"I was up at 6am this morning, Floyd came to my house and I ran five miles around Gee Cross in Hyde with dumb bells in my hands. Floyd was side by side with me all the way - in a Range Rover I might add - saying, 'Come on, jab, jab, step off, one-two!'. It was hard because it's very hilly where I live but because it was new I got a buzz from it.
"As soon as we got back to my house he jumped out the car and we did a little bit of sparring.
"I've got to get used to him calling the shots and the different combinations, plus I need to get to know him as a person and as a coach. I took him with me to the Manchester City versus Liverpool game yesterday, we had a meal and I think he enjoyed himself."
Hatton admitted he should have changed trainers sooner, and revealed that only his friendship with Graham preventing him from doing so. "Billy thought he could continue training me but I had to be man enough to say no because it just wasn't possible," he said. "A lot of the lads have left his gym - including our Matthew [Hatton's brother] - because of Billy's injuries.
"There was only me left and he couldn't even do that in the end. It was the toughest decision of my life to leave Billy but it was the best one. They were putting needles in his hands to numb the pain so he could take a training session.
"When I hit him he would say, 'You're hitting too hard', but in my mind I was thinking, 'Well you don't know because you can't feel your hands'. He was deluding himself and didn't want to admit to himself that the time had come to finish.
"Everyone was telling me to leave him earlier and I think it's clear because, slowly but surely, everyone else left him. I couldn't do it because of how I had such a close relationship with him but when Matthew left I knew I had to be a man and leave as well."
Floyd Sr. is the one trainer who consistently produces tangible results come fight night. I'd like to see what he does with Hatton's natural aggression and power.
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