The Prime Years of Ricky Hatton

[RodBarker]

I'm sorry if you didn't understand my comments. Maybe this will help:

Lazcano - Pulled out injured so Hatton fought Collazo
Gatti - schedule to fight Hatton but got beat by Baldomir
Tszyu - Hatton beat Tszyu while Tszyu was by all accounts at the top of his game. Tszyu mecame "spent" after he had lost, not before.
Corrales - At lightweight until last year
Castillo - At lightweight until last year
Tszyu - You mentioned Tszyu twice, which is odd.
Malignaggi - Still fighting 8 rounders in 2005, famous to date for getting beat by Cotto
N'Dou - Once slated as an opponent, fight fell through
Judah - Would have been an acceptable fight
Cotto - No way was Arum putting Cotto in with Hatton at 140
Corley - An OK fight but not exactly stellar opposition
Witter - Perpetually two levels below in terms of career stage and a gob****e to boot
Mayweather (scheduled for Dec 8th, 2007)
Harris - Got starched by Maussa otherwise could have been an opponent for Hatton after Tszyu
Forbes - Ricky's sparring partner?
Mitchell - Decent option

Is that easier to grasp?

Kostya was considered to be at the top of his game, the top of his division and nearly the top of the p4p rankings right up until the 11th round against Hatton. Hatton was given no chance at all of defeating Tszyu by almost every pundit. In fact he had fewer people tipping him to win then than he does against Mayweather in December. After the fight Hatton's win was being discredited by people who for some reason have a vested interest in discrediting Ricky Hatton, but even so there are very few respected commentators who refer to the victory over Kostya as anything but stunning.

Suggesting that Tszyu was over the hill when he fought Hatton is rewriting history.

If you're a fan of Floyd Mayweather it's in your interests to accept Hatton's ability. He's a world class fighter at the top of his game. If you can't see the benefit of accepting that then you're really not even a fan of Mayweather, you just want to gloat.

Speaks volumes.

]

I could write a big long drawn out answer ,, but I will brief it down for you , it dont matter that Hatton was given no chance , that dont automaticly make KT at his best , it means Hatton was underated !

KT was 36 years old and was past his peak , thats common knowledge here in Aus boxing circles , Sam Soliman spared KT a lot over the years and said he was nowhere near his best when he spared him just before Hatton ,,, KT talked of retirement prior to Hatton , you dont retire in your peak .

Get this ,, it was a great win by Ricky Hatton and was his coming out party but dont make out KT was at his career best because thats bull**** .

[Addison]

Arturo Gatti is a two-time world title holder at two different weight classes. Would you say that he is a C-level fighter?

No I wouldn't. Absolutely not.

I think you're focusing on the extremely ring worn SHOT Arturo Gatti.

You must be forgetting how many people thought he could beat Mayweather, although I'm not sure how..

In Gatti's prime he had great power, inhuman recuperative skills, and the ability to hang with a boxer speedster like Ivan Robinson in FOTY type epics.

What are guys like Dorin, Daamgard, and Branco; "F" level fighters??? Cause all those guys were distuingished undefeated international threats and Gatti blew all of them out, first. And this is in the twilight years of his career..

Gatti could be hit and miss, up and down.. He took ALOT of beatings. But the guy could BRING IT on his best nights. Definately not C level. No how.

[damian5000]

Maybe not. That's what I was alluding to. Good insight.

The numbers will obviously never get that close - but if they were ****.. Like that? Probably not. Possibly too much risk for the same reality.

You're still not really answering the question. Stop trying to sound witty. IF the odds were even, who would you pick. Simple one word answer will suffice. I want to hear you say it.

[Addison]

You're still not really answering the question. Stop trying to sound witty. IF the odds were even, who would you pick. Simple one word answer will suffice. I want to hear you say it.

WHO THE **** ARE YOU TALKING TO, *****?

SUCK MY **** CLOWN.

Hear that.

I don't need to talk to you ****sucker. I already answered every dumb question you asked before you asked it. If you could read you wouldn't be having this problem you ****ing moron.


****ing ***** ass mother****er. What fights have you picked to claim you've made alot of money? You're full of ****.

[squealpiggy]

Soooo, Forbes has been a sparring partner for ten years.

Vivian Harris lost to maussa every year for ten years.

Arturo Gatti was losing to Baldomir for ten years.

Witter was two levels below, but 40 yr old Vince Phillips and 38 year old Freddie Pendleton (25 LOSSES) was acceptable. Thanks for that perspective.

etc

etc.

What's your beef? At least half of these fights were scheduled to be made, or eventually were made. Some of the names on there are ridiculous, like Malignaggi who has only just come on the radar, and then largely because COtto spanked him. Or Witter! Are you trying to tell me that you think Junior Witter could beat Hatton?Some of the guys on the list are people who, if Hatton had fought them, you would give them as little respect as everyone else he has fought. Plus Hatton was too much risk for too little reward for the best of those ten years, he was considered a dangerous fighter but had the WBU belt and a promoter who didn't want him leaving the country. Why would the likes of Sharmba Mitchell want to risk everything against a "bum" like that?

I could write a big long drawn out answer ,, but I will brief it down for you , it dont matter that Hatton was given no chance , that dont automaticly make KT at his best , it means Hatton was underated !

KT was 36 years old and was past his peak , thats common knowledge here in Aus boxing circles

That would be why the Aussies all picked Hatton to win then, was it?

Get this ,, it was a great win by Ricky Hatton and was his coming out party but dont make out KT was at his career best because thats bull**** .

I didn't say that Tszyu was at his personal best. I said he was on top of his game, he was the top dog at the weight and considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound. Two months before the fight the Ring gave him a cover story titled "King Kostya" and sung his praises, I still have the copy at my house. Hatton beat the number one Junior Welterweight in the world, in dramatic fashion.

[RodBarker]

That would be why the Aussies all picked Hatton to win then, was it?



I didn't say that Tszyu was at his personal best. I said he was on top of his game, he was the top dog at the weight and considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound. Two months before the fight the Ring gave him a cover story titled "King Kostya" and sung his praises, I still have the copy at my house. Hatton beat the number one Junior Welterweight in the world, in dramatic fashion.

Not this aussie ,,, Ive never been a big fan of KTs , top class fighter but he had a selected career with not much in it , he just never got a superfight and he got beat badly twice , Phillips owned him and KT ran from him ever since , I thought his career best was Gonzales , funny Kostya himself says it was his best performance .

The whole world can sing praises but that dont cover up what the eyes see .

By your own agenda lets say KT was at his best , now because he is an all time great to your way of thinking , and then Ricky Hatton pounds him into submission , what , an all time great of this magnitude being forced to quit ,,,, man Ricky Hatton must be superhuman and surely must be an all time great himself to be able to do this ,,,,, right ,,,,, then in your minds context of things what is Floyd if he stops Ricky Hatton or beats him in cruise ?

[squealpiggy]

Floyd is the best fighter p4p in the world, and I don't think I've ever tried to cover that up. Just becasue you are a fan of one fighter doesn't mean you have to trash their competition. I don't like Mayweather's persona, and his fans are largely as intolerable as Roy Jones Junior's fans were before RJJ lost his aura of invulnerability (in fact I suspect that they are largely the same people!) but I'd be a fool to deny his ability. Hatton would have no shame in losing to Floyd and Floyd would have no shame in losing to Hatton, both are young undefeated fighters, and while Floyd is better than Hatton on balance, I think Ricky has his number for this fight.

And for the record (again) although I am picking Hatton to win this fight I think he would lose a rematch.

[deevel79]

As far as Cotto/Floyd happening or not happening, i clearly remember L. Ellerbe and Floyd stating after the Judah/Cotto fight, that they were not impressed with Cotto and had no interest in fighting him. Prior to that, Cotto was seen as too green and not seasoned enough to face a fighter like Floyd. Cotto absolutely destroyed Judah in thier fight. Judah took Floyd the distance and dominiated the first 4 rounds. Given that, how can u not be impressed with Cotto's performance? Cotto's performance against Judah was MUCH more impressive than Floyds.

[Unseen]

The only thing about Cotto is, we have to remember that he is viewed MUCH differently today than he was a year ago. Last year, there were major questions about his chin, etc. His beatdowns of Quintana and Judah are really what leapfrogged him to respectability. Those have both been in the past 10 months.

Arum has always played a game with his "stable". He doesn't allow them to fight each other, knowing that one of them will be diminished. Notice how he could have EASILY put PBF & margarito together. Or PBF and Cotto. He had no interest in damaging his cash cows.

But as soon as PBF bought out, he starts throwing out "offers" and challenges.

I don't blame him. It is a promoter's job.

hatton has only really also beem known since kosta. so 2 years and he got the fight so i think cotto is too. i think that to be called the best you do need to fight everyone that the fans consider a threat. it's like pac, he fought barerra a 2nd time but it didnt do any favours for him. until pacs fight guzman or soto then he wont get as much respect. soto he would kill i think but guzman who knows.

[moofo]

Bull**** !

KT was 36 , came off 3 rnds in over 2 yrs , had shoulder surgery and injurys for prior 18 mths ,, was talkng of retirement prior ,,, I saw him spar 3 weeks earlier and he looked not good ,,,,, KT at the time Rick fought him was faded and at the end of his career .

Bottom line , you cannot compare Rickys resume with Floyds , its not even close in the quality of fighters and where they were in thier career timeframe at the time they fought .

Kostya Starched Mitchell 3 rounds quicker than Floyd 6 months before him.
Guess he was ****ed eh?