricky didnt take him out in 4 rounds, i love hatton but at 30 he should step down his sort of style you cant go on forever, hes a legend and always will be khan is good but not in hattons leauge.
hatton is in a different league to khan, Khan will get destroyed if he faces hatton
ricky do what u like.
if you retire fair enough
I would not bother fighting Kahn or Oscar
Go fir Cotto at Welter weight if you cant get passed him then you know its time to retire
I think ricky is still one of the best boxers in the world…but for some reason on may 2nd Hatton was chasing Manny as if he was an amatuar…running in to every hook… and trying to knock Manny’s head off?
I knew from when Hatton walked out towards the ring, something wasn’t quite right… I don’t think Ricky needs a better trainer… more like a shrink… since his knockout loss to Floyd, he seems to have some mental issues… Manny did’t beat Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton.
Ricky needs to either quit now and have so many regrets or take out Timothy Bradley… then mve on up in class to Miguel Cotto… beating these two will bring him where he needs to be… then maybe a revenge rematch with no doubt the two best fighters in the world
“He could cherry pick a lightweight to fight”…you mean like “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather, Jr.?
For once a good written article. I agree completely.
Don’t expect to be Hatton-Pacquiao II. Just play Fight Night 04 lol xD
Khans “win” over barrera was a sham.The fight should’ve been stopped in the 1st and declared a no contest.With regards to achievments khan can’t be mentioned in the same breath as hatton and dont think it ever will.
hatton should fight amir khan to prove khan is nothing yes hatton cant take a big shot no more so khan and hatton would be a good fight as khan cant give big shots like pac man or floyd maywheather jnr
british bulldog,worry about the chav hattons career ,or have you not seen glass jaw hatton get wiped out in a brutal ko by khans fello gymmate pacman?hatton is a hyped up chump who has fooled all the brits in to believing he is somehow p4p no 2.more fool yous,hatton will get destroyed by khan in similar if not as butal fashion as pac man did to the fatman .khan will play with him all night long,as for khan fighting hatton he has no need khans going for titles wheras hatton has been shot to near unconciosness in front of 2 billion people worldwide,it dint make sense for khan at this stage,he has bigger fish to fry as hatton has been well and truly been gobbled up by the p4p no1 in the world manny pacqiou
Hatton is a useless punch bag. Just an average and over hyped fighter…I wonder why people keep on mentioning Khan,s name time and again, when KHAN has already said that he would not like to fight his mate, Hatton.I believe if this fight happens , even khan will knock out hatton .Get off Khan,s back u idiots and stop worshipping your useless idle…ricky hatton
Hatton would still beat Khan, it would take one left hook to the body, De La Hoya is retired mr writer. The fight foR Hatton is Junior Witter, it would be great for the British fans, Witter brings that sort of style that Mayweather did, maybe not on a such a high level but when at his best he is tricky
Hattons a mug, fame killed his career, he was never the same once he started playing the fame game. He let us all down, biggest waste of £15 ever, seen better fights down the local.
cant wait 2 see pac man ko mayweather he aint hungry no more pac man will do a number on him, hatton was world class but not no more you cant go on forever colin jones retired at 25 hatton went till 30 thats enough hes been good for boxing here and in america and no1 can argue with that.
agree with aqndre 100% hatton is the most hyped up overrated british boxer in history.for all the hype hatton could not deliver when facing true world class,kost was way past it and they reckon that was ricky defing moment,hatton is some one who had everyone believing the hype whilst filling his pockets.25,000 mancs i feel sorry for what with the ressession and all.pacman rules supreme.
haton got owned pacman destroyed him,what abrutal evil ko.hatton got ktfo,unconcios what a disgraceful performance from someone whos fans think is the best in the world,best my arse.i love that shot of hatton on his backside totally out ofit.khans ko was bad a,but khan at least tried to get to his feet.it was brutal.hatton has a glass jaw,got destroyed by a blown up flyweight!!!!!!!!!!!love it ,bang on this webside hats off to ur predictions
Hatton does not keep his hands up. I don’t know how he lasted 9 rounds with Mayweather. Pacquiao nearly decapitated Hatton in the 2nd round with that left hook. Hatton didnt even see it. I haven’t seen anyone get hit that hard since Thomas Hearns hit Duran with that Nuclear Bomb.
Hatton from 2 years ago would beat khan so bad he wouldnt fight again, there for he should retire khan will never achieve half of what the hitman has, and 2 be honest he would still smash khan and witter just aint worth it hes a legend lets just leave it at that.
Lmaoooo Khan is trained by Roach, after Khan becomes world champ next month mark my words Khan would absolutely destroy Hatton just as Pacquiaou did, Hatton has no defense what so ever were as Khan has improved drasticly under Freddie Roach, i could honestly imagine Khan doing Hatton just like he did to Barrera
hattons poor punch resistance maybe down to the fact he has gained and lost 60 stone in the last 10 years, he should have one more fight against junior witter then retire
This article is downright unfair to Pacman.
You make too much excuses but you don’t see the lack of preparation during training. Boxing doesn’t only start when both fighters steps in the ring.
The thing is, Pacquiao is better prepared everytime that’s why he’s the best fighter there is today. The best team I should say. Not to mention is relies on God everytime, something that most people forget thus, their downfall.
When Hatton was lying on the canvas, for the first time in all the years ive watched boxing and all the many great KO’s ive seen, i have never once been as concerned for a fighters health as i was for Ricky. Pacquiao caught him clean and even the skin on the back of his skull shuddered, i agree that nobody could have taken that shot and survived it, but what long term damage has it done?
Khan is a nobody. Regardless of whether he beats Kotelnik or not, he will always be the guy who ducked the best Lightweights. It would be a pointless match up.
If the story is true, Hatton was meant to be facing Katsidis should he have lost, again pointless.
If Hatton wants to continue, he needs to get a new trainer who really knows him and can help sort out his flaws. At this point, the only trainer i can think of is Roach.
Roach studied Hatton and worked out an effective plan to exploit his weaknesses and look what the result was. I’m not a fan of Roach but he is an intelligent trainer and seems a decent guy. It has to be said, he worked harder for Pacquiao than Mayweather snr worked for Hatton, and thats exactly what Hatton needs. If he does that then he maybe has another 2-3 years left.
Personally, I’d like Hatton to retire rather than seeing him take another hellish beating, but if he does continue, i hope he does it properly and properly changes his style.
versing khan would be a personal choice for him because there will be no money in this at all but i reckon khan could beat him with his speed.
I have to admit that I don’t like Ricky before he fought Manny because he’s a one dimensionalo fighter. But after watching the HBO 24/7 bout the two fighter, I now appreciate how Ricky cared about his nation and his fans. He is a gentleman, it’s just sad that he was defeated by a better fighter. Ricky should retire and probably focus on his family.
ricky should start calling himself the “punch bag” hatton after that performance,i think he should retire now before he gets seriously hurt.
Maybe he always had a glass chin? Eamon Magee put him down, and Eamonn was probably drunk at the time.
I for one never want to see him fight again if hes going to run out with zero defence. And as Dave Lahr points out I also feel his punch resistance is not what it was. Not to say the at anytime in his Boxing life he could of took that left from Pacman it was like a Drunk getting punched out on a friday night. He should just retire because its all down hill from here. Good luck to the Hitman whatever he does.
I’d like to see him fight khan and Witter in Manchester giving the British boxing fans his
swan song and retiring as one of best British boxers of all time “top man Ricky”
Glenn- i’d watch that fight.PPV?
after watching the hatton fight on sunday, nevermind khan,ithink my mother could beat ricky hatton
Hes not shot, hes not past it, he hasnt aged dramaticly.
He got beaten by the best fighter on the planet. And because of the way he chose to run in with his chin high he was only making it easier for Pacquiao.
And thats why he got sparked so quick. Thats all.
I don’t think that the fight with Manny Pacquaio shoes that he’s not able to take a punch any more. I think anyone would have been knocked out by the picture perfect Pacquiao left hand that knocked Hatton out for 5 minutes. If you take look at all the pictures from the fight, you could tell that Manny put all his weight into that punch. If he would have caught DLH with that punch, then De La Hoya would have folded like origami.
I think the khan fight wouldnt be so much about him than a test for khan. if hatton feels he can win the fight, i hope he takes it on because he’d either be doin everyone a favour by making khan or breakin him and therefore another lifeless hope for britain.
What exactly would he prove by fighting an old shot DLH or a chinless khan? Even if he somehow managed to beat them both,which i doubt,he’d still be in the same position he is today.Hatton should retire,he’s got a kid,wife to be and £millions,enjoy the rest of your life.Thanks for the memories.
agreed would like to see him fight khan so he can finish khans career then he can retire