By Alex Prodromou: When someone looks back at the career of Ricky Hatton they think, how did a kid from Manchester, England, who loves Manchester City, loves beer and a kebab and is a brawler get so far. Well my opinion is that he is a smarter and cruder fighter than most people think. He is very intelligent when it comes down to the art of body punching. It’s hard to know where his next punch is coming from.

To be honest I don’t think he has too much skill I just think he has one of the best styles ever which can only be pulled off by other fighters with similar body frames. I think this is what truly makes a great fighter and what makes a good fighter.

Good fighters have better skill than great fighters but they just copy great fighter’s style which might not be great for them. Therefore I think that great fighters have less skill than good fighters but they come up with a style that is great for them. I also think that they can adapt and react to opponents in the ring. The only exception to this rule is Sugar Ray Leonard who is great and took a lot of things from Ali’s style but then again they had the same hall of fame trainer of Angelo Dundee.

An example of the whole great to good fighter thing today would be Mayweather and Broner. Broner has taken a lot of tips from Mayweather. But the only problem is he is using that style just because Mayweather uses it and that doesn’t mean it’s going to be good for him. This is why I hope that over time Broner brings his style into his own because he has the ability to be a superstar in boxing but the post prime Mayweather style he uses does not do him any justice. For example he has the power to bang and be more aggressive, its not doing this that has held him back meaning he can only be put in with mediocre fighters. He hasn’t beaten an A plus level fighter yet.

I think this because if Mayweather’s style is great for him just like Ricky’s style is also great for him. I just don’t think Ricky has any overly high attributes, it’s just his style is perfect for him and I think that’s how greats come about. It’s not the skill level of a fighter but how they choose to use the skill they have. Great fighters are followed. Good fighters do the following.