While I was watching Ricky Hatton get slowly dismantled by pound-4-pound boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Saturday night, I couldn’t help but notice that Hatton looked nothing like he had earlier in his career, when he was destroying his opponents with non stop punches. It wasn’t that Mayweather was simply outclassing Hatton, but rather he looked physically shot from the first round on, as he mounted mostly fruitless attacks against the quicker Mayweather. In Hatton’s recent bouts against Luis Collazo and even in some points during his bout with Jose Luis Castillo, Hatton appeared to be lethargic as he went about his business of trying to take him out.
I’m not precisely sure what the cause of Hatton’s problems are but I’d be willing to guess it’s combination of his over indulging in both food and drink in between fights. He often balloons up to close to 180 lbs in between fights, making it necessary for him to strip off all the weight in a hurry while in training camp. However, any time a fighter has to take off that much weight – 30 to 50 pounds – in three months of training, there’s going to be a negative effect on his body because of the large amount of muscle that is stripped off in the process. It’s safe to say that once a fighter begins packing on weight on a regular basis between bouts, his time at the top is nearing it’s end.
Hatton, while still winning going into his bout with Mayweather, he struggled badly against Collazo and Juan Urango, both of which dominated Hatton during extended stretches during the bouts. As for Collazo, Hatton appeared to actually lose the fight, close as it was, and was given a gift. At this point, I’m finding it hard to see a bright future for Hatton in any division, be it welterweight or light welterweight, because there are just too many road mines in front of him, like Ricardo Torres, Junior Witter and Pauli Malignaggi.