by James Slater – It seems the people at Golden Boy Promotions do not want mega-star Ricky Hatton to walk away from the sport; not yet anyway. Though the 31-year-old – who has not fought since his crushing 2nd-round defeat at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in May of last year – has yet to make up his mind officially, there have been rumours for weeks now that a retirement announcement is imminent..
And maybe Hatton is content to walk away from the sport, and will hold a press conference to say as much when the time suits him. However, Oscar De la Hoya’s promotional outfit has, The Manchester Evening News reports, offered Hatton two final fights. Fight one, if taken, will see Hatton face Mexican legend Erik Morales in Las Vegas on July 10th, on the same bill as the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz rematch. Then, if both Hatton and Marquez win, Golden Boy would love to see the two square off in Manchester some time at the end of the year in what would be the former 140-pound king’s “farewell” fight.
Fans know how the idea of a Hatton-Marquez fight has been floating around for a number of months now, and Marquez is reportedly very up for the fight. But now the ball is very much in Ricky’s court, and it will be his decision and his decision alone as to whether or not he will fight either Morales or Marquez, or both.
And let’s face it, as faded as Hatton undoubtedly is (and Morales as well come to that), both the match-ups that Golden Boy are offering Hatton would prove to be big attractions should they go ahead. Maybe the very idea of a Hatton Vs. Morales will send shivers down the spines of the boxing purists, but the fact remains that in this day and age, with many, even more “bizarre” match-ups taking place, this possibility of a welterweight fight is tame by comparison.
And at least neither Hatton nor Morales would be being matched against some young tiger. Rest assured, this fight, if Hatton surprises us and takes it, will prove to be a big hit at the box office. And if Hatton were to win, well, the Marquez fight would be a great way for him to go out. I’d be willing to bet that right now, Hatton is feeling seriously tempted to take Golden Boy’s two-fight offer.
A natural warrior by heart, “The Hitman,” despite his current out of shape condition, will, in my opinion, have felt that “itch” when he heard the offer for the first time. Then again, there have been stories that have surfaced that tell us how Ricky tried to fight himself back into shape, but was simply unable. And of course, if Hatton has lost his fire and ability to train properly, he will make the right decision in politely declining the Golden Boy offer.
Time will tell.