by James Slater – More bad news for Ricky Hatton. Not only does the British boxing superstar lose by a brutal 2nd round knockout to Manny Pacquiao – very possibly suffering a career-ending loss in doing so – but now his former trainer, Billy Graham is reportedly suing “The Hitman” for a whopping £1 million! According to Mirror Sport, 53-year-old Graham, once a father figure to Hatton, is suing over payment he is still owed from both the Juan Lazcano and Floyd Mayweather Junior fights. Reportedly, Graham was paid £530,000 for the Mayweather Junior fight, but he claims that this amount is considerably less than the ten percent he should have been paid for that fight. Graham says he has not been paid anything at all for the Lazcano fight..
So far, there have been no reply comments made by Ricky, but this is indeed an issue that is likely to upset him. Graham, nicknamed “The Preacher,” is the man who discovered Hatton well over a decade ago, and the two forged a deep and seemingly everlasting bond as the young fighter worked his way up the pro ranks to world title glory. Now it looks as though this friendship is gone for good. Hatton famously sacked Graham last summer, and hired the services of the extrovert Floyd Mayweather Senior as a replacement.
This move stunned Graham, but he has recently revealed that the critical verbal job Mayweather Senior did on him in public, with Hatton by his side and saying nothing in his defence, hurt a whole lot more than his being let go did. And now, further driving a wedge between the two men, is the court action Graham has/is taking.
Graham tipped his former fighter to defeat Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd, saying he felt Hatton would win in sensational style. After the fight, however, Graham said he’d made his prediction based on the old Ricky Hatton. But after the fight, Graham told Boxing News that “the real Ricky Hatton is not there any more.” Graham also said he would never wish to see Ricky go anywhere near a boxing ring again.
Hatton has yet to make up his mind as to whether or not he carries on with his boxing career, but there is absolutely no chance of a re-hiring of Graham now, should he indeed choose to fight again.