By Scott Gildfoid: Ricky Hatton (43-1, 31 KOs) hopes to get back on the winning track next week when he takes on the tough Juan Lazcano (37-4-1, 27 KOs) at the Manchester Stadium, in Manchester. Hatton, 29, is coming off a 10th round stoppage to WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., who pierced Hatton’s former image of invincibility in a lopsided fight that Hatton was never really competitive in. Now, Hatton is looking to rebuild his career, hoping to put the loss behind him as he moves forward to try and get beyond the loss. For Hatton, Lazcano serves the purpose of a confidence builder, for he’s nowhere near the equal of Hatton in terms of talent and will likely be nothing more than a human punching bag for Hatton, come May 24th.
Hatton has yet to say what his plans are beyond the Lazcano fight, but most people seem to think that he’ll either fight IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi or possibly a rematch with Mayweather. Obviously, there’s little reason for another Mayweather bout, other than more money for both fighters, because Hatton wasn’t in the same league as Mayweather in the talent department. Hatton, however, seems to have formed somewhat of a chip on his shoulder since that fight, saying “I have to redeem myself again.”
It’s unclear precisely what he means by saying that he needs to redeem himself, because for that to happen he’d either have to face Mayweather again and hope that he can change the outcome next time around, or he’d have to face – and beat – one of the best fighters in the light welterweight division, preferably someone like newly crowned WBC champion Timothy Bradley, who recently defeated former champion Junior Witter last week.
Witter, by the way, was a fighter that Hatton for some reason had avoided like the plague for the past five years. If Hatton is at all serious about wanting to “redeem” himself like he says, nothing short of Bradley or Mayweather will serve the purpose. Beyond that, Malignaggi would do next to nothing to rebuild Hatton’s career with most boxing fans, because Malignaggi isn’t considered to be all that good to begin with. It hasn’t helped that Malignaggi appeared to lose his last title defense against challenger Herman Ngoudjo, and was given what many feel to be a gift decision.
Hatton said recently, “I want to show my supporters that I can bounce back from defeat,” but that’s not a particularly stiff order to fill if you find someone tailor made for you like Lazcano. What Hatton should be saying is that he wants to fight the best fighters in the division, starting with Bradley and Witter. Forget all about Malignaggi, Lazcano, Ricardo Torres or Andreas Kotelnik, Hatton should be aiming for only Witter and Bradley. There’s no gain when you face someone you and the fans know you beat, so unless Hatton has really started to question his own ability, a comment like that doesn’t seem all that impressive because it’s stating something that is already known by the fans.
Come on, if Hatton can’t beat the likes of Lazcano, then, yes, he needs to retire at once. But, there’s little chance of Hatton losing unless he’s really lost his ability to fight all at once. Who knows? Maybe Mayweather knocked something lose in the process of stopping him in their December bout. It happens with a fighter some times. They get knocked out badly and then lose their chin completely, getting dropped by even weak shots. Although if that’s the case, then Hatton should have already found that out while sparring for this fight.
Whatever the case, Hatton won’t be hurting for fans, as he’ll have 55,000 fans screaming their heads off at Manchester stadium on the 24th, a place where Hatton often fights at his best. Who can blame him, any fighter that gets that kind of applause is likely to fight a level above their game on that night. Perhaps this is why Hatton looked so flat against Mayweather in December, namely because the fight was fought in Las Vegas rather than the safe confines of Manchester.
Anyway, it seems as if Hatton is badly in need of a confidence booster, and one hopes that a win over Lazcano will be what Hatton needs to get his mind right. I can’t see why it would make any difference given Lazcano’s lack of talent in comparison to Witter, Mayweather and Bradley, but if it works for Hatton, so be it.