Hatton has "manned up" as far as I can tell. He 's accepted the loss. He's congratulated Floyd.
What has happened is this: He sees Floyd is open to the possibilty of a rematch. He watched the tape of the fight, sees several things he did wrong. He sees Cortez breaking them *before* a clinch several times. Cortez broke them sometimes when they were just close. Seriously, watch the fight. He broke them when Floyd was holding, and turned and warned Hatton. I mean, it really was bizarre ref'ing from Cortez in several instances. So Hatton sees this, and wants to try again. So what is his crime? If the fight is made, it'll be because Mayweather and HBO want it. If Mayweather and HBO want it, wouldn't Hatton have to be insane to not make a historically big fight?
Nobody is saying Cortez knocked Hatton out. Nobody is saying Hatton has earned a rematch. What I, personally, am saying is that Cortez did a poor job as ref, was biased, made it nearly impossible for Hatton to fight on the inside, which made it a harder fight for Hatton. If you watch the fight again, seriously, with an unbiased agenda, you'll see that for yourself. That's simply stating fact.
Hatton has every right to lobby for a rematch. He's an accomplished champion and wants to make a historic stadium fight in his home country. He thinks he can win, wants another try, and it seems Mayweather may want to do it, too. If you were in Hatton's shoes, you'd do the same thing. Anyone who says differently is lying their ass off. Period.
No "manning up" would be him taking his lost, and not making a thousand excuses after the fight. First it was Cortez's ref'ing skills, then it was him not being comfortable at 147, then it was the jet lag coming from the uk. I mean c'mon...
To be frank Hattons no amateur.. once he saw that Cortez wasn't letting him get on his game, from then on he should of worked on a new strategy. I mean why go the whole 12 rounds trying to fight using the same inside game, if you know the ref is being "biased" against you and your fighting style. Why even box at all if your always looking for a ref to let YOU do YOUR thing.
I mean is this what boxing is about now. Ref's letting boxers "do there thing"? You play the cards that you are dealt and you deal with it. If you ain't feeling something you adjust. Boxing isn't always fair with the ref's and the judges. Even I can admit that, but once your in that ring, all focus should be on how your going to ultimately annihilate the person in front of you.
Plus in all fairness on Cortez. If you remember correctly Cortez was getting alot of heat about Hatton's dirty inside tactics before the fight even started. So its only natural for him to come in the match thinking well "let me put a stop to this now".
If Cortez would of let Hatton do his thing in the inside and hatton would have won the fight. Then you would have the Floyd fans crying saying that Cortez suck, and that he didn't do his job. But since the tables are turned, you got Hatton fans crying. So its like he can't win either way, and people know this. So I'm just not understanding why blame the ref. People are going to bitch and moan regardless.
I always watch boxing with and unbiased agenda. Because at this present moment...I have no favorite... I just love boxing. After watching the fight numerous times, I also seen how when Hatton DID get to get inside, Mayweather would straight shut him down once he got there. At numerous times in the fight, Floyd played Hatton's game and still was able to shut him down.
At the end of the fight, Hatton even admitted that himself.. so saying that Hatton would have had a chance if Cortez let him "do his thing" is preposterous. Do I think he deserves a rematch yeah.. as a fan would i want to see a rematch after what happen the first fight.. hell no.