Hatton unpopular amoungst real boxing fans?

[15829]

thats pretty much why i hate him, i cringe when he says am just liccle boy from manchester

[banjo]

What he does outside of the ring should have no bearing on his boxing career anyway, that's how he wants to live then so be it. It's not as if he's acting like a thug or anything, if he was then it would look bad on the sport.


You're here for a good time, not a long time

[DG.]

I have been reading and posting on boxing forums for a good five years and have noticed how real boxing fans have turned against Ricky over the last few years. I personally feel no different to him now than i did before the KT fight but a large numbe seem to be on his case, so why is this? here are some ideas which you may or may not agree with:
1. he is to over exposed and we here the same old sound bites over and over again?
2. That he has been adopted by the casual sports fan who when talk boxing only know Hatton and the hype that sky have fed them?
3. he didnt fight Witter?
4. His poor lifestyle outside of the ring?
5.his excuses to losing to PBF or bad performences?
6. how he seems to talk about himself in the third person?
7. playing the lad card with all the football, oasis BS

As i said before i dont have a problem with the guy but wish he would sort out his drinking and lifestyle between fights as its a bad advert for the sport. I do hate all the fools & horses stuff mind.

1) Boxing is a tough game for these guys and they deserve all the rewards they can get....BUT Hatton to openly say he is not going to give someone a payday meant I lost a lot of respect for him.... I mean Witter.

2) Constanly running from Witter when ALL of Broitish Boixing wanted it... Shows a lack of respect for British Boxing Fans.

3) Apart from an old KT - who has he beaten??? All either smaller,older, weaker not that good or all of the above yet some make out he is an all time great..

4) He is a celebrity Boxer and insults real boxing fans with some of hos comments.


As a man I have no hate for him, I do not know him - but he does talk a lot of crap that real fans know is crap!

Hatton is a very good Euro level fighter.

World Class? Yes, elite? no.

[Coco]

And Brits hate winners

[n1ebf]

Hatton's a top man, full stop. You just have to make a few concessions. He practically adopted that disabled boy and must have given him a lot more fun in his life than he might have been able to otherwise expect.

I always thought Witter would have the beating of Hatton prime for prime cos he hits harder, was disappointed Hatton never fought him. But it remains a fact that if Witter hadn't given so many dull performances on TV (by all accounts), he could have had more of the limelight himself. It's not like Hatton cut of his nose to spite his face in avoiding Witter, he still forged a massively successful career.

I think Hatton only fought Mayweather for the HUGE cash, wereit not for this he would never hav taken on such a dangerous opponent. There was, is , and remains a huge gulf in class between Hatton and Mayweather. Pacman is just the latest example of Hatton only fighting the current best cos it's a super payday. If Pac was on the way up and it was 5 years ago, and Hatton was in a similar position then forget it.

Re: putting on weight and giving the sport a bad look - that's rubbish IMO.He's as entitled to lead his life as he likes just like the next man. If he keeps winning, who is anyone to knock him.

Over- exposure - yes, definitely, although he deserves respect for coming through the ranks and separatng himself from the rest like the Thaxton's etc along the way, I'm sick of the sight of him now on the tele/ radio/ etc....I just feel like I'm being sold something whenever I see him - and a lot of the over exposure is down to him. I base this just on the snippets I see here and there, the reality is that makes up for about 5% of what he actually does, I think he must go through his life on a weekly basis over and over again telling people what a normal lad he is, to the point where most people would get sick of themselves.

I see a lot of similiarities (apart from ability) with his brother Matthew. Both hae been matched incredibly cautiously, both love an audience. Matthew for instance will happily wax lyrical for 5 minutes in response to the question of "if you were a world champion would you fight Ricky?" - when any normal person would simply say - "he's my brother, my flesh and blood,of course not and what silly question" - but he does because he likes to "chat" about the notion (to uninformed fans) that he is a man destined to take his place alongside the genuine World Champs

[DG.]

And Brits hate winners

Not always...

[sgtcecil]

From personal experience, hatton came across as a top bloke. he was in my hometown in ayrshire for a week staying with a friend. dont get me wrong think the purpose of the visit was for a major piss up but anytime anyone saw him that week, he was more than happy to talk to well wishers, sign autographs, get in photos etc - he even put a few quid behind the bar in one pub and everyone got a beer off of him. he didnt need to do any of that but he did.

as for his lifestyle, he was drinking guinness as if it was going out of fashion and he was a bot on the podgy side but he aint the only boxer in the world that lets himself go between fights and does it cause him too many problems when he does train or when trying to make the weight??

[Fatsam]

He's not bad for british boxing if you ask me, he does have a ton of fans who dont really follow boxing, but his career has done alot to get the public back into boxing. I love it when a ricky hatton fight is coming up because people at work who have read a tiny article in the back of the sun want to suddenly talk boxing, which is nice

If you look at it like this "Is boxing better off with or without hatton?" i think most people would say its better off, everyone has there flaws.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

Personally I'm a Witter fan so I did become a bit of a Hatton hater for him ducking the fight and I was annoyed that he got more credit than his talent believed. However he's only making the best moves for himself and is great for the sport, a marketing phenomenon, a hard worker, decent/likable individual and a top class quality boxer with underrated skill and a winner.

His career is and has been very calculated though, with emphisis on risk-reward ratio and tilting the scales in his favour throughout his career so I don't think he's quite as good a fighter as he'd have us believe. If he beats up on a few top FWs and retires some will try to tell us he was the 140lb Hagler and P4P king If he calls himself the P4P king after the Pacman fight lets see him fight another ex-lightwight ex-P4Per called Sugar D

[DG.]

He's not bad for british boxing if you ask me, he does have a ton of fans who dont really follow boxing, but his career has done alot to get the public back into boxing. I love it when a ricky hatton fight is coming up because people at work who have read a tiny article in the back of the sun want to suddenly talk boxing, which is nice

If you look at it like this "Is boxing better off with or without hatton?" i think most people would say its better off, everyone has there flaws.

good point but the boxing conversation with a casual sports fan is a dangerous one. I remember one time sitting a friday lunch time in a Soho watering hole with a pint of guinness and the latest boxing news when someone near me tired starting a boxing conversation, it went a bit like this:
"so you like boxing mate?"
i point to Boxing news and give a polite smile and he continues with:
"you know what i love boxing but dont get why that lennox Lewis wont fight Eubank?"
i thing i tired to explain the weight difference and then went into a "Tyson is the greatest rant" and i left.

[Fatsam]

good point but the boxing conversation with a casual sports fan is a dangerous one.

Haha, i know what you mean, i remember a few months ago i was talking at work about the upcoming pacman/dlh fight before it happened, and saying hatton would probably fight the winner. Everyone at work was saying, yea hatton is gonna fking floor de la hoya, it probably doesn't seem that laughable now but at the time i was trying hard to not laugh in there face.

[tonyevs]

I`m not convinced the `real boxing fans` have turned against Hatton .. I certainly haven`t ... and don`t really understand why other boxing fans would?

I think only the Witter die-hards refuse to accept he simply has nothing to gain financially or reputation wise from fighting him at this stage of his career.

His lifestyle away from the ring and personallity attract more people than turn away people.

And just about every boxer will have a reason they lost a fight - and almost always it won`t be because they weren`t good enough .. look at Tony Dodson`s view after his most recent loss.

He is giving us fights involving some of the very best guys in the sport .. who can really complain about that?

[rhino222]

apologies for doing another thread on the same subject, but, out of curiosity ive done a poll aswell.

[Fatsam]

i was in a pub once and over heard a conversation about Frank Bruno hanging up the gloves and this one bloke with a straight face said to his mate:
"its a shame big Frank is hanging them up because we may never know who was the better man between him and Tyson."
honest to god i heard that :(

Oh well, aslong as they keep buying the ppv's

[DG.]

I think only the Witter die-hards refuse to accept he simply has nothing to gain financially or reputation wise from fighting him at this stage of his career.

This stage?

What about 10 years ago or 9 or even 8 or 7 or 6 or 5 or 4 or 3 or 2 or....

[stevieb_8006]

a few people dislike ricky cos hes the man man in british boxing at the mo.

simple as that.

U always get a few knockers, its life.

Eubank had them when it was his turn, Naz certainly did.

Cant b loved by every1.

or all his flaws, we'll miss him when hes gone. So will boxing.

[DG.]

a few people dislike ricky cos hes the man man in british boxing at the mo.

simple as that.

U always get a few knockers, its life.

Eubank had them when it was his turn, Naz certainly did.

Cant b loved by every1.

or all his flaws, we'll miss him when hes gone. So will boxing.

you can understand why Naz and Eubank had their knockers and for me Hatton is very popular with the man on the street. What i was refering to was amoungst real boxing fans he seems not so loved as he is by the general public.

But who are the men n the streets? And which streets? Not mine..

Hatton is no doubt a good guy, but does he ned to telll us everyday that he is just like everyone else?

Its boring and I only care about the boxing....

Also, he swears in front of his mum, that to me is plain wrong!

[whiskey]

'Real' fans ?

Everyone is introduced to the sport by one fighter - be it Duran, Leonard, Ali, Tyson, Naz or Hatton - there is always one fighter that is the catalyst for an individual to become a boxing fan.

Then once they have found the sport and realised there are other fighters worthy of their interest, then their interest grows further.

In about 5-10 years time you'll see the impact Hatton had on British boxing, when you see a stack of amateur talent appearing and/or turning professional.

Like the fact that, despite being a minority, since Naz we have had an influx of British Asian fighters - from Khan to Siddique who captained the England squad.

Hatton is solid gold for boxing in my opinion.

[DaveyH]

I quite like Ricky he's certainly done a good job of getting boxing back into the limelight. I think since his popularity has soared he's trying a bit too hard with all this "I'm just a typical bloke from down the boozer." A lot of people love it but I think a lot of hardened boxing fans can see it for what it is ie a marketable product.
In terms of his fights, I was getting extremely frustrated with him during his WBU phase, I remember after just about every fight FW would say "next time out we'll get him in with a big name" before announcing his next fight would be against Mike Stewart etc.
I was a bit put off by Hattons insistence that KT came to Manchester for their fight. I mean Kostya was the man at the weight, the fight would have made big bucks anywhere in the world, but Hatton came out with the "I Know I could sell out a big arena in Manchester" line. I just thought it was high time Ricky fought somewhere other than his backyard especially as Kostya was undisputed champ.
Can't fault Ricky's attitude for fighting Mayweather in Vegas. Yes big bucks were made but Floyd was the man, could never accuse Ricky of avoiding the top name.
I am a bit pissed off about his refusal to fight Witter. His excuse about Witter only wanting the fight to piggy back Hattons superstar status is the absolute WORST excuse in boxing and it makes my blood boil when any so called big name boxer churns it out.
After the Mayweather loss, there was really no excuse to dodge Witter. Witter was WBC champion and wanted the fight, Ricky said the fight made no sense because Witter didn't sell enough tickets. Then Hatton banged the drum about treating his loyal fans by fighting at City of Manchester Stadium and brought out the highly ordinary Juan Lazcano as an opponent. I must have missed the legendary "Lazcano Years" when he was selling out packed stadiums. It exposed Ricky's logic because I'm sure his loyal fans would have rather seen Ricky fight Witter in Manchester in a real Battle of Britain, Lancashire Vs Yorkshire, WBC Title on the line.
When Hatton retires you can imagine him being a regular pundit on Boxing shows and sports/comedy panel shows, I just hope he gets some new material because I'm sick of hearing about his Rice Crispies being scared of Ma Hatton etc. D

[tonyevs]

To be 100% honest .. the only place i`ve heard dislike towards Hatton is on this site .. from not one person in work or the pub.

Lots here said Hatton made a mistake when he 1st left Warren and went across the water .. it was a massive gamble, but it paid off ... what has Witter done to further his self by comparison?

I agree, that Hatton avoided Witter prior to the Tszyu fight .. maybe that was as much his promoter/manager also prefering the all action ticket seller rather than the hot or cold guy that sells little .. who can really say?
But since that fight he has been in the premier league of fighters .. with Witter wanting the benefits from Hattons gamble.

[hitman_hatton1]

I have been reading and posting on boxing forums for a good five years and have noticed how real boxing fans have turned against Ricky over the last few years. I personally feel no different to him now than i did before the KT fight but a large numbe seem to be on his case, so why is this? here are some ideas which you may or may not agree with:
1. he is to over exposed and we here the same old sound bites over and over again?
2. That he has been adopted by the casual sports fan who when talk boxing only know Hatton and the hype that sky have fed them?
3. he didnt fight Witter?
4. His poor lifestyle outside of the ring?
5.his excuses to losing to PBF or bad performences?
6. how he seems to talk about himself in the third person?
7. playing the lad card with all the football, oasis BS

As i said before i dont have a problem with the guy but wish he would sort out his drinking and lifestyle between fights as its a bad advert for the sport. I do hate all the fools & horses stuff mind.

that's the main beef.

from where it all stems.

and the money he earns makes some bitter.

he deserves the money cos of his drawing power.

it's that simple people.

[DaveyH]

Witter won the WBC title, which as far as I'm concerned earned him a crack at a Hatton fight, regardless of the gamble Hatton took. I agree Witter didn't do himself a lot of credit in the popularity stakes but he got the results that earned him a fight with Ricky. Plus it's hardly fair to say Witter never took risks, he went in as a late sub to face Judah after only 17 pro fights. He didn't exactly shine but he didn't disgrace himself either considering the jump in class.

I agree that Hatton was elevated into the "Premier League" of fighters once he beat Kostya Tsyzu, but I don't see how that justifies him not fighting Witter when he was willingly defending against guys like Carlos Maussa and Juan Urango. Why was a lump like Maussa and his WBA considered credible, but Witter and his WBC title weren't? Thats what I found annoying about it all, Ricky was dismissing Witter then taking on worse opponents. Obviously, as a premier level fighter you couldn't argue if Ricky turned down Witter to face Mayweather, Cotto, Mosley etc. I'm not saying Witter was the best possible fight out there, but was certainly more credible than a couple of Ricky's post KT fights and the fact Witter is British would have definitely got the fans interested.

[hitman_hatton1]

Hatton is a very good Euro level fighter.

World Class? Yes, elite? no.

u get worse.

if hatton's euro level than what is witter.

i think hatton is good world class.

perhaps not best of the best but damn good.

good enuff to give anyone a serious argument.

even mayweather knew he'd been in a fight.

what was it he said about hatton afterwards.

"the toughest opponent i've ever faced"

[landon]

i think we all no ricky's milked it how much he's just like any man in the street and 1 of the lads, likes a beer and a curry, blah blah, its bored the shit out of all of us. As for world class i think he is but not one of the elite like mayweather, ssm. he's done great for british boxing just like eubank, benn, naz, the fight with witter has gone rickys in america an witter has fallen behind after defeat to bradley. rickys avioded him for years about not good enough and not giving him a pay day and he's gone and boxed maussa, urango. i wish he would stop talking shit about himself it makes me cringe.

[n1ebf]

Hatton is a very good Euro level fighter.

World Class? Yes, elite? no.

u get worse.

if hatton's euro level than what is witter.

i think hatton is good world class.

perhaps not best of the best but damn good.

good enuff to give anyone a serious argument.

even mayweather knew he'd been in a fight.

what was it he said about hatton afterwards.

"the toughest opponent i've ever faced"

Carlos Baldomir would have beaten Hatton IMO, he took Mayweather the distance as well didn't he?

I'll take my hat off to him for the Malignaggi win though - I fancied PM to win that one.

But folks are right, as brilliantly as Hatton has done I think people (well those in the know at least) will always remember that Hatton didn't fight the best on his own doorstep in Junior the Hitter Witter

That said, if Witter KO's him, he probably doesn't get the fight in America (PBF), so you might say it's swings and roundabouts.