By Sean McDaniel: In an article from the Timesonline, Ricky Hatton says that he’s “embarrassed” about his 2nd round knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd, saying that he’s having problems getting out of bed in the morning. Hatton also is shy about having boxing fans see him, obviously still feeling the sting of the one-sided beating from Pacquiao. Hatton hasn’t yet made up his mind whether he plans on continuing his career or whether he’ll retire from boxing.
Hatton doesn’t find solace in knowing that he’s made a bundle of money in his fays of boxing, and wants to get out of the sport in a more positive light.
Hatton is uncertain which way to go, he says, with people telling him different things; Some fans saying retire and others telling him to stick it out and fight on.
For good reason, Hatton sees it as a crucial decision and wants to make the right choice. Right now, Hatton says he doesn’t want to box, but feels that he’ll likely be seeing things different in several weeks from now.
Hatton was surprised at how quickly he was knocked down by Pacquiao, and feels that he never had a proper chance to warm up in the fight. Hatton feels that Pacquiao is only slightly better than him, but Hatton wasn’t able to prove it because of the quickness of the early knockdowns in the 1st round.
Hatton was dropped twice in the 1st round, and then in the 2nd, Hatton was knocked completely out by a devastating left hand from Pacquiao that Hatton never even saw. Hatton remained down on the canvas for three long minutes before finally regaining consciousness and slowly getting to his feet.
The time that Hatton was out cold has a lot to do with his boxing fans wanting Hatton to retire. Fighters that suffer knockouts like Hatton are often permanently affected by it, often finding themselves being knocked out easier in the future.
That’s not always the case, but Hatton fans seem to have that in mind with their calls for Ricky to retire. There’s also the belief held by many that Hatton’s punch resistance has decreased since his 10th round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in December 2007.
That, too, is something that hasn’t been proven as of yet, because Hatton has only been hurt by some seriously huge shots by good opponents. Juan Lazcano may not have the best record, but the shot that he hit Hatton with – a hard left hook – would have been plenty powerful enough to stun a lot of other fighters besides Hatton.
Oscar De La Hoya, 36, also reported feeling embarrassed after his 8th round stoppage defeat at the hands of Pacquiao in 2008. De La Hoya found it hard to leave the house and wanted to hide away from people for awhile, no doubt feeling the classic symptoms of shame and humiliation that Hatton appears to be suffering from. De La Hoya eventually got over it after a period of months. Let’s hope that Hatton does too.
Comments are closed.