Vyacheslav Senchenko

Hatton hasn’t decided whether he’ll retire after stoppage loss to Senchenko

Hatton hasn't decided whether he'll retire after stoppage loss to SenchenkoBy Marcus Richardson: Ricky Hatton (45-3, 32 KO’s) gave it all he had tonight but it wasn’t good enough as he was stopped in the 9th round by former WBA World welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko (33-1, 22 KO’s) at the M.E.N Arena in Manchester, UK.

A tired looking Hatton was trying to press the action in the 9th when he was hit by a stabbing left to side by Senchenko. Hatton immediately went down with a look of terrible pain on his face. His loyal British boxing fans waited anxiously for him to get back to his feet, but Hatton couldn’t. He was in too much pain from the shot and was counted out by the referee.

After the fight Hatton said ” thought I was maybe four rounds up but there were clear signs of ring rust. I hurt him a few times, and I was winning. I don’t want to make any hasty decisions but I am really heartbroken, That’s not how my career should end with two straight losses.”

If Hatton loses to Senchenko tonight you have to look at his weight loss as a huge factor

If Hatton loses to Senchenko tonight you have to look at his weight loss as a huge factorBy Michael Collins: Ricky Hatton is staging his comeback tonight against Vyacheslav Senchenko in Manchester, England, and Hatton has set it up to where he might be vulnerable to getting knocked out cold once again due to a variety of factors. The first thing that Hatton has going for him in this fight is that he’s coming off of a 3 1/2 year retirement without a tune-up.

Senchenko is definitely a world class fighter despite being manhandled by the light hitting Paulie Malignaggi in his last fight. Senchenko is at least fringe level world class, and that’s more than good enough to beat a short, rusty fighter like Hatton, whose best weight at 140, not 147.

Hatton didn’t want to bother with taking a tune-up fight and is jumping straight into the fire so to speak with the Senchenko bout. That’s obviously not the smartest thing that a person can do. I know Hatton likes to do things his own way, but this is one thing that you don’t want to mess around with. Another problem that Hatton has for this fight is all the weight that he had to take off just to make 147.

Froch hoping nothing bad happens to Hatton tonight

Froch hoping nothing bad happens to Hatton tonightBy Michael Collins: Ricky Hatton is taking a considerable risk in making a comeback tonight against Vyacheslav Senchenko after a long period of time out of the ring. IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch is just hoping that Hatton can come out of this fight in one piece and doesn’t get hurt like he was in his last fight against Manny Pacquiao in 2009.

Speaking to the standard.co.uk, Froch said “If Ricky wants to come back that’s his decision. Good luck to him. But let’s just hope he is in as good shape as he looks and that he doesn’t get hurt.”

Hatton does look to be in outstanding condition judging by how good he looked during Friday’s weigh-in. However, there’s a big difference from being in good shape and being in fighting shape. Hatton looks like he’s taken off a lot of weight, but we don’t know how he’ll react when he starts taking head shots and how he’ll look once the fight goes past the 3rd round.

When you’ve got an older fighter that is making a comeback after years out of the ring like Hatton, they tend to look decent for about three rounds.

Malignaggi turns 32 today; anxious to see if Hatton beats Senchenko

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By Jeff Sorby: WBA World welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KO’s) turns 32-years-old today, and he’s really interested to see what the outcome will be for this Saturday’s fight between Ricky Hatton and Vyacheslav Senchenko in Manchester, England.

Malignaggi has already given Hatton the green lightweight for a world title shot provided that Hatton beats Senchenko and the World Boxing Association responds by giving Hatton a top 15 ranking. That pretty much goes without saying because Senchenko already has a very generous #7 ranking by the WBA, and they’ll no doubt push Hatton up to somewhere in the top 15 if he beats Senchenko tomorrow night.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hatton get a top 10 ranking by the WBA if he wins tomorrow night. The sanctioning fees would be good with Hatton as the WBA champion if he were interested in holding onto the strap if he gets past Malignaggi.

Just to show you how eager Malignaggi is to get the Hatton fight, he’s already in England right now and attended the Hatton-Senchenko final press conference this week when Senchenko failed to show up. Malignaggi will obviously be at the fight, and likely hoping Hatton looks sensational in winning. Malignaggi has no interest in fighting Senchenko again, because he already gave him a bad thrashing last April in stopping him in the 9th round in Ukraine.

Haye to Hatton: Don’t listen to the haters

Haye to Hatton: Don't listen to the hatersBy Michael Collins: Former two division world champion David Haye gave a bit of encouragement to Ricky Hatton for his fight on Saturday night against Vyacheslav Senchenko, telling him not to listen to the criticism from fans and the media about his comeback fight.

Haye said on his site at hayemaker.com “Wishing you good luck tomorrow. Don’t listen to the haters. Just go out and do your thing. I know you wouldn’t be coming back if it wasn’t for a reason. I think you have a little something left. You have a little something up your sleeve. I wouldn’t be surprised to see. Go out and do your thing. Stay healthy.”

I never really saw Hatton’s problems in the past stemming from confidence or lack thereof. That to me seemed to be the last of Hatton’s problems. I think Hatton’s problems were more of a case of his lack of defense, his wild fighting style, and his inability to take hard head shots. It was a combination of things that was ultimately Hatton’s undoing when he got to the upper levels of the welterweight division. It wasn’t just one thing.

Hatton talking retirement if he loses to Senchenko

Hatton talking retirement if he loses to SenchenkoBy Michael Collins: Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) could be putting his career on the line in his comeback fight against Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 21 KO’s) on Saturday night at the Manchester Arena. Hatton doesn’t believe in sticking around and wasting his time if he doesn’t have it anymore, and Senchenko, if nothing else, will be a good gauge for the 34-year-old Hatton if he has enough left to compete and capture a world title.

Hatton said this as quoted by thesun.co.uk “I’ll quit if I lose. If the worse happens so be it.”

Hatton’s putting a lot of pressure on himself by coming back and taking on a reasonably good world class fighter in Senchenko. This guy may not be in the same class as fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Berto, Manny Pacquiao – or even Paulie Malignaggi – but he’s definitely a fringe world class contender. Hatton hasn’t seen action in a long time and it’s going to be tough for him to be able to perform at the level that he’s been accustomed to fighting in the distant past.

Hatton: You’re going to see a better version of me against Senchenko

Hatton: You're going to see a better version of me against SenchenkoBy Michael Collins: Former two division world champion Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) will be making his long awaited comeback on Saturday night against Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 21 KO’s) at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Few fans are expecting Hatton to be at his very best for this fight.

After all, he’s lost 5 stone [70 lbs], and he honestly hasn’t been in a real fight since November 2008 when he beat Paulie Malignaggi by an 11th round TKO. Hatton did fight Manny Pacquiao in May of 2009, but Hatton was blown out so quickly in that fight that he barely had time to throw a handful of shots before he was taken out by a prime Pacquiao.

Hatton said thesun.co.uk “You watch me on Saturday night. I have really turned the clock back…After the defeat against Pacman, people say ‘no way can he come back the same.’ They are fight because this version is better.”

Pacquiao thinks Hatton is making a mistake in coming back

By Michael Collins: 34-year-old Ricky Hatton will be coming back this Saturday night to face Vyacheslav Senchenko in a scheduled 12 round bout in Manchester, England. Hatton’s former conqueror Manny Pacquiao doesn’t understand why Hatton is coming back after being out of the ring for 3 1/2 years.