Light welterweight Campbell Hatton (14-1, 5 KOs), the son of former world champion Ricky Hatton, suffered his first career loss as a pro, losing to Jimmy Joe Flint (14-1-2, 3 KOs) by a ten-round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England.
Campbell started well but fell off after two rounds and was battered by the more technically skilled Flint. The scores were 98-92, 97-94 and 97-95.
By the sixth round, Flint picked a tired-looking Cam[bell off, nailing him with uppercuts, straight rights, and lefts. Flint frequently changed stances but found success regardless of which stance. His left hand was almost as effective as his right, and he couldn’t miss Hatton, marching into his punches.
Hatton Reflects on the Loss
“I thought I was picking up a lot of the early rounds, but he came on strong in the second half. I do think I did enough, but no arguments. Respect to Jimmy Joe. I’d like to think I showed I’m not just silver spoon, I can dig in,” said Campbell Hatton after the fight.
Campbell is getting a little carried away by his comment that he was winning the early rounds. He fought well enough to win round one and five, but other than that, it was all Flint.
After the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn said he wanted to set up a rematch between Campbell and Flint. That might not be a good idea for Hatton because he’s not good enough right now for a rematch to be any different than it was tonight.
Flint might knockout Hatton in a rematch because he had him on the verge of being stopped in the eighth and tenth rounds tonight.
The Pressure of a Famous Name
Campbell’s loss shows how tough it is for sons of famous athletes to duplicate the same success as their fathers. Unfortunately, Campbell doesn’t possess the same pop in his punches as his father, Ricky Hatton, and he might not be cut out for fighting on a high level.