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HATTON VS. PACQUIAO, WEIGHT AND ALCOHOL
By Michael Swann
It seems that English darling Ricky Hatton can’t avoid getting his name in the news, professionally and otherwise. As a fighter, though he quite literally took it on the chin from Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their December 8 bout, he remains as much in demand as ever. One prospective opponent mentioned frequently of late is a certain Filipino ring icon now residing in the super featherweight division, Manny Pacquiao. A match between the two superstars is considered a viable possibility by the end of the year.
HBO is apparently on board for the fight and one can only begin to imagine the international income to be generated from these two men who have such huge fan bases in their home countries as well as around the world.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s primary promoter along with silent partner Golden Boy, has been quoted as saying that the fight was “a reality” providing that Pacquiao wins his March 15 rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez for Marquez’ WBC super featherweight title.
Next a fight with WBC lightweight belt holder David Diaz, who has been keeping the belt warm for someone, is being considered for June or July. Diaz is scheduled to appear on the Pacquiao-Marquez undercard against Humberto Soto, who was last seen losing a WBO super featherweight title clash against Joan Guzman.
I’m going to take a wild stab at this and say that Guzman will never get within 50 yards of Pacquiao in Bob Arum’s lifetime, and further, Bob doesn’t want Diaz to lose before Manny can get to him.
After Diaz, and that’s two big fights away from fruition, the ambitious plan calls for Pacquiao to face Hatton in late 2008. That’s three fights for three titles in three weight divisions in one calendar year. Performing a hat trick on this blueprint would indeed be a daunting task, but one that would preserve Pacquiao’s legacy for the ages.
As for Hatton, both HBO and Showtime have expressed interest in working with him again. The question is how best to match him. He’s been to the mountain top and has seen the Promised Land in his failed attempt to climb Mount Mayweather, so other than Pacquiao everyone else seems comparatively so vanilla. Hatton remains the Ring Magazine’s 140 pound champ and is said to be returning to that division that is more suitable to his 5’6” frame.
Brooklyn’s Paulie Malignaggi, who holds Hatton’s old IBF junior welterweight belt, won a unanimous decision over Herman Ngoudjo last Saturday night, but in the process may have impaired his chances for a Hatton shot at Madison Square Garden, as has been rumored.
The judges saw it 117-111, 116-113, and 115-113 for Paulie, who struggled with the underrated 6-1 underdog Ngoudjo. I scored it 114-114. But to Malignaggi’s credit, he once again showed a cast iron chin and survived a right hand in the seventh that hurt him and buckled his legs. After the round he was even asked by the ring physician if he wanted to continue, and after the fight he admitted to being buzzed.
My point is that if Ngoudjo made him look bad, even in victory, then Hatton will have him for supper. That detracts from the fight as an attraction in my opinion, but it might still happen. Paulie hasn’t scored a knockout in five years and only has five in 25 fights, (24-1).
Showtime’s prefight montage comparing Paulie to the great Willie Pep, probably one of the top five all time pound for pound fighters, is embarrassingly off base.
Hatton’s countryman and arch-rival Junior Witter is another discussed for Ricky, but it’s said that the animus between the two is so great that Hatton won’t fight him, although it’s a match that makes sense, particularly in the UK.
Boxing logic -- You would think that two guys who genuinely dislike each other would make for an entertaining scrap. But the problem is that Hatton knows that the fight will be a huge money maker and he doesn’t want Witter to get any of it.
There was even talk of Hatton fighting 5’3” WBA super lightweight belt holder Gavin Rees, assuming he gets past his first defense on January 19.
Enzo Calzaghe, Rees’ manager/trainer was quoted in the UK’s Daily Star that, “(Hatton) needs to prove he deserves a world title shot first. Just because you’re a name doesn’t mean you should get a world title shot right away.”
Until he upset Souleymane M’Baye for the title last July, Rees was just another tomato can who fought six and eight rounders, albeit an undefeated tomato can. He still couldn’t tie Hatton’s shoelaces, much less beat him.
The sole benefit to fighting Rees is picking up a belt and getting a better shake on any purse split with future competition, such as Malignaggi or Witter who have belts. Then again, if everything else falls in place, Hatton could be fighting Pacquiao by the end of the year and who needs alphabet belts when you have two folk heroes in the ring? In that instance, the Ring title will do very nicely.
Strictly on paper you have to favor Hatton, a natural at 140 coming down from 147, against Manny who started at flyweight and not so long ago had to grow into 130. Even if he is having trouble making weight there, it’s a long stretch to carry that punching power to junior welterweight.
But I don’t think it’s quite that simple. Here comes the personal part of the equation. Hatton has abused his body too much for too long and is ripe for an upset.
The London Times, in an article by Matthew Syed entitled, “Shape up or ship out -- why Ricky Hatton must beat the bottle,” hits Hatton harder than Mayweather did. According to the article, Hatton went on a “four day bender” in the Canary Islands, where it was reported that he knocked out “57 pints, 17 vodka Red Bulls, three whiskey chasers, a bottle of champagne,” and probably a partridge in a pear tree.
His nutritionist, Kerry Kayes, is quoted as saying, “It couldn’t be more horrific what he eats. Anything that’s bad, greasy, take away, or pies, he washes down with 12 to 15 pints of Guinness and Baileys chasers. He couldn’t do it any worse. To get into fighting shape the body needs to repair itself from the trauma, so we need a lot of nutrients but can’t afford calories…”
Kayes complains that Hatton’s parents and girlfriend can’t talk him out of it, so what can he do?
Maybe they should check with Dr. Phil.
As has been previously reported, Hatton went to camp for the Mayweather fight more than 40 pounds over the 147 pound limit. Yet his solution is to make “Ricky Fatton” T-shirts. According to the Times’ article, he is already beginning to look pitifully out of shape less than one month after Mayweather.
The writer quotes Simon Langley-Evans, a professor of nutrition, as saying, “This kind of yo-yo dieting produces the worst outcome in cardiovascular risk in middle age. It’s almost better to be someone heavier and not trying to lose weight rather than losing weight and putting it back on again.”
Syed says that the joke has worn thin to those who care about his long term well being and, “either Hatton should start to exercise the self discipline that has been so con****uously lacking during his 10 year career or he should hang up the boxing gloves for good.”
This is sound advice. A boxer’s career life is much like that of a car. You can run the daylights out of it and it might break down at the most inopportune time, or you can keep it well tuned and pampered and it will go the extra miles when you need it. Hatton hasn’t yet taken any severe beatings as yet in the ring, but he’s certainly running up the mileage outside of the ring.
There are far too many fighters whose careers were shortened due to excess. Most recently we’ve witnessed the case of Fernando Vargas, whose weight always skyrocketed between fights, and by his own admission was 100 pounds overweight prior to training for his final fight, a loss to Ricardo Mayorga. He was done by age 29.
Rid**** Bowe is a perfect example. His weight would spike between fights as he ate everything that wasn’t moving. In his early years he demonstrated a measure of brilliance and may have had something of a long term legacy if he hadn’t eaten himself out of the game, for all practical purposes, by age 29.
The combination of tough wars and a losing battle with the scale left the formerly loquacious Bowe barely understandable today, and his life in general is one of boxing’s tragedies.
Ricky Hatton is 29.
Contrary to what Hatton or his legion of fans might think, he is not bullet proof. In addition to his poor eating habits, his apparent dependence on alcohol will ultimately not only contribute to his weight gain, but begin to savage his internal organs.
It’s still a long way off, if it happens at all, but I like the chances of a Manny Pacquiao, properly conditioned and faster with his hands and feet to defeat the naturally bigger Hatton, for whom the clock is already ticking.
By Michael Swann
It seems that English darling Ricky Hatton can’t avoid getting his name in the news, professionally and otherwise. As a fighter, though he quite literally took it on the chin from Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their December 8 bout, he remains as much in demand as ever. One prospective opponent mentioned frequently of late is a certain Filipino ring icon now residing in the super featherweight division, Manny Pacquiao. A match between the two superstars is considered a viable possibility by the end of the year.
HBO is apparently on board for the fight and one can only begin to imagine the international income to be generated from these two men who have such huge fan bases in their home countries as well as around the world.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s primary promoter along with silent partner Golden Boy, has been quoted as saying that the fight was “a reality” providing that Pacquiao wins his March 15 rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez for Marquez’ WBC super featherweight title.
Next a fight with WBC lightweight belt holder David Diaz, who has been keeping the belt warm for someone, is being considered for June or July. Diaz is scheduled to appear on the Pacquiao-Marquez undercard against Humberto Soto, who was last seen losing a WBO super featherweight title clash against Joan Guzman.
I’m going to take a wild stab at this and say that Guzman will never get within 50 yards of Pacquiao in Bob Arum’s lifetime, and further, Bob doesn’t want Diaz to lose before Manny can get to him.
After Diaz, and that’s two big fights away from fruition, the ambitious plan calls for Pacquiao to face Hatton in late 2008. That’s three fights for three titles in three weight divisions in one calendar year. Performing a hat trick on this blueprint would indeed be a daunting task, but one that would preserve Pacquiao’s legacy for the ages.
As for Hatton, both HBO and Showtime have expressed interest in working with him again. The question is how best to match him. He’s been to the mountain top and has seen the Promised Land in his failed attempt to climb Mount Mayweather, so other than Pacquiao everyone else seems comparatively so vanilla. Hatton remains the Ring Magazine’s 140 pound champ and is said to be returning to that division that is more suitable to his 5’6” frame.
Brooklyn’s Paulie Malignaggi, who holds Hatton’s old IBF junior welterweight belt, won a unanimous decision over Herman Ngoudjo last Saturday night, but in the process may have impaired his chances for a Hatton shot at Madison Square Garden, as has been rumored.
The judges saw it 117-111, 116-113, and 115-113 for Paulie, who struggled with the underrated 6-1 underdog Ngoudjo. I scored it 114-114. But to Malignaggi’s credit, he once again showed a cast iron chin and survived a right hand in the seventh that hurt him and buckled his legs. After the round he was even asked by the ring physician if he wanted to continue, and after the fight he admitted to being buzzed.
My point is that if Ngoudjo made him look bad, even in victory, then Hatton will have him for supper. That detracts from the fight as an attraction in my opinion, but it might still happen. Paulie hasn’t scored a knockout in five years and only has five in 25 fights, (24-1).
Showtime’s prefight montage comparing Paulie to the great Willie Pep, probably one of the top five all time pound for pound fighters, is embarrassingly off base.
Hatton’s countryman and arch-rival Junior Witter is another discussed for Ricky, but it’s said that the animus between the two is so great that Hatton won’t fight him, although it’s a match that makes sense, particularly in the UK.
Boxing logic -- You would think that two guys who genuinely dislike each other would make for an entertaining scrap. But the problem is that Hatton knows that the fight will be a huge money maker and he doesn’t want Witter to get any of it.
There was even talk of Hatton fighting 5’3” WBA super lightweight belt holder Gavin Rees, assuming he gets past his first defense on January 19.
Enzo Calzaghe, Rees’ manager/trainer was quoted in the UK’s Daily Star that, “(Hatton) needs to prove he deserves a world title shot first. Just because you’re a name doesn’t mean you should get a world title shot right away.”
Until he upset Souleymane M’Baye for the title last July, Rees was just another tomato can who fought six and eight rounders, albeit an undefeated tomato can. He still couldn’t tie Hatton’s shoelaces, much less beat him.
The sole benefit to fighting Rees is picking up a belt and getting a better shake on any purse split with future competition, such as Malignaggi or Witter who have belts. Then again, if everything else falls in place, Hatton could be fighting Pacquiao by the end of the year and who needs alphabet belts when you have two folk heroes in the ring? In that instance, the Ring title will do very nicely.
Strictly on paper you have to favor Hatton, a natural at 140 coming down from 147, against Manny who started at flyweight and not so long ago had to grow into 130. Even if he is having trouble making weight there, it’s a long stretch to carry that punching power to junior welterweight.
But I don’t think it’s quite that simple. Here comes the personal part of the equation. Hatton has abused his body too much for too long and is ripe for an upset.
The London Times, in an article by Matthew Syed entitled, “Shape up or ship out -- why Ricky Hatton must beat the bottle,” hits Hatton harder than Mayweather did. According to the article, Hatton went on a “four day bender” in the Canary Islands, where it was reported that he knocked out “57 pints, 17 vodka Red Bulls, three whiskey chasers, a bottle of champagne,” and probably a partridge in a pear tree.
His nutritionist, Kerry Kayes, is quoted as saying, “It couldn’t be more horrific what he eats. Anything that’s bad, greasy, take away, or pies, he washes down with 12 to 15 pints of Guinness and Baileys chasers. He couldn’t do it any worse. To get into fighting shape the body needs to repair itself from the trauma, so we need a lot of nutrients but can’t afford calories…”
Kayes complains that Hatton’s parents and girlfriend can’t talk him out of it, so what can he do?
Maybe they should check with Dr. Phil.
As has been previously reported, Hatton went to camp for the Mayweather fight more than 40 pounds over the 147 pound limit. Yet his solution is to make “Ricky Fatton” T-shirts. According to the Times’ article, he is already beginning to look pitifully out of shape less than one month after Mayweather.
The writer quotes Simon Langley-Evans, a professor of nutrition, as saying, “This kind of yo-yo dieting produces the worst outcome in cardiovascular risk in middle age. It’s almost better to be someone heavier and not trying to lose weight rather than losing weight and putting it back on again.”
Syed says that the joke has worn thin to those who care about his long term well being and, “either Hatton should start to exercise the self discipline that has been so con****uously lacking during his 10 year career or he should hang up the boxing gloves for good.”
This is sound advice. A boxer’s career life is much like that of a car. You can run the daylights out of it and it might break down at the most inopportune time, or you can keep it well tuned and pampered and it will go the extra miles when you need it. Hatton hasn’t yet taken any severe beatings as yet in the ring, but he’s certainly running up the mileage outside of the ring.
There are far too many fighters whose careers were shortened due to excess. Most recently we’ve witnessed the case of Fernando Vargas, whose weight always skyrocketed between fights, and by his own admission was 100 pounds overweight prior to training for his final fight, a loss to Ricardo Mayorga. He was done by age 29.
Rid**** Bowe is a perfect example. His weight would spike between fights as he ate everything that wasn’t moving. In his early years he demonstrated a measure of brilliance and may have had something of a long term legacy if he hadn’t eaten himself out of the game, for all practical purposes, by age 29.
The combination of tough wars and a losing battle with the scale left the formerly loquacious Bowe barely understandable today, and his life in general is one of boxing’s tragedies.
Ricky Hatton is 29.
Contrary to what Hatton or his legion of fans might think, he is not bullet proof. In addition to his poor eating habits, his apparent dependence on alcohol will ultimately not only contribute to his weight gain, but begin to savage his internal organs.
It’s still a long way off, if it happens at all, but I like the chances of a Manny Pacquiao, properly conditioned and faster with his hands and feet to defeat the naturally bigger Hatton, for whom the clock is already ticking.
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