By Mark Vester
Prior to Ricky Hatton's fight with Manny Pacquiao on May 2, the Manchester star's ex-promoter, Frank Warren, had warned him about taking the fight. Warren felt that Pacquiao was on another level and couldn't see Hatton winning under any circumstance. Warren had a nasty split with Hatton a few years ago. He feels Hatton is past his prime and needs to walk away before it's too late.
"I hate to say it but Ricky Hatton’s sickening second-round KO loss against Manny Pacquiao at the weekend was an accident waiting to happen. As I’ve insisted for months, Hatton shouldn’t have taken the fight and was always likely to lose," Warren said in his Sun column.
He says the addition of new trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. was a big mistake because Hatton was way too experienced to change his style. He was surprised at how quickly Pacquiao was able to finish him off.
"He made a big thing about bringing in Floyd Mayweather Snr as his trainer — but by the time the fight came around the pair were barely speaking to each other. Mayweather said ‘You can’t hit what you can’t see’. Unfortunately for Hatton, he was fighting Pacquiao not Stevie Wonder. But it was obvious to anybody that, after nearly 50 professional fights, Hatton does not have the capacity to change to Mayweather’s defensive style," Warren said.
"In fact he did everything wrong, and nothing right, in the six minutes the fight lasted. He may have been a world champion inside the ring, but Hatton’s also been a champion outside it as well — a champion at abusing his body by piling on the pounds between fights and binge drinking. Although I believed he would lose against Pacquiao, I was surprised it happened so quickly. But Manny beat Hatton in every department — his speed, footwork and power were superb."
Warren thinks Hatton's decline began after the fight with Kostya Tszyu in 2005. He says the Tszyu fight was Hatton's career high point.
"The knockout was a frightening one and reminded me of the devastating defeats two Brits — Dave Boy Green and Herol Graham — had at world level. I don’t think Ricky has looked the same since he beat Kostya Tszyu in Manchester four years ago, which remains for me the highlight — and high point — of his career. Thousands of fans travelled to Las Vegas to see him fight at the weekend but I’d be surprised if any of them would be upset if Hatton now called it quits. His family should also urge him to retire," Warren said.
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