Hatton wishes he had made Pacquiao agree to testing for their fight

By Boxing News - 11/02/2010 - Comments

Image: Hatton wishes he had made Pacquiao agree to testing for their fightBy Sean McDaniel: Former two division world champion Ricky Hatton says he wishes he had Manny Pacquiao agreeing to the same testing rules as he did for his two failed bouts with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Speaking to the thenational.ae, Hatton said “I could have had those rules, but I wasn’t bothered. Maybe in hindsight, I should have done. I must admit, I fancied my chances against Manny. A few years ago he was getting knocked down by little men like [Juan Manuel] Marquez; then all of a sudden he is knocking out Oscar de la Hoya, myself and [Miguel] Cotto, who are powerhouses in comparison. It is a little bit strange. He could be on what Floyd is accusing him of [performance-enhancing substances], or it could be that he is just a great fighter who has improved. We will never know.”

Yes, Hatton should have pushed for the random blood testing for performance enhancing drugs for his fight with Pacquiao in 2009 if he was worried about it. Now, it’s too late for Hatton do anything. He was knocked out viciously in the 2nd round and his career went down the tubes in that fight. Hatton hasn’t fought since then because he’s lost his drive for the sport.

It’s unfortunate that Hatton wasn’t more assertive in his fight with Pacquiao in terms of pushing for drug testing. Hatton certainly had the clout to ask for the testing to be done. Whether he would have gotten Pacquiao to agree to it is another matter. It’s too bad because Hatton seems to be torn apart by the loss and it’s never a good thing when you’re not certain about what the outcome would have been like under different circumstances.

The only way Hatton can rest these fears is by getting back in the ring and beating a couple of fighters in quick fights, and then pushing for a rematch with Pacquiao. That’s the way Hatton needs to do it if he wants to clear his head from the memory of his loss to Pacquiao.

Hatton thinks Mayweather would have beaten Pacquiao, saying “I think Floyd is too good defensively. He is so hard to hit, and I think he might ultimately just have a few too many tricks up his sleeves for Manny.” It might be a good thing for Pacquiao that he and Mayweather haven’t fought.



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