Hatton: I’m going to roll back the years

By Boxing News - 11/24/2012 - Comments

Image: Hatton: I'm going to roll back the yearsBy Scott Gilfoid: Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) thinks he’s going to be the same Hatton he was many years ago when he steps inside the ring tonight against Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 21 KO’s) at the Manchester Arena in front of a throng of British fans showing up just to get a glimpse of their hero Hatton for the first time in many years. All I can say about that is don’t be surprised if Hatton gets knocked out cold again.

Hatton said to Sky Ringside “The main thing is what happens when I step inside the ring. Nothing is going to shake me. It’ll be the new Ricky Hatton. I really think I’m going to roll back the years.”

Why is it that aging fighters like Hatton can’t seem to grasp the reality of the passing years and the loss of skills that go along with the aging process. Shouldn’t Hatton just be hoping he can find a fraction of what he once was years ago instead of talking as if he thinks he’s going to step right back into his best form at 2005?

What happens when you got a fighter that fails to understand that they’re older, and need to fight at a more measured pace is they tend to get knocked out. I don’t know if that’ll happen tonight, because they’ve picked a weak one in 35-year-old Senchenko, but it’s certainly possible.

Hatton’s confidence is like that of a 25-year-old Hatton, not a 34-year-old coming off of a 3 1/2 year retirement where he put on close to 70 pounds of weight. Why is it that confidence is the last thing to go for aging fighters? They say it’s the power, but I thinks it’s the confidence. A lot of these guys can’t let go of the fact that they’re not the young puppies they once were, and then they go out and face someone reasonably good and they get knocked out cold. I know Senchenko, 35, is technically older than Hatton by one year, but he’s taken care of himself, not put on 70 lbs of fat, and not lived it up. Senchenko has stayed active unlike Hatton, who hasn’t done a thing since being knocked out by Manny Pacquiao in 2009.



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