By Mark Vester
During a recent interview, IBF junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton told BoxingScene's Tim Smith that he's looked like sh*t in last three fights. Hatton says that fighters like Urango did not throw enough punches to make it an exciting fight.
"My last three performances have been sh*t," Hatton said. "Certainly not the Ricky Hatton you've come to expect. The more punches your opponent throws the more gaps and openings he leaves for you to take advantage of."
That's why Hatton is all smiles when it comes to his June bout with Jose Luis Castillo in Las Vegas. Hatton is expecting Castillo to come right after him and go to war from the start of the fight.
"The Castillo fight is more my kind of fight,"Hatton said. "He's not slippery southpaw or a guy who doesn't throw punches."
Hatton told Smith that he approached his old promoter Frank Warren several years ago and told him that he wanted to fight better opponents in America. After Warren was unable to secure him any big fights, he broke away from Warren in a bitter court battle.
"I'm living my dream," Hatton said. "I've always wanted to fight champions and unify titles. I was nowhere near that with my former promoter."
Of course Warren is going to take Hatton's to task by issuing a response. He says that not only is Hatton lying about his inability to secure him big fights, but he offered him major fights against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Vivian Harris, Junior Witter and Miguel Cotto - and Hatton's father turned down all of them.
"Ricky is living in cloud cuckoo land when he says that I didn't offer him big fights, either when he was with me or around the time we parted company after the Kostya Tszyu fight. In fact, I said I would pay him the exact same purse he eventually received for the Carlos Maussa fight, which went ahead after he left me. In writing, I had previously offered him fights with both Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto, which his father declined on his behalf," Warren said.
"I also got Ricky into a position where he could fight then WBA world champion Vivian Harris, but typically Ray Hatton said no. It was me who insisted that Ricky have a clause in his contract that he fight Junior Witter, and although that fight did not come off because we couldn't get Sky or Showtime to take the fight, the fact it never got off the ground was greeted with relief by Ray Hatton."
That was yet another fight he refused - and his reluctance has been proved by the fact Hatton has continued to show no interest in taking on his biggest domestic rival in the two years since we parted company.
Warren also said that Hatton has looked worse in America than he ever did in the UK. While Hatton blames Urango for his poor showcase, Warren says that Hatton should be the one to take the blame.
"Although Ricky has fought in America, he looked far worse then when he was fighting on my promotions, in fact, for once he and I agree - he looked sh*t. He says he didn't look good against Urango because of his negative style, but it was Ricky who was holding on for dear life at the end. In fact, he was dreadful," Warren said.