By Mark Vester
According to Floyd Mayweather Jr, the career of Ricky Hatton ended when the two of them fought in December of 2007. Mayweather handed Hatton his first loss, a technical knockout in the tenth round. Mayweather returns to the ring on July 18, the first Floyd has seen action since the win over Hatton. He faces Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand in Ls Vegas.
"Ricky's career was over in 2007 when he met me," said Mayweather. "He was a gutsy, tough champ but there's a time in every boxer's career when they must hang it up. He was knocked out bad twice - by me and Pacquiao. They were two devastating defeats. He's been in a lot of tough fights and taken some big shots.
Mayweather says Hatton is no longer the same fighter and feels the Manchester star is shot. He says the lifestyle of Hatton was a contributing factor.
"Against me he was macho because he was undefeated and had his whole country behind them but he still took some big shots. Gaining weight and drinking - you can't have that sort of lifestyle in boxing," Mayweather added. "You have to take your job seriously. I don't think Ricky should fight again. I wouldn't fight him again, even at Wembley. It would be like picking on a guy that we call 'gun-shot, gun-shot'.
"Once you've been knocked out in the way he was by me, it's always in the back of your mind that it can happen again. His head won't be the same."
Then Floyd took aim at Hatton and his assistant trainer, Lee Beard, over the two-round loss to Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather takes offense from anyone pointing the finger of blame on his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr, who trained Hatton for the Pacquiao fight. He says Hatton did not listen to his father and instead listened to Beard.
"That fight wasn't my father's gameplan. I know my father and that wasn't his gameplan," Mayweather said. "I don't want everyone over here ripping my father to shreds. It wasn't his fault. My dad told him to go out, relax, use his jab and be smart. It wasn't my dad's fault.
"There this other trainer Lee Beard and Ricky was listening to him. No disrespect to Lee but has he fought before? A lot of the time trainers try to tell fighters what to do without having been in combat. My dad has been in combat before."
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