by James Slater – Though he once said he realised he is no welterweight and would therefore not attempt to box at the weight again, Ricky Hatton has had a change of heart. Currently in the middle of preparations for his upcoming big fight with Paulie Malignaggi on November 22nd, Hatton has revealed to Sky Sports news that he has his eye on the even bigger fight that is taking place in December. Wanting very much to fight the winner of the hugely anticipated and recently sold out De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight, “The Hitman” has said he would go up to 147 pounds again to do so..
“Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao fight in December at welterweight and my aim is to fight the winner of that,” Hatton said. “What kind of fighter would I be if the best pound-for-pound fighter is just seven pounds up from me and I wasn’t prepared to give it a go?”
Hatton may be applauded in his lofty aim, but the fact is, in his two other ventures into the welterweight division he didn’t do too well. Firstly, he won a very close and unimpressive points decision over Luis Collazo to win the WBA 147 pound title, then he was KO’d for the only time by Floyd Mayweather. Sure, the loss to Mayweather may well have happened had the two men fought at light-welterweight, but there is no denying that it is at 140 pounds where Hatton does his best stuff.
In my opinion, unless Pacquiao pulls off the upset on December 6th and beats De La Hoya, Hatton should stay where he is. Because as tough a fight with “Pac-Man” would more than likely be for Ricky, he’d have more of a chance against the Filipino than he would have with Oscar, due simply to Manny’s size. Oscar will tower over Pacquiao; he would also do so against the only slightly taller Hatton (Manny stands 5’6.5″, Ricky stands 5.7.5″).
In any case, before Britain’s most popular active fighter can even begin looking at a potential De La Hoya or Pacquaio fight he must take care of “The Magic Man” first. Hatton told Sky Sports news his training has been going very well so far, despite rumours to the contrary.
“I keep hearing that my training camp has not gone well. Everybody thinks the build-up has been higgledy piggledy, but that’s not true. Just look at the size of me, I’m right on my weight and I’m feeling fit. Floyd Senior is coming over next week and he’s been talking to [fellow Hatton trainer] Lee Beard on the phone. They have been working together for four or five years now so they are both on the same wavelength. They are going to show me a few new little moves and a few new training methods. I’ve been known for years as having the worst defence in boxing and Floyd Senior is the best defensive coach in boxing so I would have thought it’s obvious what he can bring to my game.”
Ricky Hatton with a good defence? If Mayweather Senior can pull that off Paulie Malignaggi is in real trouble!