By William Mackay: Ricky Hatton, a former International Boxing Federation light welterweight champion, has split with his trainer Lee Beard, according to the Dailymail Hatton, 31, has been with assistant trainer Beard the past three years, dating back to when Hatton was being trained by Billy Graham. In Hatton’s fight with Manny Pacquiao in May, there seemed to be confusion as to who was being the one giving the instructions in Hatton’s corner.
At times, Floyd Mayweather Sr., Hatton’s replacement trainer for Graham, was seen giving Hatton advice in between rounds. But at other times, Beard was seen talking to Hatton between rounds. It made for an odd looking fight with the two of them taking turns talking to Ricky. Hatton ended up getting knocked down three times and quickly taken out by Pacquiao in a 2nd round knockout.
Hatton is looking to make a comeback in June of this year against a still to be determined opponent. A number of names have been mentioned by Hatton, who wants to face either a world champion or a pound for pound fighter for one last bout before he retires from boxing.
As far as replacement trainers go, Hatton needs someone good like Freddie Roach. However, Roach says he doesn’t want to train Hatton. But Hatton needs someone smart who can help him pick a good opponent and come up with the right fight strategy to beat them. If Hatton selects someone like Michael Katsidis to fight for his last bout, it might not matter who Hatton is trained by. Hatton probably has enough left to get by Katsidis unless his ability to take shots has deteriorated badly since his defeat to Pacquiao.
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