By Frank Warren

There were strong rumours this week that Ricky Hatton is set to retire – let’s hope for his health that they are true.

Hatton later distanced himself from comments that he would quit the ring and pulled the plug on a proposed come back against Juan Manuel Marquez.

But he's said to be four stone over his fighting weight, looking dreadful in training, and quit camp after just 10 days to go on a stag do in Tenerife. It doesn't sound like he's got the eye of the tiger – mind you those Tiger Beers aren’t bad!

I wrote a couple of weeks ago that Hatton is so out of shape that I'd be surprised if he fought again this year.

His trainer, Lee Beard, recently quit Hatton's camp to work with Joan Guzman.   That gives a big indication of where he thinks Hatton's future lies.

If Hatton quits he will leave quite a legacy - he's one of the better and most exciting fighters to have come out of Britain in the last 10 years, and a great ticket seller.

But I don't think he made the full use of his talent, and he let himself down by failing to look after himself outside of the ring.   No athlete can live the way Hatton does and stay at the top.

His only two losses were against P4P greats Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, but recently he's struggled against average fighters.

After both defeats he blamed everyone - including his trainers - but himself.

Yes he wasn't good enough, but he would have stood more of a chance if he'd lived the life.

Hatton's greatest moment came in his last fight for me - his stoppage of Kotsya Tszyu to win the IBF light-welterweight title.

After that he was a major star, but I don't think he was ever quite the same as a fighter
And I still believe that Hatton would have stood his best chance of beating Mayweather immediately after the Tszyu fight.

At that stage Hatton was flying because he was fighting regularly, while Mayweather was really struggling to make light-welterweight.

If Hatton had taken home advantage into the fight - a big if - it could have made things very interesting.

But it wouldn't have been as financially big as when they finally got it on at the end of 2007.

I'm sure Hatton's bank manager is glad they fought later rather than sooner, only time will tell if his doctor agrees.

Now Hatton is forging a second career on the other side of the ropes as a promoter.
He'll find out that it's not as easy as it looks and often a very expensive exercise.

Hatton reportedly lost £200,000 on a recent Matt Macklin fight - and now Macklin's reported as saying that it won't be long before he's a free agent.

It will be interesting to see how Hatton feels about investing in fighter’s careers.

* **

If Hatton does quit at the age of 31 at least he'll have got out at the right time, unlike some faded greats in America.

There's talk that Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, 43 and 47 respectively, are set for a third fight, while 41-year-old Roy Jones is in action against Bernard Hopkins next month despite a first round KO in his last fight.

And on the subject of age, what on earth was a 40-year-old lady Rita Figueroa doing fighting in Chicago and why did the local Commission allow her to box?

She died recently as a result of a KO in November last year.

I am not a fan of female boxing but I appreciate the effort and dedication ladies put into the sport.  It’s dreadful enough when men suffer tragic injuries in the ring and I know and appreciate the arguments for ladies but no-one can tell me that boxing is a sport for 40 year old women.

***

Vitali Klitschko will now defend his world title against limited Pole Albert Sosnowski, hardly a fight to get excited about.

It could have an impact on David Haye though as original opponent Nikolay Valuev has declined the fight to allow Sosnowski to get a shot.

That could well mean Valuev's promoters will look to use one of the options they have over Haye to enforce the rematch clause with the giant Russian - great news for insomniacs.
 
***

Don King’s fighter Devon Alexander got a good win at the weekend over Juan Urango, and the light-welterweight division is hotting up nicely.

For up to date boxing new and reviews please visit www.frankwarren.tv