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Do You think Hatton and Warren Can Put There Differences aside to Make Khan Bout?
Can Hatton get past troubles with Frank Warren to make Khan fight?
December 21, 12:22AM
Pittsburgh Fight Sports Examiner
By Scott Heritage
The fight of Ricky Hatton's career undoubtedly came back in June of 2005, when he took on and beat the feared IBF champion Kostya Tszyu, lifting himself to the top of the light welterweight rankings at the same time.
Fast forward to the present day and Hatton is coming off a big loss to Manny Pacquiao and has been inactive for most of this year. On top of that his well documented weight problems have come back to haunt him once more, and he now tips the scales at around 200lbs rather than the sculpted 140lbs he once fought at.
It appears though that Hatton is getting himself ready for a return to the ring, and that his sights are now being set on rising star Amir Khan. Although his first fight will likely be against Juan Manuel Marquez, a showdown with Khan would have an added bonus for Hatton, getting a chance to beat his former promoter Frank Warren's new protege.
The fall out between Hatton and Warren happened after the Tszyu fight when Hatton claimed that Warren was only out for himself and was exploiting his hard work. Warren countered by claiming that he had a contract to promote Hatton's next fight as well, which he had negotiated with Carlos Maussa and team. Obviously the truth of the matter is difficult to get to, but by the sounds of it, Hatton was offered more money by a different promoter (Dennis Hobson) and took the offer rather than staying with Warren.
Warren said at the time to BBC sport: "It's purely about money and greed. There is no fault you could find in my involvement with Ricky's career. In the time he was with me I never took a penny in management commission, I made all the right matches and took the flak. Even if there wasn't a contract I'd expect loyalty."
"Dennis Hobson's delivered him Maussa. But I already had that fight agreed with Main Event before Ray Hatton (Ricky's father) said we couldn't negotiate on behalf of Ricky. It's totally out of order. It's about Ricky and Ray trying to grab as much money as possible."
Since then there have been several lawsuits filed by Warren, who appears always ready for legal action when things don't go according to his plans. Warren won some and lost some of the legal wrangling with Hatton, (and later Joe Calzaghe) but in the end he and the fighter parted ways, Hatton onto more world championships and Warren onto a new charge. Enter Amir Khan.
Khan was plucked from the amateur ranks by Warren after winning Olympic silver for Great Britain and quickly became one of the nations most famous boxing prospects. He now holds a record of 22-1, with the loss coming at the hands of Breidis Prescott a little over a year ago. Since the loss Khan made some changes to his team and is now trained by Freddie Roach at the Wild card gym in California. Hatton, even as his record now stands at 45-2 would make for an impressive scalp for the young man from Bolton.
The biggest obstacle to the fight being made is obviously the bad blood between Frank Warren and Hatton, who have both said in the past that they would not work with one another again. Since then Warren has also not missed an opportunity to take swipes at Hatton from his columns and press conferences, routinely panning Hatton's performances and mocking his weight issues.
“The terrific movement and boxing skills that helped him get to the top have disappeared, possibly for good.Yet the real reason for his decline is Hatton can no longer avoid punches and is walking on to punches far too often." - Frank Warren
Despite the pair's frosty words for each other, they both spoke more warmly about a possible fight between Hatton and Amir:
"It's been well documented the problems I have had with Frank Warren, It would be a non-starter unless I promoted it. I'm not saying it's never going to happen," he said. "If I fight again and Amir's the champion, obviously it's a possibility." -Ricky Hatton
“Financially it is a great fight and I think Ricky would get stopped again by Amir. I don’t think Ricky could cope with that pace. I don’t think he should fight again but if he wants to do it then I’m sure it could happen. But, from his health point of view, he should definitely retire from the ring.” -Frank Warren
Khan himself is typically reserved about his opponents, part or future, and had this to say about a future Hatton fight:
“We’re good friends and stuff, but business is business, I’m just going to leave it to my team. I’m a fan of Ricky Hatton and I like him to be in my corner, supporting me all the way and for me to achieve what he has achieved.
“But boxing is a game where you have to face fighters. In Britain I think it would be a huge fight that the public would want to see. We’ll see what happens. If Freddie Roach thinks it’s the right move for me to make, then I’m going to make that move.”
As usual though money speaks a lot louder than words in boxing, and a fight between Hatton and Khan may well be in the works if both parties can make enough money out of it. The fight would certainly be the biggest on the British domestic scene in several years, and both fighters already have big fan bases in the United Kingdom. Furthermore Freddie Roach would likely welcome the fight against the faded Hatton since Khan's stablemate and pound for pound great Manny Pacquiao flattened Hatton in just two rounds.
Will the fight happen? Not immediately, but give each man another win apiece and I think it will probably be worked out. The fight itself will probably go the way of Amir Khan, given his speed and power, not to mention having Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao to learn from. The loss should send Hatton into retirement and will be something of a changing of the guard for Khan with regards to the U.K fan base, not to mention being a legitimate challenge with Hatton's power and body punching.
The purse split would probably work best as 50/50. Hatton is the draw and Khan is the champion. At the same time though Hatton is difficult to rank, in some lists he is the top light welterweight (given Mayweather and Pacquiao have moved up) and in others he isn't even ranked due to his semi-retirement.
December 21, 12:22AM
Pittsburgh Fight Sports Examiner
By Scott Heritage
The fight of Ricky Hatton's career undoubtedly came back in June of 2005, when he took on and beat the feared IBF champion Kostya Tszyu, lifting himself to the top of the light welterweight rankings at the same time.
Fast forward to the present day and Hatton is coming off a big loss to Manny Pacquiao and has been inactive for most of this year. On top of that his well documented weight problems have come back to haunt him once more, and he now tips the scales at around 200lbs rather than the sculpted 140lbs he once fought at.
It appears though that Hatton is getting himself ready for a return to the ring, and that his sights are now being set on rising star Amir Khan. Although his first fight will likely be against Juan Manuel Marquez, a showdown with Khan would have an added bonus for Hatton, getting a chance to beat his former promoter Frank Warren's new protege.
The fall out between Hatton and Warren happened after the Tszyu fight when Hatton claimed that Warren was only out for himself and was exploiting his hard work. Warren countered by claiming that he had a contract to promote Hatton's next fight as well, which he had negotiated with Carlos Maussa and team. Obviously the truth of the matter is difficult to get to, but by the sounds of it, Hatton was offered more money by a different promoter (Dennis Hobson) and took the offer rather than staying with Warren.
Warren said at the time to BBC sport: "It's purely about money and greed. There is no fault you could find in my involvement with Ricky's career. In the time he was with me I never took a penny in management commission, I made all the right matches and took the flak. Even if there wasn't a contract I'd expect loyalty."
"Dennis Hobson's delivered him Maussa. But I already had that fight agreed with Main Event before Ray Hatton (Ricky's father) said we couldn't negotiate on behalf of Ricky. It's totally out of order. It's about Ricky and Ray trying to grab as much money as possible."
Since then there have been several lawsuits filed by Warren, who appears always ready for legal action when things don't go according to his plans. Warren won some and lost some of the legal wrangling with Hatton, (and later Joe Calzaghe) but in the end he and the fighter parted ways, Hatton onto more world championships and Warren onto a new charge. Enter Amir Khan.
Khan was plucked from the amateur ranks by Warren after winning Olympic silver for Great Britain and quickly became one of the nations most famous boxing prospects. He now holds a record of 22-1, with the loss coming at the hands of Breidis Prescott a little over a year ago. Since the loss Khan made some changes to his team and is now trained by Freddie Roach at the Wild card gym in California. Hatton, even as his record now stands at 45-2 would make for an impressive scalp for the young man from Bolton.
The biggest obstacle to the fight being made is obviously the bad blood between Frank Warren and Hatton, who have both said in the past that they would not work with one another again. Since then Warren has also not missed an opportunity to take swipes at Hatton from his columns and press conferences, routinely panning Hatton's performances and mocking his weight issues.
“The terrific movement and boxing skills that helped him get to the top have disappeared, possibly for good.Yet the real reason for his decline is Hatton can no longer avoid punches and is walking on to punches far too often." - Frank Warren
Despite the pair's frosty words for each other, they both spoke more warmly about a possible fight between Hatton and Amir:
"It's been well documented the problems I have had with Frank Warren, It would be a non-starter unless I promoted it. I'm not saying it's never going to happen," he said. "If I fight again and Amir's the champion, obviously it's a possibility." -Ricky Hatton
“Financially it is a great fight and I think Ricky would get stopped again by Amir. I don’t think Ricky could cope with that pace. I don’t think he should fight again but if he wants to do it then I’m sure it could happen. But, from his health point of view, he should definitely retire from the ring.” -Frank Warren
Khan himself is typically reserved about his opponents, part or future, and had this to say about a future Hatton fight:
“We’re good friends and stuff, but business is business, I’m just going to leave it to my team. I’m a fan of Ricky Hatton and I like him to be in my corner, supporting me all the way and for me to achieve what he has achieved.
“But boxing is a game where you have to face fighters. In Britain I think it would be a huge fight that the public would want to see. We’ll see what happens. If Freddie Roach thinks it’s the right move for me to make, then I’m going to make that move.”
As usual though money speaks a lot louder than words in boxing, and a fight between Hatton and Khan may well be in the works if both parties can make enough money out of it. The fight would certainly be the biggest on the British domestic scene in several years, and both fighters already have big fan bases in the United Kingdom. Furthermore Freddie Roach would likely welcome the fight against the faded Hatton since Khan's stablemate and pound for pound great Manny Pacquiao flattened Hatton in just two rounds.
Will the fight happen? Not immediately, but give each man another win apiece and I think it will probably be worked out. The fight itself will probably go the way of Amir Khan, given his speed and power, not to mention having Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao to learn from. The loss should send Hatton into retirement and will be something of a changing of the guard for Khan with regards to the U.K fan base, not to mention being a legitimate challenge with Hatton's power and body punching.
The purse split would probably work best as 50/50. Hatton is the draw and Khan is the champion. At the same time though Hatton is difficult to rank, in some lists he is the top light welterweight (given Mayweather and Pacquiao have moved up) and in others he isn't even ranked due to his semi-retirement.
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