Ricky Hatton: The only fighter to face both Mayweather & Pacquiao at the peak of their prime

By Boxing News - 08/14/2013 - Comments

hatton3423By @BoxingMuse: Since the announcement of Mayweather Jr’s and Pacquaio’s respective fights, the prospect and matter of these two legends finally boxing against each has been reiterated. Although the demand to see these two meet is not what is was prior to Marquez’s iconic knockout over Pacquiao, there is still massive interest in the matchup. ‘Money’ of course meets Mexican light-middle ‘Canelo’ on September 14th whereas the ‘Pac-Man’ meets brawler ‘Bam Bam’ Rios later in the year on November 10th.

While studying both Mayweather’s and Pacquiao’s professional resumes on BoxRec.com, I noted down their opponents in common and they are as follows; Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley & Ricky Hatton.

After some consideration I came to the conclusion that ‘The Manchester Mexican’ Ricky Hatton is the only fighter in common on both of their records who faced these greats at the very peak of the powers as prize fighters. Although it is true ‘Dinamita’ Márquez technically fought both Mayweather and Pacquiao near and around their primes, I overruled Marquez due to the following reasons.

Despite the incredible master class Floyd put on against ‘Dinamita’ Márquez, Floyd was returning from a 21-month retirement after the Hatton fight. The range of Maweather’s prime is more extensive than most as Floyd rarely takes any damage in fights due to his boxing style and the fact he lives a lifestyle that does not abuse his body. It is difficult to predict when he was at the optimal level in his prime by a distinctive fight but I would estimate around 2006-2007; the Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton fights. Mayweather has obviously produced some marvellous wins since the Hatton fight but I consider Floyd’s prime around then because after the Hatton bout marks the beginning of Floyd’s famous inactivity as a boxer.

Márquez of course has faced Pacquiao four times. Their first bout was in 2004 at Featherweight when Pacquiao was a one handed fighter, before entering his prime. Their second bout, four years later in 2008, Pacquiao was definitely at the beginning of his prime for their super Featherweight edition, and just less than four years pass again before they meet as muscle bound Welterweights in a spectacular boxing match. The Mosley fight asked questions which the 3rd Marquez fight answered; Manny although still an incredible boxer was no longer in his prime. The fourth fight Manny starting well, bloodying Marquez in a fight the Filipino was surely winning got caught by a perfectly timed crisp right hand which ended the show.

It is accurate to say Pacquiao is no longer in his prime, The ‘Fighting Pride of the Philippines’ will be a month short of 35 years old when he faces Rios in Macau, China. ‘Pac-Man’s’ has spent around 18 years as a professional fighter, debuting at the age of 16 so naturally father time has taken its toll on Pacquiao somewhat . It does not mean Pacquiao cannot put on some extraordinary performances in the last few bouts in his career but ‘Pac-Man’s all action style of boxing has ment although flourishing in emphatic one sided victories over Morales (III), David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya, the Filipino boxer has gone through the mire in tough fights even in victories throughout his career and

undoubtedly has seen better days.

Still undefeated, Mayweather’s outing against Roberto Guerrero did not show a decrease in his abilities or performance. Some suspected the Cotto fight illustrated Mayweather was on the downward spiral. It is safe to say that although Floyd shows no sign of wear and tear, numbers do not lie and at the age of 36 considering Mayweather’s defensive style built on pin point reflexes, ‘Money’ can and will work to get the best out of his body at the tail end of his career. Common sense suggests Floyd is still in the range of his prime but science ensures Floyd is not at the optimum peak of his prime any longer. And it just may so be the case that Floyd will retire before he does begin to noticeably decline.

So now that I have justified when the very peak of these two greats were, let’s go back to the topic of this article. And to reiterate although It is accurate to say Márquez faced ‘Pac-Man’ at the start of his prime, Marquez did not fight Mayweather at the peak of his powers due to Floyd taking 21-months off boxing, leaving us with Ricky Hatton. I state Ricky Hatton is and will always be the only fighter to face both Mayweather and Pacquiao at the very peak of their primes, and the results of the Hatton fights were proof of this.

When Manchester’s Ricky Hatton faced Mayweather, the American was age 30 coming off the biggest victory of his career over ‘Golden Boy’ Oscar De La Hoya which literally transformed him into a PPV superstar of boxing. By the time Floyd faced Hatton, he had honed his defensive skills against tough pugilists such as Gatti, Baldomir and Castillo (twice) and out classed talents such as Corrales and Judah. Experience and momentum was on Floyd’s side although Hatton provided Floyd with an extremely tough task Mayweather’s ability to adapt and counter punch led to the 10th round knockout over Hatton in December 2007.

‘The Hitman’ faced Pacquiao when the Filipino was also 30 and ironically became the biggest name in the sport (during Floyd’s hiatus from the ring) by also beating Oscar De La Hoya, in a much more impressive manner than Mayweather did. Although it is important to remember De La Hoya was weight drained at 147lbs at the end of his career. Freddie Roach had transformed Pacquiao into a skilled boxer-puncher and although Manny struggled against Marquez, he had victories over all of the best Mexicans of that era including Morales and Barrera. A brutal stoppage victory over tough lightweight David Diaz set up the De La Hoya bout. After beating the ‘Golden Boy’ by a TKO in the 8th Pacquiao took the momentum and confidence in his punching power at higher weights to put on his most iconic display of his powers in the chilling knockout of Hatton.

Of course credit it due to the former undisputed light welterweight champion and WBA welterweight title holder Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton for facing these two boxing phenomena’s at the peak of their primes. History will never forget that.

So once again we as boxing fans speculate as to whether these two legends will step in the ring against in each other. It is a shame that the fight doesn’t possess the same value it once did as the years have gone by these two still at the top of sport are definitely no longer at the top of their powers.

Feel free to write your comments below and also if you want to ask me a question or comment on any of my articles (negative or positive) please follow and tweet me @BoxingMuse or even if you just want a debate on any boxing matter.